The Shape of a God

A Graphic Variant of Duau’s Emblem

Abstract

This note examines an unusual rendering of the emblem of the little-attested god Duau in the 11th Dynasty inscription of vizier Amenemhat at Wadi Hammamat. The oblong, empty-filled sign is here suggested to be connected to Duau’s association with the city of ꜥAyn, a toponym written with a similar oblong sign enclosing either an eye or a fish.