An Egyptian copper alloy amulet of Nehebkau
Late Period, circa 664-525 B.C.
The snake-headed god wearing a tripartite wig and short pleated kilt, striding forth on an integral plinth, with a suspension loop on the back, 5.5cm high注脚Provenance:
Sylvia Phyllis Adams (1907-1995) collection, UK.
The Adams Collection; Bonhams, London, 4th July 1996, lot 359.
Private collection, Europe, acquired at the above sale.

Published:
C.A.R. Andrews and J. van Dijk (ed.), Objects for Eternity: Egyptian Antiquities from the W. Arnold Meijer Collection, Mainz, 2006, p. 225, no. 3.33a.

Nehebkau, mentioned in the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom, symbolised invincibility and protection. The chthonic god acted as one of the 42 Assessors of the Dead, and his associations with the afterlife suggest this amulet was funerary in nature. For a similar depiction of Nehebkau, see an amulet in the British Museum, London, no. EA59386.