ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art
Son of Horus Amulet, Qebehsenuef
AAT Object Form/Functionamulets
AAT Object Form/Functionstatuettes (free-standing sculpture)
(not assigned)Egypt
CultureEgyptian
PeriodLate Period, Dynasty 26
Date664-525 BCE
MediumFaience, gold
Credit LineGift of the Michael C. Carlos Museum Egyptian Tour January 2007
Dimensions1 7/8 x 1/2 x 5/8 in. (4.8 x 1.3 x 1.6 cm)
Object number2007.015.003
Label TextSome amulets, such as the Carlos Museum's set of Anubis and the sons of Horus (see objects 2007.015.001-006), were produced strictly for funerary contexts and were therefore made in the forms of deities who protected mummified remains. Anubis, the jackal-headed god, oversaw the process of mummification (2007.015.005, 2007.015.006). According to Spell 17 of the Book of the Dead, Anubis sent spirits to protect the deceased. The four sons of Horus were some of these spirits, and they protected the internal organs, which were removed during the mummification process. Imsety was typically depicted with a human head and protected the liver (2007.015.001). The baboon-headed Hapy protected the lungs (2007.015.002). Duamutef protected the stomach and was usually depicted with the head of a jackal (2007.015.004). Qebehsenuef, depicted with the head of a falcon, protected the intestines (2007.015.003).Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, 2009 - January 2011
Monsters, Demons & Winged Beasts: Composite Creatures in the Ancient World, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 5 - June 19, 2011
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, June 20, 2011 - Present
Published ReferencesRoyal-Athena Galleries, Art of the Ancient World V, Part II (1988), 22, numbers 104-109.
ProvenanceWith Jerome Eisenberg (1930-2022) [Royal-Athena Galleries], New York, New York, 1988. Purchased by MCCM from Sue McGovern-Huffman [Sands of Time Antiquities], Washington, DC.
Status
On viewCollections
- Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art
664-525 BCE
664-525 BCE
664-525 BCE
664-525 BCE
664-525 BCE
1539-1479 BCE
282-246 BCE
305-30 BCE
1539-1077 BCE
305-30 BCE
1076-746 BCE
664-525 BCE