A large granite figure of Sekhmet is to star in a sale of ancient Egyptian art at Sotheby's.

The work dates to around 1403-1365 BC and is carved with the name of the pharaoh Amenhotep III.

Sekhmet was the ancient Egyptian goddess of war

Very few cartouches bearing the pharaoh's name survive as many were destroyed by his son, Akhenaton.

Akhenaton did this in an attempt to expunge the sun god Amun (from whose name Amenhotep was derived) from the historical record.

In Amun's place, Akhenaton attempted to bring Egypt round to the worship of the sun disk Aten, a move that proved unpopular and was reversed after his death.

Sekhmet is a central figure in the pantheon of ancient Egyptian gods - serving as the lion-headed goddess of war.

It's expected to sell for around $3m-5m when it crosses the block in New York on December 8.

A statue of Iset, produced in 1292-1250 BC, is also on offer, with an estimate of $600,000-900,000.

Iset was the wife of the scribe Imen-heru and served as a priestess in a cult centred in the city of Crocodilopolis in the region now known as Fayum.

The city was named for its worship of the crocodile deity Sobek.

The record for an ancient Egyptian artwork at auction is £15.7m ($23.8m) - set for a statue of the scribe Sekhemka and his family in a sale at Christie's last year.

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