Skip to Main Content
110/116
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.

95-Amulets

Title Isis Knot
Era Egyptian, Late Period
Medium Wood, gilt
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.1018
Title Heart-amulet
Era Egyptian, Late Period
Medium Wood, gilt
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.1019
Title Djed-Pillar
Era Egyptian, Late Period
Medium Faience
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.196
Title Natural scarab
Era Egyptian, Late Period
Medium Faience
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.1031
Title Two Fingers Amulet
Era Egyptian, Late Period
Medium Gabbro, gilt
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.995
Title Two Fingers Amulet
Era Egyptian, Late Period
Medium Gabbro-peridotite
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.1008
Title Shu Amulet
Era Egyptian, Late Period, Dynasty 26
Medium Faience
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.980
Title Wepwawet Amulet
Era Egyptian, Third Intermediate Period – Late Period
Medium Bronze
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.955
Title Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle
Era Egyptian, Dynasty 25, Third Intermediate Period
Medium Quartzite or sandstone with hematite staining
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.1010
Title Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess
Era Egyptian, Late Period
Medium Faience
Credit Gift of the Georges Ricard Foundation. 2018.10.572

In ancient Egypt, amulets of animals, deities, and symbols were placed on the mummy or inserted in the mummy bandages to aid and protect the deceased. Certain funerary amulets were associated with parts of the mummified body.1 The Isis knot, when placed on the throat, protected the body (from left to right). Multiple heart amulets were laid on the upper body. The Djed-pillar amulet stabilized the throat and lower torso. Scarabs promised resurrection and were placed on the throat, chest, and stomach. The “Two-Fingers” amulet, which represents Osiris’s index and middle fingers, was positioned over the evisceration incision on the body. Amulets depicting the god of air Shu and the deity Wepwawet, “the Opener of the Ways,” were positioned on the lower body.2 Amulets of female sphinxes and lion-headed goddesses brought the protective power and ferocity of big cats.3

MH

  1. . ↩︎

  2. . ↩︎

  3. . ↩︎

Bibliography

Andrews 1994
Andrews, Carol. 1994. Amulets of ancient Egypt. London: The British Museum Press.
Petrie 1914
Petrie, W. M. Flinders. 1914. Amulets. London: Constable & Co. Ltd.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
Group shot of Amulets
From bottom-left: Isis Knot, Heart-amulet, Djed-Pillar, Natural scarab, Two Fingers Amulet, Two Fingers Amulet. From upper-left: Shu Amulet, Wepwawet Amulet, Sphinx Amulet with Nubian Hairstyle, Amulet of Lion-Headed Goddess.
of