Egyptian Anubis Staff Terminal
1st century B.C.- 2nd century A.D. A bronze staff or sceptre terminal formed as a priest of Anubis with jackal's head and human body, standing and wearing a tightly-draped toga with right hand extended in a fist; square base and socket to the underside. Cf. The British Museum, museum number EA36064 'Solid-cast copper alloy figure of Anubis wearing a short robe and holding a palm branch', for a comparable figure of this broad period; see Andrews, C., Amulets of Ancient Egypt, London, 1994, p.46-7, for discussion; see also, Tiradritti, F., The Cairo Museum Masterpieces of Egyptian Art, London, 1999, p. 401, for a slightly more elaborate bronze staff terminal of Anubis as a Roman legionnaire (Cairo Museum inv. no. CG27694). 223 grams, 12.7 cm high (5 in.). Private collection, since 1989. Anubis was the ancient Egyptian god of the dead - represented in jackal form or in the form of a jackal-headed man - and one of ancient Egypt's most iconic deities. Originally god of the underworld, he was eventually associated more specifically with the embalming process and funerary rites. His fur was generally depicted as black owing to the association of that colour with fertility and beliefs regarding rebirth in the afterlife. A video of this lot is available to view on Timeline Auctions Website.]