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Details
LOT 0047
'Egyptian Blue' Counter Weight Menat Amulet
LATE PERIOD, 664-525 B.C.
2 5/8 in. (14 grams, 67 mm).
Amuletic pendant with broad bale, keyhole-shaped plaque with gusset to the rim.
Provenance
Acquired on the German art market, 1989-1995.
with The Museum Gallery, 19 Bury Place, London, WC1A 2JB, 1998-2003.
Property of a London based academic, 2003-present.
Literature
Cf. Reisner, G.A., Catalogue général des antiquités égyptiennes du Musée du Caire, Nos.12528-13595, Vol. II, Amulets, Cairo, 1958, pl. V, nos. 12701 and 12694, for type.
Footnotes
The menat necklace was a sacred item of great importance to female Egyptian goddesses, particularly Hathor. Priestesses of Hathor and other powerful goddesses used the necklace as a rattle, holding it in their hand by the counterpoise and evoking protection from the sound of the shaken beads. The amuletic menat counterweight symbolised the whole elaborate necklace. The menat was considered a powerful magical amulet throughout Egyptian history, offering good luck and protection against evil spirits. It was often buried with the dead for protection in the afterlife and was believed to promote fertility and good health for women while signifying virility for men.
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LOT 0047
'Egyptian Blue' Counter Weight Menat Amulet
Estimate £800 - 1,000€930 - 1,160 (for guidance only)$1,080 - 1,350 (for guidance only)
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Acquired on the German art market, 1989-1995. with The Museum Gallery, 19 Bury Place, London, WC1A 2JB, 1998-2003. Property of a London based academic, 2003-present.
In the late Roman Egypt or early Islamic period (7th–11th century A.D.) a new type of figurine appeared in the archaeological record: small, crudely crafted human figures made of bone. Some researchers considered them as toys meant to prepare girls for motherhood; others saw them as fertility figurines. They are mostly referred to as early Christian or “Coptic dolls”. In Egypt and Palestine they seem to appear suddenly in the 7th century, coinciding with the Arab conquests, but they might have existed earlier. With the new Muslim empire bridging former Roman and Sassanian lands, these dolls found their way to Egypt and Palestine where they were reproduced in huge numbers, becoming popular in all levels of society of the 8th and 9th century. By the end of the 11th century they disappeared as quickly as they appeared, probably because of restrictions placed on their production by Islamic laws.
