This pectoral was made as a piece of funerary equipment rather than as jewelry to be worn in life. Designed to be laid across the chest of a mummified individual, the pectoral is not only extremely rare but a splendid, skillfully crafted work of art. Composed of more than 400 pieces of inlaid glass and carnelian, it shows a vulture grasping two coils of rope, symbols of the universal power of the king. To the left of the bird’s body is the stylized representation of a cobra, rearing up as if to strike. Together, the vulture and the cobra signify the union of Upper and Lower Egypt and were standard symbolic attributes of the pharaoh. The ornament probably dates to the Second Intermediate period when the Hyksos, a Canaanite group in Western Asia, expanded their power base into the Egyptian delta and forced the Egyptians to move their seat of power to Thebes in the south. The turmoil allowed lower ranking officials to adopt symbols previously reserved for royalty for their own funerary equipment. This pectoral may have belonged to a provincial governor or some other local ruler from that period.