Standard of Selket

This bronze figure of a scorpion goddess, either Selket or Hededet, bears a small circular mark on its bottom indicating that it once was likely affixed to the top of a pole as a standard or decorative element. This rather strange form of the scorpion goddess, with a scorpion's body and woman's head is a late incarnation of her iconography. In the pharonic period, Selket in particular is more commonly represented as a woman with a scorpion on her head. Selket and another scorpion goddess Hededet are often invoked in spells to protect against the dangerous bites of venomous creatures native to Egypt such as scorpions and snakes. However, Selket is more commonly found as one of the four goddesses associated with the protection of the dead. She often appears in funerary contexts, along with Isis, Nepthys, and Neith as a guard of the corpse or the organs of the deceased. It is unclear which goddess is represented in this bonze and therefore it is unclear what role such a standard might have played in ancient Egypt. However, it is likely that such a pole with an embellished top may be carried as part of a ritual procession or other ritual act.