Ritual Royal Figure, 30th Dynasty

Wooden Ritual Royal Figure
Dynasty 30 (380-343 BCE) - perhaps early 3rd century BCE
Purchase, Anne and John V. Hansen Egyptian Purchase Fund and Magda Saleh and Jack Josephson Gift, 2003 (2003.154)

From info card:
"The fluid posture of this extraordinary wood-carving evokes a stately performance. Egyptian relief representations depict figures like this as part of troupe of mythical spirits with humans bodies and falcom or jackal heads who strike their chests to sound a rhythmic acclamation called henu in ancient Egyptian."

The jubilation pose is called 'henu'
(This illustration Wilkinson, _Reading Egyptian Art_)

"The animal headed figures can be indentified as the 'souls of Pe and Nekhen' (ancient cities in Lower and Upper Egypt). The meaning of the human headed figure wearing the regalia of a pharaoh that occasionally accompanies the animal headed 'souls' is not completely clear. For some scholars figures as the one seen here actually represent a particular king, such as Nectanebo I or II. Others understand them as mythical beings that introduce royal aspects into the ritual. Whatever its exact meaning this wooden masterpiece was certainly part of a temple's imagery.

"Rather than the traditional rearing uraeus cobra, the figure carries a triangular-headed serpent over its forehead. This emblem is found on a restricted number of royal images from the time span of this figure, but its meaning remains obscure."

The Met museum has an example of these animal headed figures:

Soul of Nekhen, 12th Dyn.