Description:
An amulet depicting the sister goddesses Isis and Nephthys with the young Harpokrates (Horus the child) between them. The three figures are striding side-by-side, the left foot forward, and are holding hands. They are depicted on a on a small rectangular base with a high vertical back slab, at the back of which a suspension loop is visible.
On the proper left hand side Isis is shown, wearing a long, close fitting dress and a tripartite wig; on her head she wears her symbol, the throne. Her left arm is held stretched against her body, and her right hand holds the left hand of Horus. He is shown naked and with the sidelock of youth, both indications that he is still a young child (even though these amulets usually depict him as large as the two goddesses); a uraeus-serpent is visible above his forehead. With his other hand Horus is holding the left hand of the goddess on the right hand side of the amulet, Nephthys. She is dressed in the same fashion as Isis, and the symbol on her head consists of a basket (neb) and a palace (hut), together spelling her name (Nebet-hut being the original version of the Greek form Nephthys).
The relationship between the gods is important in the myth of Osiris. Seth, the god of desert, chaos, confusion and storm, killed his brother Osiris in order to take the throne. However, Osiris' newborn son Horus was the legitimate heir to the throne. Isis decided to hide her child in the marshes in the Delta, to prevent Seth from finding him. In the Delta the child was exposed to all kinds of other dangers, but he managed to overcome these thanks to magical powers and the protection offered to him by Isis and Nephthys.
Plaque amulets depicting triads first became popular during the Late Period, and were particularly popular during the Saite Period. The blue-green colour was also typical of this period. It was created by controlled mixing of the right quantities of copper and iron, as well as allowing a controlled presence of oxygen in the oven (Lebrun-Nélis - Brasseur (2009), p. 218).
Amulets like this one were often placed between the mummy wrappings, especially on the lower torso, to protect the deceased like Isis and Nephthys protected Horus. For comparable amulets see Andrews (1994), p. 49 and fig. 53d; Petrie (1914), p. 35 and pl. XXVII, no. 152a-b; Spurr - Reeves - Quirke (1999), p. 59, no. 92; Lebrun-Nélis - Brasseur (2009), p. 217-218.
Bibliography:
Carol Andrews, Amulets of Ancient Egypt (London, British Museum Press, 1994);
Anne Lebrun-Nélis - Charlotte Brasseur, "Isis, Nephthys et Harpocrate", in Claire Derriks - Luc Delvaux (eds.), Antiquités égyptiennes au Musée royal de Mariemont (Morlanwelz, Musée royal de Mariemont, 2009), p. 217-218;
W.M. Flinders Petrie, Amulets, Illustrated by the Egyptian Collection in University College, London (London, Constable & Co, 1914);
Stephen Spurr - Nicholas Reeves - Stephen Quirke, Egyptian Art at Eton College. Selections from the Myers Museum (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art; Windsor, Eton College, 1999).
Dating:
Late Period to Ptolemaic Period, circa 664-30 B.C.
Size:
Height 4.5 cm.
Provenance:
Dutch private collection, acquired from Christie's London, 3 July 1996, part of lot 222.
Condition:
Possibly minor restoration to the suspension loop, else intact with some encrustation; mounted on an acrylic plinth.
Price:
€ 2,800
Stock number:
E1367