ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Magic Wand

(not assigned)Egypt

Date1980-1760 BCE

Credit LinePurchased by the friends, colleagues, and students of Dr. Peter Lacovara in recognition of his 10th anniversary at the Michael C. Carlos Museum

Dimensions13 3/8 x 2 1/4 in. (34 x 5.7 cm)

Object number2008.055.001

Label TextIvory wands or knives such as this are found in tombs in the Middle Kingdom but may have been used in life as well. They are decorated with images of protective deities, and it has been suggested that they were used to draw a line in the sand around where someone was sleeping to ward off snakes and other harmful creatures.|

They are usually made from the incisors of hippopotami, and the shape follows the curve of the tooth. This example has a tip carved from the shape of a fox's face, and the ivory has been colored black. The wands would have served to protect the dead as well as the sleeping and appear to have often been ritually broken at the time of burial.

Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Gallery, 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 - July 2012
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, May 14, 2013 - Present

ProvenanceWith Khawan Brothers, Paris, France, from 1960. Purchased by Rupert Wace Ancient Art, Ltd., London, England, from Khawan et Cie, Paris, France, 2008. Purchased by MCCM from Rupert Wace.

Status

On view

Collections