Details

LOT 0490

Large Egyptian Bronze Wepwawet Amulet

THIRD INTERMEDIATE-LATE PERIOD, 1069-332 B.C.

3 1/2 in. (4 5/8 in.) (54 grams, 91 mm (162 grams total, 11.7 cm including stand )).

Showing the jackal deity Wepwawet standing with ears pricked on a sledge, the slender body modelled with long legs and a tail, suspension loop on the back; two rearing cobras before the jackal; mounted on a custom-made display stand. [No Reserve]

Provenance

Ex Dr R. and Mrs L.B., Zumikon, Switzerland.
with Galerie Rhéa, Zurich, Switzerland.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12627-236406.

Literature

Cf. Roeder, G., Ägyptische Bronzefiguren II, Berlin, 1956, pl. 49v, for a similar slender-bodied Wepwawet with rearing cobras and top suspension loop; Tiribilli, E., The bronze figurines of the Petrie Museum from 2000 BC to AD 400, GHP Egyptology 28, London, 2018, p. 182, no. 255, for a similar example with double cobras.

Footnotes

This object may have been the decorative element of a ceremonial standard, examples of which have survived (cf. Petrie, W.M.F., Tanis: Part II / Nebesheh (Am) and Defenneh (Tahpanhes), London, 1886, pl. VII, no. 3).
Wepwawet, meaning "Opener of the Ways," was an ancient Egyptian god associated primarily with warfare, protection, and funerary practices. Depicted as a jackal or a man with a jackal's head—often mistaken for Anubis—Wepwawet was believed to guide souls through the afterlife and open paths both in battle and in the spiritual realm.
He originated in Asyut (ancient Lycopolis) in Upper Egypt and was one of the oldest deities in the Egyptian pantheon, with worship dating back to at least the First Dynasty (c. 3100–2900 BCE). Over time, Wepwawet became closely linked to Anubis, and the two were sometimes conflated, though Wepwawet retained his distinct identity as a god who preceded and cleared the way.
In military contexts, Wepwawet was invoked to "open the way" for pharaohs and armies, ensuring victory and safe passage. In funerary texts, he was described as clearing the path to the afterlife, acting as a scout or guide for the deceased.