Nubie. Ibsamboul. Partie septentrionale du Spéos d'Hathor 1850

Maxime Du Camp captured this image of Nubia’s Temple of Hathor, with its imposing statues and hieroglyphs, using a waxed paper negative. These figures are not mere decoration; they are potent symbols, guardians of cultural memory. The cow-headed Hathor embodies motherhood, beauty, and music. Yet, we see traces of Hathor's attributes in other goddesses across cultures—echoes of a nurturing, protective female deity found even in the Minoan snake goddess, or perhaps, closer to our time, in the Virgin Mary, her mantle a signifier of grace and shelter. These recurring motifs are not coincidences but manifestations of collective desires and fears, resurfacing in the symbolic language of art. Consider how the solemn expression mirrors other portrayals of deities from different cultures, revealing a shared human need for guidance and connection. Each carries a fragment of our past, an echo of shared experiences, evolving, transforming, yet perpetually present.