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H.R Giger's Black Room, Egyptian Burial chamber, on the third floor of his parents' house at Storchengrasse 17, Chur, 1958 (source, WWW.HRGIGER.COM (book) p9) |
H.R.Giger in his Black Room, Egyptian Burial chamber, 1957 (source: Giger's Necronomicon p12) |
On the walls in various tombs, depictions of various deities and pharoahs carrying the Was-Sceptre
wall carving of Horus holding was-sceptre from the Dendera temple complex |
Horus carrying a was-sceptre from the tomb of Nefertar |
Whether it is or not, we can find Giger's painting on the wall of his Black Room of Ra carrying a was-sceptre so we know he was familiar with the idea of this object. What is more, intended for the film premier he created design for a staff that bore the head of the alien on the tip similar to the head of a was-sceptre, based on an idea from Mia Bonzanigo.
My attention to the question about the alien head being inspired by the form of a Was-sceptre came from a post by "Batchpool" at Prometheus-movie.com who on September 7th 2012 presented the a photo of a sculpture of Ptah holding a was-sceptre which I managed to see 3 days later. (This statue of Ptah has been thought to be the inspiration for the Oscar awards statue)
statue of Ptah holding a was-sceptre |
detail of head from Necronom IV |
- The was (wahz) ("power, dominion") sceptre is a symbol that appeared often in relics, art, and hieroglyphics associated with the ancient Egyptian religion. It appears as a a stylized animal head at the top of a long, straight staff with a forked end.
Was sceptres were used as symbols of power or dominion, and were
associated with the gods (such as Set or Anubis)[1] as well as with the pharaoh. Was sceptres also represent the Typhonic beast or Set-animal (the mascot of the Egyptian god Set). In later use, it was a symbol of control over the force of chaos that Set represented.detail of was-sceptre head
In a funerary context the was sceptre was responsible for the well-being of the deceased, and was thus sometimes included in the tomb equipment or in the decoration of the tomb or coffin. The sceptre is also considered an amulet. The Egyptians perceived the sky as being supported on four pillars, which could have the shape of was sceptres. The was sceptre is also the symbol of the fourth Upper Egyptian nome, the nome of Thebes (called Waset in Egyptian).[2]
Was sceptres were depicted as being carried by gods, pharaohs, and priests. They commonly occur in paintings, drawings, and carvings of gods, and often parallel with emblems such as the ankh and the djed-pillar. Remnants of real was sceptres have been found, constructed of faience or wood, where the head and forked tail of the Set-animal are visible, with the earliest examples dating back to the times of the first dynasty.
The was is also the Egyptian hieroglyphic character that stands for a word meaning power. (Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Was)
Giger's design for silver Alien walking stick walking stick, for Premier in Hollywood (work 405, Giger's Alien) |
A was sceptre from Kmt. (source :egyptsearchreloaded) |
was-sceptre(source: ancientegyptonline) |
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