Faience amulets: the Sons of
Horus
From Egypt
Perhaps early
Third Intermediate Period, 1079-800 BC
Protective deities for the
deceased
Many ancient Egyptian deities were concerned
with the protection of the deceased, but four are particularly
interesting. They are the
Sons of
Horus, whose existence dates back at least to
the Old Kingdom (about 2613-2160 BC). Over time each of the sons of
Horus, with their distinctive heads, became identified as
protecting one of the internal organs (viscera) removed from the
body during the
mummification
process. The stomach was protected by Duamutef (jackal), the liver
by Imsety (human), the lungs by Hapy (baboon), and the intestines
by Qebehsenuef (falcon). These items were placed in canopic jars,
and from the later New Kingdom (1550-1070 BC), the lids of the jars
often bore the heads of the four deities. The Museum has some
particularly fine examples, including the canopic jars of
Neskhons.
For a short
period in the Twenty-first Dynasty (about 1069-945 BC), it became
the custom to return the mummified viscera to the body. Around this
time
amulets
in the form of the four Sons of Horus begin to be placed with the
viscera inside the mummy. However, most examples in amulet form
date to much later, when they are sewn onto the bead nets that were
used to cover the
body.
This set of figures
is a particularly elaborate one, made of white faience with the
wigs and other details painted onto the body colour. There are
three recessed holes on the reverse for thread, so that they could
be sewn onto the bandages of the mummy.
F.D. Friedman (ed.), Gifts of the Nile: ancient Egy (London, Thames and Hudson, 1998)
C.A.R. Andrews, Egyptian mummies (London, The British Museum Press, 1984)