Literature

When attacked, a hedgehog rolls into a ball, presenting a mass of pointed spines to the predator, making the hedgehog an ideal apotropaic symbol. There is a Middle Kingdom faience rattle in the form of a hedgehog in the Brooklyn Museum acc. no. 59.186 that accords with this notion as rattles were used to ward off harmful forces such as snakes, scorpions, or malevolent spirits.

Hedgehogs with their practice of aestivation (desert hedgehogs descend underground in summer to avoid extreme heat) are connected to the idea of rebirth, as when they emerge weeks later they are “reborn” as if emerging from the underworld. For this reason, hedgehog figurines were often included in mummy wrappings.

For discussion of hedgehogs in ancient Egyptian art see V. von Droste zu Hülshoff, Der Igel im alten Ägypten, Hildesheimer Ägyptologische Beiträge, 11, Hildesheim, 1980. For other Middle Kingdom hedgehogs see R. S. Bianchi, in F. D. Friedman (ed.), Gifts of the Nile. Ancient Egyptian Faience, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, 1998, p. 220. See the National Museums Scotland acc. no. A.1965.244 and the Fitzwilliam, Cambridge acc. no.E.345.1954 for more figural examples.