Eye of Horus (Wadjet) Finger Ring
New Kingdom, late 18th Dynasty, ca. 1325 BC. Egyptian faience. Now in the Art Institute of Chicago. X84
Figure of Thoth as a baboon
Late Period, 26th Dynasty, ca. 664-525 BC. Now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas. 2001.6
In this faience statuette, Thoth, the God of Writing and Knowledge, represented as a baboon. Thoth, god of wisdom, learning, science, and medicine, was also a patron of art and scribes who recorded the judgment on the dead in the underworld.
Often the god is depicted with the head of a sacred ibis bird and body of a man, but he also takes the form of a baboon, as seen here.
Unlike the solar disk, it is uncertain that the moon was worshipped in Egypt as a deity in ancient times, and the evidence seems to show that it was regarded rather as a symbol or manifestation of specific deities associated with the moon.
Faience jerboa with a white core and white and pale blue coating with brown detailing.
Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, ca. 1976-1793 BC. From Heliopolis. Now in the Fitzwilliam Museum. E.279.1939
Tile with Nubian chief
New Kingdom, 20th Dynasty, ca. 1186-1155 BC. From Palace of Ramesses III, Medinet Habu. Now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 03.1570
Eye of Horus (Wadjet) amulet, inscribed with the throne name of Amenhotep III (Nebmaatre).
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1391-1353 BC. Made of Egyptian faience. Now in the Art Institute of Chicago. 1894.1917
Faience Ushabti found in the tomb of Seti I
New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1290-1279 BC. Tomb of Seti I (KV17), Valley of the Kings, Thebes. Now in the British Museum. EA22818
Molded vase in the form of the goddess Taweret
Third Intermediate Period, 25th Dynasty, ca. 747-656 BC. Now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. AN1913.789 Read more
Statuette of a Hippo
Middle Kingdom, 11th Dynasty, ca. 2134-1991 BC. Made of Egyptian faience. Height 11.5 cm, length 21.5 cm. Excavated by Auguste Mariette (1860). Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 21365
This faience hippo statuette was found in Dra’ Abu el-Naga’ in western Thebes. The glossy blue glaze is the color of the Nile, where the animal lived, and the decoration shows various representations of fauna and flora that grew by the river.
The flowers, papyrus plants, and perching birds are depicted in black, linear forms. Such animal figurines were popular in tombs of the Middle Kingdom and the Second Intermediate Period. The hippopotamus was associated with the fertility of the Nile mud or silt.
Amulet of a Papyrus Column, Wadj
Third Intermediate Period, ca. 1070-656 BC. Height: 6 cm; diameter: 1.9 cm. Now in the Art Institute of Chicago. 1892.209
Wadjet Eye Amulet
Third Intermediate Period, ca. 1070-664 BC. Made of Egyptian faience and aragonite. Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 26.7.1032
Wadjet eye amulets were among the most popular amulets of ancient Egypt. The wadjet eye represents the healed eye of the god Horus and embodies healing power as well as regeneration and protection in general.
This faience eye here is an intriguing combination of the regular wadjet eye with a wing, two uraei, and a lion. This combination alludes to various ancient Egyptian stories that involve the eye of the sun-god Re.
Striding Thoth
Ptolemaic Period, ca. 305-30 BC. Egyptian faience. Met Museum. 26.7.860
Amulet of Isis, Horus, and Nephthys
Late Period to Ptolemaic Period, ca. 664-30 BC. Made of Egyptian faience. Metropolitan Museum of Art. 26.7.890
According to the myth the sister goddesses Isis and Nepthys cared for the body of Osiris and later they protected his son Horus as a young child. The three deities depicted in this triad amulet are some of the main protagonists in the Osiride myth that tells the murder and revival of the god Osiris and the birth and triumphal avenge of his son Horus.
This amulet of Isis, Horus, and Nephthys is probably supposed to guarantee the same kind of protection and help of the sister goddesses for the reborn deceased that they provided for both Osiris and the young Horus.
Amulet of Khnum
Blue-green faience amulet depicting the god Khnum or Amun. In ancient Egypt the ram was revered for its procreative abilities and as a symbol of virility. Its cult has been attested since the beginning of Egyptian civilization.
Linked mainly to the island of Elephantine, which was a natural border between Egypt and Nubia, he could control the flooding of the river from the caves in that region.
Late Period, 26th to 30th Dynasty, ca. 664-332 BC. Now in the Egyptian Museum of Turin. Cat. 489
Statuette of a Hippopotamus
In ancient Egypt, faience Hippopotamus statuettes held significant symbolism. These statuettes, commonly known as “hippopotamus figurines,” were crafted from faience, a type of ceramic material.
The symbolism associated with these figurines is primarily linked to the protective and apotropaic (warding off evil) qualities attributed to the hippopotamus in Egyptian culture.
The hippopotamus was considered a dangerous and unpredictable creature due to its aggressive nature and its association with the Nile River, which was vital for agriculture and daily life in ancient Egypt.
Middle Kingdom, 11th to 12th Dynasty, around ca. 2000 BC. Now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. INV 4211
Amulet of a Papyrus Column, Wadj
The amulet of a papyrus column in ancient Egypt refers to a small object made of a material such as stone, faience, or metal, shaped like a column with papyrus plant motifs.
These amulets were believed to have protective and symbolic significance in ancient Egyptian culture. They were often worn or carried by individuals as a form of personal adornment or as a means of invoking the powers associated with the papyrus plant, which was considered a symbol of growth, rebirth, and knowledge in ancient Egyptian mythology and religion.
Third Intermediate Period, 21st Dynasty to 25th Dynasty, ca. 1070-656 BC. Now in the Art Institute of Chicago. 1892.209
Hedgehog Figurine
Blue-green faience hedgehog figurine with black spots on elliptical base, both left legs slightly advanced and modeled freely in the round. Back is scored in grid pattern and bumpy to simulate quills.
When food is scarce, hedgehogs retreat into underground dens for long periods, to re-emerge only in times of abundance. The Egyptians associated this behavior with rebirth and thus wore amulets in the form of hedgehogs or left figures such as this one in tombs.
Middle Kingdom. 12th to 13th Dynasty, ca. 1938-1700 BC. Now in the Brooklyn Museum. 65.2.1
Blue faience amulet of a seated frog on a roughly square base. Front legs in the round. Eyes in high relief covered with Manganese. Three stripes of turquoise blue glaze run down the back. Square opening on underside of base. The combination of deep blue and turquoise typifies objects from the time of Amenhotep III.
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, ca. 1391-1353 B.C. Now in the Brooklyn Museum. 58.28.8