A large Egyptian Faience Uraeus Amulet, Late Period, ca. 664 - 332 BC

Pale green glazed faience amulet of a uraeus, the great coil of the body arching up behind to the height of the head surmounted by a suspension loop. 

Background:  From the earliest dynasties the upreared cobra, the uraeus, was the emblem of royalty, worn on the pharaoh's forehead to signify his kingship and divinity. As a goddess she was the eye of the sun, spitting fire at the king's enemies. The uraeus was among the amulets depicted in both the MacGregor papyrus and the Osiris complex at Dendera. Usually, more than one was placed on the mummy, sometimes at the forehead or even over the feet, but most often on the torso. The uraeus, which as an amulet was intended to provide the non-royal dead with the protection usually reserved for royalty, but which, because of the sloughing of its skin also symbolized resurrection, exists in two basic forms from the twenty-sixth dynasty onwards. In both the fully puffed-up hood is carefully detailed; in the commoner type, a great coil of the body arches up behind to the same height as the head (as is the case on our amulet) and has a suspension loop on top of it. In the other form, only the tip of the tail appears to one side of the base of the hood which lies against a back pillar pierced for suspension. See Carol Andrews, Amulets of Ancient Egypt (London, British Museum Press, 1994), p. 34-35 and especially p. 75-76 and fig. 76b.

Dimensions:  Height: 4 cm (1.57 inches)

Condition: Intact and in good condition overall.

Provenance: Private New York collection, on loan to the Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University 2001 - 2015, accession number: L2001.018.001, thereafter Peter Borromeo collection, Virginia.