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Amulet of a ram-headed aegis
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Piankhy (Piye)
743–712 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia(Sudan), El-Kurru, Ku 53
Medium/Technique
Faience
Dimensions
Height: 7.3 cm (2 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number24.709
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Amulets
DescriptionThis blue glazed faience amulet takes the form of an aegis, or animal's head atop a semicircular collar. In this case the aegis bears a ram's head crowned with a solar disc and uraeus. Rams with these attributes are representative of the supreme god Amen-Re, originally an Egyptian deity who became one of the most important gods in the Nubian pantheon. There is an incised inscription on the column at the back and a suspension hole through the base of the disc. The amulet had been broken and mended, and a fragment of the collar is missing.
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)