Sale: CNG 81, Lot: 1428. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2009.  Sold For $230. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Bronze hybrid figure. Egyptian, Ptolemaic to Roman Period, circa 305 BC-1st century AD. Figure with the jackal head of Anubis wearing the Atef crown of Osiris, his upper body human, his lower body in the form of a snake. Height: 5.7 cm. Good condition, mottled red, green, and brown patina. Right arm broken off, minor damage to crown. A rare and interesting specimen.

The snake form of the lower body may associate this figure with Apep. Apep was the god of chaos and darkness, who was defeated each night by Ra, god of the sun, who ushered in the sunrise. As representations of him were powerful in their own right, aspects of other deities needed to be incorporated into images of Apep, thereby acting as a balance to his negative influence. The right arm, originally extended, may have held an attribute of yet another deity.