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Amulet of a djed-pillar
Nubian
Napatan Period
about 623–568 B.C.
Findspot: Sudan, Meroe, Beg. S.85
Medium/Technique
Stone
Dimensions
Other: 2.7 cm (1 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number23.1456
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Amulets
DescriptionThis amulet is made of white stone with incised details. Much of it has decayed. It is one of the many amulets mounted together taken from the mummy of Princess Mernua. The amulet represents the djed-pillar. The pillar, which symbolized the spinal column of the funerary god Osiris, was the hieroglyphic symbol for stability.
ProvenanceFrom Beg. S. 85, Princess Meruna. / Exp. Ph. A 3164 7/9. [Excav. date] March, 1923. Excavated by the Harvard University-Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA by the government of Sudan.