Statuette of Tutankhamun the Harpooner

A gilded, wooden statuette of King Tutankhamun stands on a wooden boat that is painted to represent a papyrus boat.

Its details are picked out in gold leaf. The king, wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt, holds a harpoon poised to strike an unseen enemy.

According to the myth of Osiris and Isis, the king here represents their son, Horus, who avenged his father, Osiris.

His adversary, Seth, often portrayed as a hippopotamus or crocodile, is not depicted, as he is a potentially harmful image.

The figure of the king holds a bronze coiled chain to bind the animal, representing Seth, after spearing it.

The statue was found wrapped in linen in a varnish-blackened chest