Walters Art Museum (Egyptian) · figurine

Neheb-kau

Source of record: Walters Art Museum (Egyptian) — catalogued by the holding institution. View the original record →

Description

<p>The serpent-god Neheb-kau was one of 42 "judges" the deceased encountered in the underworld, according to the funerary text known as "The Book of the Dead." Neheb-kau, identified with invincible living power, provided nourishment to the dead; he was also identified as a manifestation of the creator god Atum. This representation has a human body with a serpent head and tail. The knees are flexed, and the hands at the mouth.</p><p>For the latest information about this object, <cite><a href='https://purl.thewalters.org/art/48.1615' rel='external'>Neheb-kau</a></cite>, visit the Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum.</p>

AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano

Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.

A small Egyptian faience figurine/amulet showing a stylized kneeling or standing figure rendered in pale green glaze.

The object appears as a small, three-dimensional faience piece with a pale green surface and lighter white/cream lines that may indicate carved or molded details. The figure has a raised arm and a distinct head/torso silhouette; one hand is positioned near the upper body while another portion extends downward. A drilled hole passes through the upper area near the head, suggesting suspension as an amulet or part of a small object. The lower base is flat and slightly thick, consistent with amulet production. No clearly legible hieroglyphs, cartouches, or inscriptions are visible at this resolution. No Greek/Coptic/Arabic text is apparent.

decorative unknown good
Deities unknown
Materials Egyptian faience with pale green glaze

Connections

Deities Atum

Cross-references (2)

  • Walters-AccNum 48.1615 tier-2
  • Walters-id 19900 tier-2
About this record's data
  • From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Walters Art Museum (Egyptian).
  • AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
  • Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
  • Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.