Description:
A large amulet of Thoth, depicted with a human body and the head of an ibis, in a striding position, his left foot forward, his arms held to his sides. He is wearing a short pleated kilt. On an integral base, with a back pillar pierced for suspension.
Thoth was the god of knowledge, writing and wisdom. He invented the hieroglyphs (called "god’s words" by the Egyptians) and the languages, and performed several tasks which have to do with writing. Amulets depicting the god were particularly favoured by those who were professionally connected to writing and science, such as scribes, judges and priests (see Andrews, p. 27; Germond, p. 31).
Well known is the presence of Thoth in the Hall of Justice, where the judgement of the dead took place. Standing near the scales on which the heart of the deceased was weighed against the feather of truth (symbol of the goddess Ma'at), he wrote down the outcome of the investigation. Many copies of the Book of the Dead depict this moment (vignette of spell 125).
His task was also to determine the fate of a child (including the number of years it would live), which was done at the moment of birth. Similarly Thoth wrote down the names of the king on the leaves of a special tree. As inventor of languages Thoth also was an interpreter.
Thoth also differentiated the years, seasons and months, as the lord of time; since these were measured by observing the moon, Thoth also was a moon god. As such he controlled the course of the stars as well as the giving of offerings (which was related to the calendar), therefore he also was the leader of rituals.
The god could be portrayed as a man with the head of an ibis (very rarely the head of a man), entirely as an ibis or as a baboon. Sometimes the full moon and the crescent were added on his head. When depicted as a man he often had the palette of a scribe and a pen in his hands.
Thoth was venerated all over Egypt; cemeteries where thousands of ibises were buried attest this. But his most important cult centre was Khemenu (modern Ashmunein), also known as Hermopolis because Thoth was associated with the god Hermes in Ptolemaic times.
Amulets of Thoth combining a human body with an ibis head were well-distributed in the Mediterranean world, particularly between the late 8th and middle of the 4th century B.C. (see Herrmann et al. (2010), p. 34–35; Herrmann (2016) with further bibliographie, p. 67–70, p. 312–315).
Literature:
Carol Andrews, Amulets of Ancient Egypt (London, British Museum Press, 1994), esp. p. 27, 49;
Philippe Germond, Le monde symbolique des amulettes égyptiennes de la collection Jacques-Édouard Berger (Milano, 5 Continents, 2005);
Christian Herrmann - Thomas Staubli et al., 1001 Amulett. Altägyptischer Zauber, monotheisierte Talismane, säkulare Magie (Freiburg, Bibel + Orient Museum - Stuttgart, Katholisches Bibelwerk, 2010);
Christian Herrmann, Ägyptische Amulette aus Palästina/Israel Band IV. Von der Spätbronzezeit IIB bis in römische Zeit (Orbis Biblicus et Orientalis, Series Archaeologica, 38) (Freiburg, Akademieverlag - Göttingen, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2016).
Dating:
Late Period, circa 664-332 B.C.
Size:
Height 8.5 cm.
Provenance:
Said to have been in the collection of the Fifth Earl of Canarvon, the financial backer of Howard Carter during the search for and the excavation of the tomb of Tutankhamun (1866-1923); thereafter W. Harris-Morgan collection; thereafter UK private collection; hereafter with Bonhams, London, 8 November 2001; thereafter with Kunsthandel Mieke Zilverberg, Amsterdam; thereafter Dutch private collection.
SOLD
Stock number:
E1253