Wooden statuette of a woman holding metal snakes
Dynasty XIII (1786-1633 BCE)
The combination of snake wands and the lioness head is seen in a wooden statuette of woman with movable arms found in 1896 by James Edward Quibell in a cache of magical objects in a tomb dating to Dynasty XIII (1786-1633 BCE) discovered under the Ramesseum, the mortuary temple of Ramesses II (1290-1224 BCE), at Thebes. The statuette, which holds a metal snake-wand in each hand, is thought to represent a female sau, a type of magician, who could supply magical protection (the Egyptian verb sa means "to protect") both by making charms and amulets, and by using spoken and written charms.