Bronze cobra as Goddess Tefnut, Dyn. 17
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Links to other views:⇒ Larger Viewif scripting is off, click the ⇒ instead. Links to others representing Tefenet/TefnutAegis-Menat of Tefnut and Shu, Dyn. 20Staff finial,Tefnut rearing up, Dyn. 20-21 Links to others of type StaffNekhbet, vulture-goddess of NekhebStaff finial,Tefnut rearing up, Dyn. 20-21 Staff finial, Thoth as a baboon, Dyn. 26 Wooden cobra with solar disc |
This large solid bronze Cobra was most probably part of a pharaoh’s regalia—a royal jewel that was affixed to a royal ruling staff or scepter as a symbol of the king’s (and therefore the kingdom’s) invulnerability (see #443 in this collection). Dating is difficult. It may have been crafted at any time from the late New Kingdom (but not during the Amarna heresy) to Dynasty 21. We lean towards Dynasty 17. Aldred (1971:Plates 82,83) displays a cobra “Uraeus on the Intef crown from Thebes” which exhibits significant similarities in design, immediate visual appearance, incised work, and style. However, Aldred’s cobra was neither created for the same purpose, nor manufactured in the same manner. His was affixed to the diadem by a horizontal tenon in the back. This cobra, on the contrary, ends with an elegant, powerful, and natural set of loops, and a vertical tenon at the bottom of the first loop. Bibliography (for this item)Aldred, Cyril1971 Jewels of the Pharaohs. Egyptian Jewellry of the Dynastic Period. Thames and Hudson, London, United Kingdom. (plates # 82, 83 ) Grimal, Nicolas 1994 A History of Ancient Egypt (Reprint of the 1994 edition, translated by Ian Shaw). Blackwell, Oxford, United Kingdom. (187,189) Hart, George 1986 A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, United Kingdom. (213, 220, 221) Khalil, Hassan M. 1976 Preliminary Studies on the Sanusret Collection. Manuscript, Musée l’Egypte et le Monde Antique, Monaco-Ville, Monaco. ([II] 69-71) |
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