Ta-wer emblem (Abydos Fetish)

Known as the "Abydos fetish," this emblem was used initially as the hieroglyphic sign for the placename Ta-wer, the province in which Abydos, the principal cult site of Osiris, was located. It is first depicted as an object in the Ramesside Period temples at Abydos, where, labeled as an image of Osiris, it served as a cult focus. In these scenes, the fetish is shown planted inside an open shrine on a sledge, with mummiform lion figures flanking the base of the pole and multiple royal figures gathered around it. In later periods, it was viewed as the reliquary that contained Osiris’s head.

From the New Kingdom through the Roman Period, the emblem was represented in two dimensions across various media, including coffins, cartonnages, sarcophagi, papyri, stelae, and tomb and temple walls. The form of the central element and base, the shape of the feathers on top, and the decorative details vary, with no clear chronological pattern. This wood model, the only three-dimensional example known, is thus difficult to date. The original purpose of the object is likewise unknown, but it may have been used in a mortuary context, like other wood models.