Description:
A much larger than average flat-backed amulet, with two drilled holes for attachment on the mummy wrappings. The object was made of Egyptian faience in a blueish green colour, and represents the goddess Isis. She is shown kneeling on a rectangular plinth, her right hand and arm resting on her leg. On her head she wears her characteristic emblem, the throne, which writes her name. Her well-cut face is framed by a striated tripartite wig. The goddess is looking to the right.
Traditionally Isis and her sister Nephthys are depicted in a similar pose, sometimes with one arm raised in a gesture of mourning, sitting at the feet and head of the corpse of their brother Osiris. They are also mentioned on the foot and head panels of rectangular coffins, and this is mirrored in the position of the two female mourners sitting at the deceased's feet and head during the burial proceedings. Isis, as the widow of the deceased who was identified with Osiris, would sit at the feet so that she could face him, while her sister Nephthys would wield protection over him from behind. However, although Isis is predominantly represented at the feet and Nephthys at the head, the positions of the two goddesses sometimes change.
One can imagine that our amulet was once paired with a similar piece depicting Nephthys. Placed on the upper chest of the mummy, they would afford it the same protection that they gave to the mummy of Osiris (Carol Andrews, Amulets of Ancient Egypt (London, British Museum Press, 1994), p. 48).
Dating:
Late Period, 26th - 30th dynasty, ca. 664 - 342 B.C.
Size:
Height 7.3 cm.
Provenance:
Swiss private collection of Kate Hartmann, Geneva, Switzerland, acquired between 1912 and 1954; thereafter with Bigler Fine Arts, Dr. Robert Bigler, Ruschlikon, Zürich, Switzerland, purchased on the German art market in 2018.
Condition:
A diagonal break was professionally repaired; some discoloration, especially near the feet, otherwise in a very good condition. Comes with a separate stand.
Price:
€ 3,500
Stock number:
E1355