Aegis-Menat of Tefnut and Shu, Dyn. 20
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Links to other views:⇒ Larger Viewif scripting is off, click the ⇒ instead. Links to others from Dynasty 20Amulet of Ptah-Sokar, Dyn. 20-21Basalt hawk-headed god Khonsu, Dyn. 20 Bronze statuette of Anhur, Dyn. 20 Bronze statuette of Sakhmet, Dyn. 20 Cartonnage with Isis, New Kingdom Crude pottery shawabti, Late Dyn. 20 Crude pottery shawabti, Late Dyn. 20 Gilded funerary mask, Dyn. 20 Large amulet of Pataikos, Dyn. 20 Mummy cartonnage, New Kingdom Priest of Hapy, temple of Aswan, Dyn. 20 Ptah-Min of Memphis, Dyn. 20 Ruling king as Khonsu, Dyn. 20 Shawabti of Hor-Te-Ha, early Dyn. 20 Shawabti of the prophet of Amen, Dyn. 20 Unidentified king as Khnum, Dyn. 20 Links to others representing Tefenet/TefnutBronze cobra as Goddess Tefnut, Dyn. 17Staff finial,Tefnut rearing up, Dyn. 20-21 Links to others of type AegisAegis of Tefnut and a king, N.K. |
This bronze aegis-menat from the New Kingdom shows Goddess Tefnut as a lioness capped by a solar disc protected by the cobra, and God Shu as a human wearing a crown with feathers and an uraeus. An oxyrinchus (the Nile fish believed to have eaten the phallus of the god Osiris when Seth dismembered him and cast his body parts into the river) is carved at the bottom. Above it, two cobras jutting on the sides frame a panel that cannot be deciphered. Indeed the profuse, almost exuberant detailing of this jewel makes it difficult to confidently interpret the signs inscribed amongst the complex decorative incisions. “The protective function of this amulet is surely proved by the rare examples in which the aegis is topped by the heads of Tefnut and her consort Shu wearing tall feathers: in identical full-sized bronze counterpoises the inscription states that they are providing ‘sa’--a magical protection” (Andrews 1994:42, fig. 40d). “Goddess Tefnut and god Shu are the first two deities created by Atum, the sun-god of Heliopolis” (Hart 1986:200). Bibliography (for this item)Andrews, Carol1994 Amulets of Ancient Egypt. University of Texas Press, Austin, TX. (42, fig. 40 d 41, 42 ) Bunson, Margaret 1999 The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Gramercy, New York, NY. ( 161, 199) Hart, George 1986 A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, United Kingdom. ( 200) Khalil, Hassan M. 1976 Preliminary Studies on the Sanusret Collection. Manuscript, Musée l’Egypte et le Monde Antique, Monaco-Ville, Monaco. ( [IV] 9-11) Roeder, Gunther 1956 Agyptische Bronzefiguren in Mitteilungen aus der Agytischen Sammlung. Staatliche Museen Zu Berlin.. Tafelband, Berlin, Germany. (Plate 64, fig. i: 8688 Plate 64, fig. h: 2773) |
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