A Bronze Reliquary for an Ichneumon Dedicated to the Egyptian Goddess Wadjet

Abstract

This is a short introduction to the hieroglyphic nature of ancient Egyptian material culture and its polyvalence using a bronze statuette of a lioness-headed goddess in front of an obelisk (formerly in the Omar Pasha Sultan Collection) as a case study. Because the lioness is not identified by an accompanying inscription, the essay demonstrates methods by which the identification and significance of the image can be unpacked.

Keywords

• cat
• heka
• ichneumon
• Leto
• lioness
• myth of the distant goddess