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Lot Essay
Described as "a somewhat obscure apotropaic god venerated mainly in the Greco-Roman Period, the Egyptian deity Tutu was referred to as 'he who keeps enemies at a distance' and was believed to provide protection from hostile manifestations of deities and demons." (see p. 183 in R. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt). Originally depicted as a human figure with an elaborate crown studded with animal heads, Tutu's iconography transformed into that of a sphinx in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.
The present example depicts the god as such, in which he wears a royal nemes with a uraeus, and crown of ram's horns, ostrich plumes, uraei, and a sun-disk. A lion's head at the back of the headdress is surmounted by an ibis, adding to the complex zoomorphic imagery. The tip of his tail transforms into a cobra, and another winds through his feet. A winged sun-disk and an inscribed plaque are partially preserved. The Egyptologist, B. Bothmer describes this plaque as an "ex voto," which would have been a gift to a god and deposited in a temple precinct in order to obtain divine favor or give thanks for benefits received. As seen here with the perforations at the corners of this example, votive plaques were provided with a means for suspension (see Egyptian Sculpture of the Late Period, p. 181).
The present example depicts the god as such, in which he wears a royal nemes with a uraeus, and crown of ram's horns, ostrich plumes, uraei, and a sun-disk. A lion's head at the back of the headdress is surmounted by an ibis, adding to the complex zoomorphic imagery. The tip of his tail transforms into a cobra, and another winds through his feet. A winged sun-disk and an inscribed plaque are partially preserved. The Egyptologist, B. Bothmer describes this plaque as an "ex voto," which would have been a gift to a god and deposited in a temple precinct in order to obtain divine favor or give thanks for benefits received. As seen here with the perforations at the corners of this example, votive plaques were provided with a means for suspension (see Egyptian Sculpture of the Late Period, p. 181).