Egyptian, Late Period, 26th Dynasty, 7th - 6th century B.C.

Plaster or Stucco

H: 11.1 cm

PROVENANCE: Ex- European Private Collection

SERIAL NO: 4956

The head was carved in limestone often used by Egyptian sculptors who appreciated both its softness and the ability to adopt the precise shapes. It represents Anubis, the canine god. Anubis was considered the most important Egyptian funerary god before the rise of the cult of Osiris. Leader of the dead and lord of the sacred land (desert areas where the cemeteries were situated), he was specifically called as a master of the place where the embalming was carried out. In the myths it was Anubis who embalmed the body of Osiris and the deceased king.

The animal’s features are accurately rendered and immediately recognizable: long pointed ears, eyes set close to each other, long muzzle and the mane with incised lines representing the strands of fur. Although the color is limited mainly to black (symbol of fertile earth that gives regeneration), the expressiveness of the image is remarkable. It is particularly characteristic of the eyes, where the iris is set closer to the upper eyelid, the representation intends to reproduce the direct and fixed gaze. The erected ears strengthen the alert attitude.

The god is often depicted in his zoomorphic form lying atop the funerary chest representing a shrine. When he is depicted in the anthropomorphic form, he preserves the canid head and receives the headcloth. This is the case for the present piece, the headcloth creates the round shape on the back of the head, from the front there are two lappets on the sides of the narrow neck. The encircling ring below the neck is part of the pectoral. Anubis was worshipped in his chapels in the temples where his statues have been erected; his images were also found inside the tombs. This fragment belonged to a statuette that may have been dedicated in sanctuary or may have been used as a tomb offering.