Ancient Egyptian Lapis Lazuli Taweret Amulet

$955.32

A beautiful Ancient Egyptian amulet of the goddess Taweret made from lapis lazuli. Her representation respects her usual iconography; she is depicted as a hippopotamus, with pendulous human breasts and a pregnant belly. Her limbs are those of a feline, most likely a lion. She strides forward with one foot in front, which is a common feature on amulets. There is a longitudinal loop on the head of the amulet, for suspension. The reverse remains flat and undecorated.

Date: Circa 1550 - 1069 BC
Period: New Kingdom
Provenance: From an important London collection.
Condition: Very fine condition, few earthly encrustations.

SOLD

SKU: CG-42 Category: Tags: , ,

Thoeris, also known as Taweret, Ipy and Reret, was an Egyptian deity who attended women in childbirth, and became a patron for pregnant women accordingly. She was a household deity with no temple dedicated to her, but some form of shrine was in almost every house. Many women carried an amulet like this to assist them with labour and child rearing. From the New Kingdom onwards she was often depicted together with Bes, another apotropaic deity associated with women and children. Later, in the Amarna period, she gained importance as a funerary deity. This was because her powers were considered to be regenerative as well as protective. The longstanding importance of Thoeris/Taweret in daily life is evident from her continued presence on amulets throughout the Amarna period, and even after the establishment of Akhenaten’s henotheistic religion.

To discover more about amulets in Egypt, please visit our relevant blog post: Egyptian Amulets and their Meanings: Ancient Egyptian Gods.

Weight 3.9 g
Dimensions L 3.5 x W 1.7 cm
Country

Culture

Egyptian Mythology

Semi-Precious Stones

Region

Reference: For a similar item, The Met Museum, item 17.194.2477

You may also like…