Details

LOT 0027

Egyptian Thoth as an Ibis with Maat

PTOLEMAIC PERIOD, 332-30 B.C.

1 1/2 in. (9.15 grams, 37 mm).

A blue-glazed composition amulet in the form of an ibis (representing the god Thoth) seated on a wedge-shaped base, facing a figure of Maat appearing as a diminutive stooping female with an ostrich feather; some details to both figures rendered in a darker blue glaze; suspension loop to the rear of the bird's neck.

Provenance

Acquired from Dr Jan Beekmans, circa 1984.
UK private collection.

Literature

Cf. The Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession number 26.7.873, for similar; cf. The Saint Louise Art Museum, object number 818:1940, for a very similar parallel.

Footnotes

Maat and the moon god Thoth, husband and wife, together embody wisdom and cosmic order. As a divine couple, they served the sun god, Re.
Like Thoth, the ancient Egyptians connected the ibis with the moon, owing to its crescent moon-shaped beak. The ibis was well known in antiquity for its refusal to drink unhealthy and poisoned water, or to kill poisonous reptiles, and set mankind an example of cleanliness; thus, like the god Thoth, the ibis offered protection against dangerous forces and served as a model for purity and good sense. Maat embodies the order that Thoth protects. Her symbol, an ostrich feather, references a bird that inhabits desert and savannah habitats, although it must never wander too far away from rivers and lakes. The ostrich cannot fly, but it is a fast runner and a strong fighter.