Snake Head Amulet

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

PeriodLate Period - Ptolemaic Period

Date772 - 30 BCE

MediumWood, gilt

Credit LineGift of the Georges Ricard Foundation

Dimensions1 1/4 x 1/4 x 1/4 in. (3.2 x 0.6 x 0.6 cm)

Object number2018.010.1020

Label TextAncient Egyptians wore protective amulets to ward off evil forces. Amulets of household deities such as Bes and Taweret safeguarded women and children and were particularly helpful during childbirth. Amulets of female pigs endowed their wearer with fertility. Snake and snakehead amulets were worn to guard against poisonous snake bites.
Exhibition HistoryLife and the Afterlife: Ancient Egyptian Art from the Senusret Collection, Michael C. Carlos Museum, February 4 - August 6, 2023
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 17.

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.

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Not on view

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