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Amulet of Pataikos

Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Piankhy (Piye)
743–712 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia(Sudan), el-Kurru, Ku 53

Medium/Technique Faience
Credit Line Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number24.644
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsJewelry / AdornmentAmulets

DescriptionThe worn 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 feathered crown adorned with a solar disk and pair of horns.There is a suspension ring through 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)