The WAS SCEPTRE (was)
Appearance: The was sceptre is a straight staff with a forked base and topped with an angled transverse section. The top of the staff was often shaped as the head of some fantastic creature, perhaps the bennu bird.
Originally, the was sceptre may have been a fetish associated with the spirit of a sacred animal, or perhaps it was simply a herdsman's staff.
Meaning: The was sceptre was a visual representation of the concept of "power" or "dominion." Naturally, its earliest depictions in Egyptian art found it in the hands of the gods and goddesses. The sceptre was often also carried by the pharaohs. In later periods, it was sometimes shown in the mortuary portraits of private persons. To the right, a harp player performs for the god Horus who is seated inside a shrine. The shrine's roof is upheld by was sceptres.
Variations on the was sceptre were found in the hands of Osiris and Ptah. In their hands, the was sceptre was combined with the ankh and djed.