amulet-mould
- Museum number
- 1920,0417.6
- Description
-
Terracotta amulet-mould:, made of dirty grey-brown micaceous Nile silt fabric; with rounded back, roughly shaped; motif in the shape of wedjat-eye in form of a bulla with reeded suspension loop modelled in one piece with the top of the amulet; probably cut directly into the mould and not impressed from a master; no visible remain of paste/glaze inside mould.
- Production date
- 600 BC-570 BC (mainly)
- Dimensions
-
Diameter: 3.90 - 4.50 centimetres (mould)
-
Height: 2.80 centimetres (impression)
-
Thickness: 2.30 centimetres (mould)
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Width: 1.70 centimetres (impression)
- Curator's comments
-
Petrie's drawing (Petrie 1886, 37, pl. XXXVIII, 16) might be a simplified version of the same type: same overall design, but details are different, probably due to Petrie's desire to regularise the original. He refers also in his text to two moulds 'for eye bullae' (Petrie 1886, 37).
Probably cut directly into mould with a point, rather than impressed from a master.
-
In addition to glazed composition scarabs and scaraboids, the ‘Scarab Factory’ at Naukratis was also producing amulets (on the various productions from the Scarab Factory see Webb, forthcoming; see also Gorton 1996, 177-180, fig. 35). Petrie listed a number of amulet-moulds including a similar type of this piece (Petrie 1886, 37, pl. XXXVIII, 16).
Several similar moulds used to produced wedjat-eye in bulla form were discovered in Naukratis: BM 1920,0417.7, Oxford Ashmolean Museum AN1888.216.10, Oxford Ashmolean Museum AN1896-1908-E.4572 and Boston, Museum of Fine Arts 11.45969. Details of modelling are especially close to BM 1920,0417.7 but not identical.
Gorton, A. F. 1996, Egyptian and Egyptianizing scarabs: a typology of steatite, faience and paste scarabs from Punic and other Mediterranean sites, Oxford.
Petrie, W. M. F. 1886, Naukratis. Part I, 1884-5 (Third Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund), London.
Webb, V. forthcoming, Faience finds from Naukratis and their implications for dating, in R. Thomas (ed.), The Naukratis workshop, held at the British Museum 16th – 17th December 2011.
- Location
- Not on display
- Condition
- Fair
- Acquisition date
- 1880
- Department
- Greek and Roman
- Registration number
- 1920,0417.6