PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C.

The partially-preserved inscription around the base reads: "“Anubis of Ra-Kereret(?), Hep(?)-wer-Aset-Usir (?), Justified, engendered by the Lady of the House Di(?)-Kh(?)…” Ra-Kereret is the name of the necropolis of Asyut, a place especially linked with the worship of Anubis (see A.H. Gardiner, Ancient Egyptian Onomastica II, pp. 73-4; T. DuQuesne, The Jackal Divinities of Egypt I, p. 174, 371). The inscription on either side of the figure and to the rear appear to be carved into the bronze whereas the frontal inscription is cast. This variation suggests that the carved inscriptions were added at a later date, perhaps by a less literate hand or the owner of this Anubis.

Bernard V. Bothmer was one of the twentieth century's most distinguished Egyptologists and a curator at the Brooklyn Museum. His lasting contribution to the field was the study of the Late Period. This Anubis was formerly in the collection of John Dimick, a former C.I.A. agent turned archaeologist who helped discover the Embalming House of ancient Memphis.