Anubis amulet

MU521 is a small green faience amulet that depicts the god Anubis. The god is represented in its therioanthropic form as a jackal-headed human. The ears, eyes and snout of the jackal can be clearly observed. The deity is depicted wearing a lappet wig and a short kilt. Anubis is portrayed in a striding position with his left leg slightly forward and his arms by his sides. The figure stands on a plinth with a back-pillar which has been laterally pierced just below the upper arms allowing the amulet to be suspended and worn. In Egyptian mythology, Anubis was the god of embalming and the guardian of transitional zones. Anubis plays the important role of accompanying the deceased on the perilous journey from the end of life to the point of entering the afterlife. This includes mummification and the trial of the ‘Weighing of the Heart’ ceremony depicted in Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead. In the myth of Osiris, Anubis played this role for Osiris himself when he entered the afterlife and in some versions of the myth, Anubis is the son of Nephthys and Seth. For these reasons Anubis was an important protector of the dead.