Magic Wand

Ivory wands or knives such as this are found in tombs in the Middle Kingdom but may have been used in life as well. They are decorated with images of protective deities, and it has been suggested that they were used to draw a line in the sand around where someone was sleeping to ward off snakes and other harmful creatures.|

They are usually made from the incisors of hippopotami, and the shape follows the curve of the tooth. This example has a tip carved from the shape of a fox's face, and the ivory has been colored black. The wands would have served to protect the dead as well as the sleeping and appear to have often been ritually broken at the time of burial.