© Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. Photo by Peter Harholdt.

ClassificationsAncient Egyptian Art

Udjat Eye Amulet

Place CreatedEgypt, Africa

CultureEgyptian

PeriodNew Kingdom or later

Dateafter 1539 BCE

MediumFaience

Credit LineAnonymous gift

Dimensions11/16 x 13/16 in. (1.7 x 2 cm)

Object number2001.010.001

Label TextAmulets in faience were produced in great multiples for burials. The faience was formed in open-faced pottery molds and, when dry, removed and fired. The transformation of the powdery white raw material into the glistening, bright blue faience must have made the charm seem even more magical.

The udjat eye, or the eye of Horus, was one of the most potent of all Egyptian symbols. It represents the eye of the falcon-headed god who lost it fighting to avenge the death of his father, Osiris. According to the myth, the eye was magically healed by the god Thoth, and so came to be associated with miraculous restorative power.
Exhibition HistoryMCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, September 2001 - March 30, 2015
Published ReferencesPeter Lacovara and Betsy Teasley Trope, The Realm of Osiris (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2001), 60.

ProvenanceEx private collection, United States.

Status

Not on view

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