Advanced Search 
Amulet of Pataikos
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Piankhy (Piye)
743–712 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), el-Kurru, Ku 53
Medium/Technique
Faience
Dimensions
Overall: 7 x 4 x 2 cm (2 3/4 x 1 9/16 x 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number24.714
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Amulets
DescriptionThe blue faience amulet represents Pataikos, a popular protective deity, amulets of whom were believed to ward off threats to the wearer. He is usually depicted as a nude dwarf with a bald head, often wielding a pair of knives. Here, as often, he wears a scrab on his head. There is a suspension ring in the back back of the head.
ProvenanceFrom el-Kurru, Ku 53 (tomb of Queen Tabiry). 1919: excavated by the Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA in the division of finds by the government of Sudan.
(Accession date: January 1, 1924)
(Accession date: January 1, 1924)