Anubis was the god of embalming and the protector of mummies in the potentially dangerous transition between death and rebirth in the afterlife. He was often portrayed as a human with the head of a jackal and sometimes entirely as a jackal. In ancient times the habitat of jackals included the places where the Egyptians buried their dead. Probably for this reason the Egyptians came to see in Anubis a guardian of the dead in their burial grounds.

This painted wooden figure of Anubis, part of a burial, raises his hands to perform purification and transfiguration rites over a mummy. During the burial rituals these rites were actually performed by priests wearing jackal masks to impersonate Anubis. The figure is shown in the typical striding stance of Egyptian sculpture. He wears the feather costume of the gods, depicted in small red-and-blue patterns, and stands upon a base decorated with designs symbolizing the rectangular paneling on facades of tombs and palaces. The wood is in remarkably good condition and all the colors are original.