Paul Spooner has returned to Anubis for a limited edition of automata for the first time since 2008. The profits will go towards our Mechanical Making Space Fundraiser.

“Anubis invented many useful things that others have taken credit for; the Helicopter, Gunpowder, the Flying Shuttle, the Pressure Cooker and the Wax Thermostat to name only a few. Because He exists outside Time He is able to intervene in human affairs unobserved, giving the likes of da Vinci, Papin, Kay and Vernet boosts to their self esteem at low points in their careers. (The origins of gunpowder are unknown but it’s possible that it came about spontaneously somewhere in China).

The only discovery Anubis would not share with anyone else is His Discovery of Life. Better known for His work with the Dead, it’s fair to say that recognising the first stirrings of Life in a blob of mud in the Nile Delta was the greater achievement.

In this crude model, we are reminded of the moment when He intuited that mineral had become animal when He observed that for every two jabs of His heqa, the blob rose up and subsided exactly once. This thing could count!

Glossary: Heqa – the hook-shaped sceptre held by pharaohs, usually paired with a flail or Nekhakha.

The model is crafted from the remains of an architect’s drawing table, lime wood, oak, brass, stainless steel grade 314, aluminium and ostrich neck leather.” P. Spooner

Date: 17.11.25

Edition of 10

Height: 20 cm
Width: 11.5cm (15.5cm inc. handle)
Depth: 6 cm