It is a box, made to hold a mummified shrew.

It is from Egypt but the exact location is unknown.

The ancient Egyptians worshipped shrews and ichneumons as sacred animals, from about 3,500 years ago. The shrew was sacred to the cobra-goddess Uatchet and the shrew-goddess Buto. The ichneumon was linked to the god Atum. Both animals were mummified as offerings to the gods. This shrine or coffin would have held a mummified shrew, with the figure of a shrew on the top. This type of offering probably dates from the Late or Ptolemaic Periods (from about 747 BCE onwards).

 

It is a box, made to hold a mummified shrew. It is made from a copper alloy. We do not know how old this object is, but it was probably made at most 2,700 years ago, during the Late or Ptolemaic Periods (about 747-30 BCE).