Image Details

The British Museum

Tawaret: Part pregnant hippopotamus and part lioness, Tawaret was revered as a domestic deity, sharing some of Bes’s functions (and thought to be his wife), especially in protecting women and children. In this 4-inch-high, rock crystal figurine, from the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.), she is shown supported by the knot-shaped hieroglyph sa, meaning “protection.”