amulet
- Description
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Mould-made amulet in glazed composition, in the shape of a falcon standing on base, maybe associated with the god Horus; very stylized features and flat representation, with some rough incised details; suspension loop pierced widthways on back; light turquoise glaze, quite eroded; complete.
- Production date
- 6thC BC (?)
- Dimensions
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Height: 2 centimetres
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Width: 1.60 centimetres
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Depth: 0.60 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- Considering its context of discovery, it should be dated to the 26th dynasty. However, the registers of the Museum of Fine Arts tend to allocate the Scarab Factory as a findspot for not only scarabs, scaraboids and their moulds, but also all types of amulets from Naukratis. Caution is therefore required for the dating and the findspot. Let's note that the records written (or at least supervised) by Amelia Edwards mention the Scarab Factory as the findspot too.
Falcons are often associated with Horus, though various deities and the pharaoh himself can assume a falcon form (Davies, Smith 2005, 54); the identification of the deity represented is even harder in the case of amulets (Andrews 1994, 27-28; on various types of falcon amulets: Herrmann et al. 2010, 103-104).
Numerous amulets of falcons, made out of bronze, glazed composition, stone and Egyptian blue, were discovered in Naukratis (Masson forthcoming).
Andrews, C.A.R. 1994, Amulets of Ancient Egypt, London.
Davies, S., Smith, H.S. 2005, The sacred animal necropolis at North Saqqara: the falcon complex and catacomb (Egypt Exploration Society Memoirs 73), London.
Herrmann, C., Staubli, T., Berger-Lober, S., Keel, O., Schönbächler, G. 2010, 1001 Amulett : altägyptischer Zauber, monotheisierte Talismane, säkulare Magie, Bibel+Orient-Museum, Liebefeld, Stuttgart.
Masson, A. forthcoming, ‘Naukratis: Egyptian offerings in context’, in M. Bergeron and A. Masson (eds), Naukratis in Context II: Cults, Sanctuaries and Offerings. Proceedings of the Second Naukratis Project Workshop held at the British Museum, 22nd – 23rd June 2013.
- Location
- Not on display
- Condition
- Fair
- Acquisition date
- 1886
- Department
- External
- Additional IDs
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Miscellaneous number: Eg.Inv.3904 (Egyptian inventory number)
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Miscellaneous number: P.5273 (Pottery & Porcelain Ledger No.)
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Miscellaneous number: RES.86.328 (Accession Number)
