Statuette of a snake-headed deity

Snake-headed statuettes of gods are rarer than those representing goddesses, and this male figure is an exceptional example of this already unusual type. He wears a typical divine kilt, and there is an indication of a broad collar between the sections of the tripartite wig on his chest, reinforcing his identification as a divine being. The intricate details of his face and hands, furthermore, suggest the high quality of the statuette’s manufacture. While some snake deities have human ears, they are absent on this example.

Most male snake-headed statuettes, which are known from the Late Period on, lack any inscriptions, complicating the task of identifying which deity they represent. Traditionally, they have been identified as Nehebkau, a serpentine deity associated with the afterlife and underworld, but none bears his name, nor is Nehebkau known to have been represented, as seen here, as a striding, snake-headed man. One statuette of a snake-headed male deity (private collection) does bear an inscription identifying the depicted deity as Heneb, a guardian serpent deity associated with the site of Herakleopolis, who like other beneficial serpent deities in Egyptian texts was said to ward off or slay dangerous beings, including Seth and Apep. This statuette may well represent Heneb, but a different deity of a similar form—a protective entity, likely local in association—is also possible. The statuette’s size and the lack of a loop for hanging indicate that it is not an amulet and thus is more likely to have been an offering to the represented deity, made in the hope that the god would keep its donor safe from hostile forces.