Statue of the lion goddess Sekhmet in the precinct of Mut. Karnak, Egypt

"South of the Great Temple of Amun (Amon) is the precinct of Amun's consort, Mut. Mostly destroyed, the compound contains the remains of the temple of Mut itself, a sacred lake -the isheru- , and several smaller temples. The Mut temple was mainly built by Amenophis (Amenhotep) III, though it receives later additions by other kings. The temple is perhaps most famous for the black-granite statues of the goddess Sekhmet which Amenophis had placed here - it is estimated that over 700 of these stautes originally adorned the temple precinct." [Wilkinson R., 2000: The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. Thames and Hudson]. "A village on East bank of the Nile in Upper Egypt; with Luxor, Karnak is on the site of ancient Thebes; location of temple of Amen, considered one of the finest examples of early New Kingdom religious architecture; also has many Middle Kingdom remains." [The J.P.Getty Fund: Thesaurus of Geographic Names]. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for American Institute of Architects, directing the Egyptian portion of the documentary on Ancient Egypt, March 1965 and September 1965.