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.