Saturday, February 16, 2013

Ancient Near Eastern Amulets




Click on the links below to view some lovely protective pieces from ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. Any favorites?

From the Alexandria Museum:

From the NY Metropolitan Museum:

From the British Museum:

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I definitely liked the crocodile the best, the color is very vibrant and beautiful. I also liked the fish and scarab amulets, which were composed of both metal and stone unlike the others.
-Erica H

Anonymous said...

I liked the heart amulet the best! I think it's really cool that Egyptians thought the heart was in control of intelligence, memory and identity. They realized even in ancient times that the heart was a very important organ.

-Rachel Levy

Anonymous said...

I like the fish amulet. It looks so intricate. I think its endearing they were used to keep girls from drowning. I wonder what work or activities would have put girls at higher risk of drowning...

Deirdre Adams

Anonymous said...

I adore the heart amulet--instead of symbolizing love or lust, it symbolizes intelligence, identity, and memory. It's absolutely wonderful.

Anonymous said...

I like the scarabs. From an artistic standpoint you can do alot with th shape of the carvings loke beads and other things. They are the most diverse of the amulets.

-Casey S.

Anonymous said...

The amulets are really cool and extremely detailed for how small they are! The color of the materials used are gorgeous and I was surprised to see that some were man made, maybe some amulets were made from molds? Still the details are pretty cool and i think the Anubis one was pretty cool.

-Taylor E.

YemYem said...

I love the scarab amulets. It reminds me alot of the pheniox. something dieing and being reborn. Such as the scarab being put in the ground as a symbol of death and bringing new life. A new begining.

Emily Peterson-Woood

Anonymous said...

I like the Falcon and Dragonfly amulets the most, Falcon is protective, and I like the look. Dragonfly is a simple and interesting shape.

- Scott