The Crook and Flail
The crossed crook (heka) and flail (nekhakha) carried by Osiris as emblems of royal authority and of the shepherd's care for his flock, laid crossed over royal mummies in their coffins. Temple reliefs show the living pharaoh handing the pair to the god of the dead and receiving it back, and gilt and blue-faience examples were buried with kings such as Tutankhamun, whose tomb yielded several full sets. The crook descends from the shepherd's staff and the flail from the winnowing fan or cattle prod, and together they fix the enthroned image of Osiris that endured for three thousand years. In the