Bronze Statuette of Tutu

Statuette of Tutu
Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21/25, ca. 1070-664 BCE
Bronze, 22.2 x 16.5 x 3.6 cm (8 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 1 1/4 in.)
Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, and Robert H. Fleming,
Art Institute of Chicao #1894.257
Photo © Joan Ann Lansberry

(From _The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt_, by Richard Wilkinson, page 183)
Tutu
"A somewhat obscure apotropaic god venerated mainly in the Graeco-Roman Period, Tutu was called 'he who keeps enemies at a distance' and was believed to provide protection from hostile manifestations of deities and demons. The god was said to be the son of Neith, and was depicted in the form of a walking lion or as a composite deity with human head, the body of a lion, the wings of a bird and a tail which was a snake."

(From The Egyptian god Tutu: a study of the sphinx-god and master of demons with a corpus of monuments_, by Olaf E. Kaper)
"Tutu (Tithoes) was a popular god in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods of Egyptian history, with his origins in the earlier Egyptian religious tradition. The god provided protection against demons, and his appearance as a striding sphinx was often combined with symbols of his power and visual references to demons and other divinities. The god Tutu demonstrates the continuing vitality of the pharaonic religion under the pressure of foreign cultures and ideas."