ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art
Isis Amulet
Place CreatedEgypt, Africa
CultureEgyptian
PeriodLate Period
Date722-332 BCE
MediumWood, gilt
Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation
Dimensions1 1/4 x 9/16 x 1/4 in. (3.2 x 1.5 x 0.7 cm)
Object number2018.010.1018
Label TextIn ancient Egypt, amulets of animals, deities, and symbols were placed on the mummy or inserted in the mummy bandages to aid and protect the deceased. Certain funerary amulets were associated with parts of the mummified body. The Isis knot, when placed on the throat, protected the body (from left to right). Multiple heart amulets were laid on the upper body. The Djed-pillar amulet stabilized the throat and lower torso. Scarabs promised resurrection and were placed on the throat, chest, and stomach. The “Two-Fingers” amulet, which represents Osiris’s index and middle fingers, was positioned over the evisceration incision on the body. Amulets depicting the god of air Shu and the deity Wepwawet, “the Opener of the Ways,” were positioned on the lower body. Amulets of female sphinxes and lion-headed goddesses brought the protective power and ferocity of big cats.Exhibition HistoryLife and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 4 - August 6, 2023
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, June 5, 2024 - Present
Published ReferencesHotel des Ventes du Prado, Marseille, Monnaies - Archeologie Objets de Fouilles (31 Mars 1973), lot 132 (part).
Melinda K. Hartwig, ed., Life and The Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2023), catalogue entry 95.
ProvenancePurchased by Georges Ricard (1921-2012) from Hotel des Ventes du Prado, Marseille, France, March 31, 1973, lot 132 (part). Ex coll. Musée de l'Égypte et le Monde Antique, Collection Sanousrit, Monaco, 1975-1982. Ex coll. Georges Ricard Foundation, Santa Barbara, California.
Status
On viewCollections
- Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art
664-343 BCE
722-332 BCE
ca. 722-655 BCE
1076-332 BCE
722-332 BCE
722-332 BCE
664-525 BCE
772 - 30 BCE
1076-332 BCE
1980-1760 BCE