This wall relief, lovingly carved from basalt and hand-painted by artisans in Egypt, features the god Anubis holding the crook and the flail and showing the staff of Ptah. Invite Anubis to grace your temple or ritual space with the sacred magic of the dead that the spirits may feel welcome!

One of the earliest deities of Egypt, the jackal-headed Anubis is the god of mummification, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld. Emblazoned upon royal tombs dating as far back as the First Dynasty of Egypt (c. 3150-2890 BCE), he is thought to have evolved in response to the wild dogs and jackals that would dig up freshly buried corpses during the Egyptian Predynastic Period (c. 6000-3150 BCE). Some have suggested that Anubis is more accurately associated with the wolf than the jackal. When Osiris was resurrected by Isis, he supplanted Anubis as lord of the Underworld, while the jackal god himself transitioned into the role of psychopomp. Akin to the Greek Hermes, Anubis ushered the souls of the dead into the afterlife, where their hearts would be weighed in order to decide whether that spirit deserved to enter the realms of the dead.

Materials: Basalt (volcanic stone)
Height: 14 inches
Width: 16 inches
Depth: 1 inches