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Double ba bird amulet
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Taharqa
690–664 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), Meroe, W 609, No. 14
Medium/Technique
Faience
Dimensions
Height: 3.3 cm (1 5/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number23.822
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Amulets
DescriptionThe ancient Nubians, like the Egyptians, believed that the dead would continue to exist after death in a number of different forms. The ba, a mobile, energetic life force that was believed to able to travel to and from the world of the living, was portrayed either as a human-headed bird or a winged human wearing a solar disk on his or her head. The latter form was more common in Nubia. This amulet shows a pair of ba figures. Originally the amulet was a deeper blue-green glazed faience, but the glaze has now faded and there are brown incrustations.
ProvenanceFrom Meroe (Beg. W) 609, No.14. 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.