This small figurine of a bird probably represents the deity Bennu, who had connections with the sun, creation, and rebirth in Egyptian mythology. He was said to be self-created, and to have aided Atum in the creation of the world. He was also thought to represent the ‘ba’ (an Egyptian concept which is often translated as ‘soul’ but in reality had a more complex meaning; similar to our ‘personality’ in that it was everything that made an individual unique, it was also an aspect of a person which the Egyptians believed continued living after the body died) of the god Ra. In the New Kingdom, artwork represents Bennu as a grey heron with a double-feathered crest and a long beak. Archaeologists have found remains in the Arabian Peninsula of a now-extinct type of heron which would have stood at up to 2 metres tall. This creature has been named the Bennu heron because of the possibility that it may have been the real-life inspiration for the deity.

The feet of this bird are joined together into one support for its body to rest on. The wings are tucked into its sides and represented only by incised lines. Its long neck is tilted backwards, and the crest emerging from the back of its head is connected to its back at the other end. The pointed beak is closed, and its eyes are represented by small incised ovals. Traces of red colouring remain on its feet and back.