# Box for a Mummified Animal with Snake Figure

- By: Ancient Egyptian
- Date: Late Period–Ptolemaic Period (664–30 BCE)
- Medium: Copper alloy
- Classification: Sculpture
- Dimensions: 4.1 × 5 × 8.1 cm (1 5/8 × 2 × 3 3/16 in.)
- Culture: Egypt
- Credit line: Purchased with funds provided by Charles L. Hutchinson and Henry H. Getty
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/135993)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/6ea5abef-be8f-d4c7-f86f-8f57b15850be/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

A snake lies coiled in a figure-eight shape on top of this empty box designed to hold a mummified animal. Ancient Egyptians presented objects like this in temples as votive gifts to gods and goddesses, tailoring the enclosed mummified animal to one that had a specific connection with the deity whose favor was sought. Such a gift in a sacred space could help ensure that the prayer would be received. The hieroglyphic inscription on the front of this box names the worshiper who dedicated it and invokes Atum, a creator god whom the ancient Egyptians sometimes depicted in the form of a snake.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0