Wood Carving of Amun-Ra

Item Details

A wood carving of the Egyptian diety Amun-Ra by APM Company Ltd. in Thailand. This piece presents a two-headed ram finished in dark blue with light orange and red horns and goatees. The work is inscribed with the artist’s signature to the underside, with the maker’s label.

The four-headed ram representation of Egyptian diety Amun-Ra is a common figure on ancient Egyptian hypocephali—hieroglyphic linen or papyrus discs placed beneath the heads of the dead and believed to protect the body in the afterlife. The two-headed representation of Amun-Ra, however, is far less common. Perhaps most famously, the two-headed Amun-Ra figure was represented in the controversial hypocephalus owned by Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saints movement, and subsequently represented in Smith’s Book of Abraham. Although images of the two-headed Amun-Re are said to have been discovered in ancient Egyptian remains, the debate over proper representation of this deity in ram form continues.

Condition

- minor marks, scratches and nicks throughout sculpture.

Dimensions

Item #

18IND051-142