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Egyptian Antiquities :
Egyptian Amulets : Egyptian Faience Amulet of Thoth
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Egyptian Faience Amulet of Thoth - X.0324
Origin: Egypt
Circa: 664
BC
to 525
BC
Dimensions:
1.89" (4.8cm) high
x 0.43" (1.1cm) wide
x 0.71" (1.8cm) depth
Collection: Egyptian
Medium: Faience
Additional Information: HK / K / SOLD
£6,000.00
Location: Great Britain
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| Description |
The 26th Dynasty, also known as the
Saite
Period, is traditionally placed by
scholars at the
end of the Third Intermediate Period
or at the
beginning of the Late Dynastic Period.
In either
case, the Saite Period rose from the
ashes of a
decentralized Egyptian state that had
been
ravaged by foreign occupation.
Supported by the
assistance of a powerful family
centered in the
Delta town of Sais, the Assyrians
finally drove
the Nubians out of Egypt. At the close
of this
campaign, Ashurbanipal’s kingdom was
at the
height of its power; however, due to
civil strife
back east, he was forced to withdraw
his forces
from Egypt. Psamtik I, a member of the
family
from Sais, seized this opportunity to
assert his
authority over the entire Nile Valley
and found
his own dynasty, the 26th of Egyptian
history.
Known as the Saite Period due to the
importance
of the capital city Sais, the 26th
Dynasty, like
many before it, sought to emulate the
artistic
styles of past pharaoh in order to
bolster their
own claims to power and legitimize
their
authority.
Faience, which dates back to
predynastic times,
at least 5,000 years, is a glasslike
non-clay
substance made of materials common to
Egypt:
ground quartz, crushed quartz pebbles,
flint, a
soluble salt-like baking soda, lime
and ground
copper, which provided the
characteristic color.
The dried objects went into kilns
looking pale
and colorless but emerged a sparkling
"Egyptian
blue." Called tjehnet by the Ancient
Egyptians,
meaning that which is brilliant or
scintillating,
faience was thought to be filled with
the undying
light of the sun, moon and stars and
was
symbolic of rebirth. Ancient Egyptians
believed
the small blue-green objects helped
prepare
them for eternity in the afterlife.
The first examples of amulets appeared
in
Ancient Egypt as early as 4000 B.C.
Believed to
possess magical powers that protected
the
wearer or bestowed upon the properties
they
symbolized, amulets were worn both by
the
living as well as the dead. Throughout
their
evolution, talismans were crafted from
a variety
of materials including precious metals
such as
gold and silver, semiprecious stone
like jasper
and carnelian, as well as other more
affordable
glazed compositions such as faience.
The
particular powers of an individual
amulet were
based upon its specific shape,
although the
material and even the color of the
charm could
affect its magical abilities. While
many of the
amulets created to be worn by the
living could
also be worn after death, there also
existed a
specific group of charms that were
made
specifically to be placed upon the
mummified
remains of the deceased. All together,
amulets
represent an important class of
Ancient Egyptian
art that furthers our understanding of
their
complex religious beliefs.
The ibis was a sacred bird in Ancient
Egyptian
mythology, most closely identified
with the moon
god Thoth, the messanger of the sun
god Ra,
who is often represented as an ibis-
headed man
or as a baboon. The name “Thoth” is
actually the
Greek term used to refer to this
deity, whom the
Greeks closely identified with Hermes,
their
messenger to the gods. Thoth, like
Hermes, was
credited as the inventor of astronomy,
writing,
and mathmatics. He presided over
scribes and
knowledge, as has been described in
ancient text
as a conciliator among the gods whose
words
were able to bring order to the
warring factions
of Egypt. In this charming amulet,
Thoth is
represented as an ibis-headed man
standing
with one leg forward upon a low
rectangular
base with his arms clutched against
his sides. It
is possible that this amulet was once
worn by a
scribe who hoped to invoke the favor
of this
powerful deity.
- (X.0324)
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