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View at the museum ↗Box for a Mummified Animal with Snake Figure
Ancient EgyptianLate Period–Ptolemaic Period (664–30 BCE)
- Attribution
- Egyptian
- Medium
- Copper alloy
- Physical dimensions
- 4.1 × 5 × 8.1 cm (1 5/8 × 2 × 3 3/16 in.)
- Credit line
- Purchased with funds provided by Charles L. Hutchinson and Henry H. Getty
Museum metadata is available under CC0. Image availability and rights are separate; consult the source record.
Source rights statement: Public domain
View the museum record ↗From the museum
A snake lies coiled in a figure-eight shape on top of this empty box designed to hold a mummified animal. Ancient Egyptians presented objects like this in temples as votive gifts to gods and goddesses, tailoring the enclosed mummified animal to one that had a specific connection with the deity whose favor was sought. Such a gift in a sacred space could help ensure that the prayer would be received. The hieroglyphic inscription on the front of this box names the worshiper who dedicated it and invokes Atum, a creator god whom the ancient Egyptians sometimes depicted in the form of a snake.
Description: Art Institute of Chicago · CC BY 4.0