Statuette of Taweret
Egyptian Late Period, 760–332 B.C.E.
Faience, H x W x : 12.5 x 3.75 x 3.5 cm (4 15/16 x 1 1/2 x 1 3/8 in.)
Gift of Horace L. Mayer 1964, MFA #64.2252
"Taweret (Egyptian 'the great [female] one'), along with her counterparts, is attested since Old Kingdom times. She is the most commonly encountered form of the Egyptian hippopotamus goddesses and ha[s] a number of mythological associations. [...] Taweret appears to have been one of the most popular of Egyptian household deities." (Wilkinson, _Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt_, page 186) "Protector of women in childbirth, she holds before her the hieroglyphic sign for sa, 'protection'. (From info card)
Photos ©Joan Ann Lansberry, 2014
http://www.joanannlansberry.com/fotoart/mfa/tawr-mfa.html