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Amulet of Pataikos
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Tanwetamani–Anlamani
664–593 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), Meroe (Beg. West), Tomb 507
Medium/Technique
Faience
Dimensions
Height: 5.2 cm (2 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number47.3890
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Amulets
DescriptionThis three-dimensional faience amulet depicts the god Pataikos. Pataikos was 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 he wears a tall, faethered headdress and holds a pair of snakes.
ProvenanceFrom Meroe (Beg. W), tomb 507. 1923: 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: June 2, 2022)