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Amulet of Pataikos
Nubian
Napatan Period, reign of Piankhy (Piye)
743–712 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), el-Kurru, Ku 51
Medium/Technique
Faience
Credit Line
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition
Accession Number24.631
OUT ON LOAN
On display at National Center of Afro-American Artists, Inc., since February 23, 1994
On display at National Center of Afro-American Artists, Inc., since February 23, 1994
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsJewelry / Adornment – Amulets
DescriptionThe 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.
ProvenanceFrom el-Kurru, Ku. 51 (tomb of an unidentified queen of Piankhy). 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)