Rearing Snake on a Coffin

mid 7th-late 6th century BCE · Sculpture

May one see it?

Not receiving at present

Harvard Art Museums

Cambridge, United States

It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.

Checked: 3 days ago
In this state since: Sep 27, 2026
Source: The museum

On the map Museum page

About the sculpture

Snake figurines were often cast on top of small rectangular containers that are reminiscent of coffins for sacred snakes (1). They are, however, too small for an entire animal to be held, and no remains have been discovered in them. It is possible that only the head would have been enshrined. The snake figurine most commonly takes a figure-eight pose with its head resting opposite from its tail, as in 1920.44.287 (2). The head and body markings are rendered by incised lines. This example also has two opposing loops for suspension on the corners of the container. An inscription engraved in two registers on front of the container reads, “Atum give life to X-Osiris, son of Psamtik” (3). The name Psamtik occurs in Dynasty 26, placing this work among the earliest of the Egyptian bronzes in the collection.

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The god Atum, the creator god of Heliopolis, is associated with serpents (4), and the small bronze may have served an amuletic or votive (5). The protective function of these snake figurines is highlighted in the second Harvard piece, 1920.44.305, where the flared hood of the rearing snake figure signals its venomous nature. A diagonal strut supports the raised head. One suspension loop is preserved on the front right corner.

NOTES:

1. G. Roeder, Ägyptische Bronzefiguren, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Mitteilungen aus der Ägyptischen Sammlung 6 (Berlin, 1956) 385-86. Compare an example published in J. F. Aubert and L. Aubert, eds., Bronzes et or Egyptiens (Paris, 2001) 390, pl. 48 bottom, dated to the Ptolemaic to Roman periods. See J. Thum, Creatures Compartmentalised: Establishing a Typology for the Ancient Egyptian Bronze ‘Reliquaries’ in the British Museum, London (MPhil. thesis, University of Oxford, 2012) for a recent overview of this type of artifact, its context, and its uses.

2. See Thum 2012 (supra 1) 37-38.

3. Inscription translated by J. Baines.

4. K. Myśliwiec, Studien zum Gott Atum 1: Die heiligen Tiere des Atum, Hildesheimer Ägyptologische Beiträge 5 (Hildesheim, 1978).

5. Thum 2012 (supra 1) 91-93.

Marian Feldman

Harvard Art Museums