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A FINE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BRONZE FIGURE OF A MONGOOSE browse these categories for related items... All Items: Antiques: Regional Art: Ancient World: Egyptian: Bronze: Pre AD 1000: item # 936571
Explorer Ancient Art P.O. Box 60901 Staten Island, NY 10306 718-979-9205 Guest Book $2800 |
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| Fine open work bronze mongoose, with well-defined details, standing in an alert pose on top of a miniature sarcophagus, line of hieroglyphic inscription partially reading "Ichneumon gives life ...." Open rear end of sarcophagus covered with lucite concealing its contents. Late Period, 600-300 B.C. 2 5/8 inches long. Intact. From a Dutch collection. The ichneumon (mongoose) was revered for its ability to kill snakes and crush crocodile eggs. Together with the shrew-mouse, it was regarded as the animal manifestation of the sun god Horus at Letopolis in the Delta. The ichneumon also became a sacred animal of the lion-headed goddess Wadjet as a result of religious developments of the Late Period. | ||
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