Two-faced Anuket symbol
This wooden emblem of the goddess Anuket is a rather unique item and depicts the goddess with her famous ostrich feather headdress, with two depictions of the goddess on each side. She was the goddess of the First Cataract of the Nile and was associated with the Nubian region, she was worshipped at Elephantine. During the New Kingdom, Anuket’s cult at Elephantine included a river procession of the goddess during the first month of Shemu. Inscriptions mention the processional festival of Khnum and Anuket during this period.
Her eyes are lined, her face a similar shape to the cow-faced goddess Hathor. However, the feather headdress and inscription upon the base tell us who this goddess is. Ankuet’s name means the “clasper” or “embracer”.
Anuket was usually depicted as a woman with a headdress of either reed or ostrich feathers. She was usually depicted as holding a sceptre topped with an ankh, and her sacred animal was the gazelle. She was also shown suckling the pharaoh through the New Kingdom and became a goddess of lust in later years. In later periods, she was associated with the cowry, especially the shell, which resembled the vagina.
Musée du Louvre. N 3534
A temple dedicated to Anuket was erected on the Island of Seheil. Inscriptions show that a shrine or altar was dedicated to her at this site by the 13th Dynasty pharaoh Sobekhotep III. Much later, during the 18th Dynasty, Amenhotep II dedicated a chapel to the goddess.
Ceremonially, when the Nile started its annual flood, the Festival of Anuket began. People threw coins, gold, jewelry, and precious gifts into the river, in thanks to the goddess for the life-giving water and returning benefits derived from the wealth provided by her fertility. The taboo held in several parts of Egypt, against eating certain fish which were considered sacred, was lifted during this time, suggesting that a fish species of the Nile was a totem for Anuket and that they were consumed as part of the ritual of her major religious festival.
This painted wooden effigy of Anuket has a base is inscribed with an offering formula.
Height 275 mm, width 135 mm, depth 126 mm.
Musée du Louvre. N 3534
Summary:
Two-faced Anuket symbol made from painted tamarisk wood
New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 295-1186 B.C.
From Deir el-Medina.
Musée du Louvre. N 3534
