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Eqyptian Amulet Art
An amulet is a small object that a person wears, carries, or
offers to a deity because heor she believes that it will magically
give a particular power or form of protection. The
conviction that a symbol, form, or concept provides protection,
promotes well-being, or
brings good luck is common to all societies: in our own, we
commonly wear religioussymbols, carry a favorite penny, or a
rabbit's foot. In ancient Egypt, amulets might be
carried, used in necklaces, bracelets, or rings,
andespeciallyplaced among a
mummy's bandages to ensure the deceased a safe, healthy, and
productive afterlife.Egyptian amulets functioned in a number of
ways. Symbols and deities generally
conferred the powers they represent. Small models that represent
known objects, such as
headrests or arms and legs, served to make sure those items were
available to theindividual or that a specific need could be
addressed. Magic contained in an amulet could
be understood not only from its shape. Material, color,
scarcity, the grouping of several
forms, and words said or ingredients rubbed over the amulet
could all be the source for
magic granting the possessor's wish.
Small amulets of faience, stone, ceramic, metal, or glass, were
common possessions inancient Egypt. They were most often fashioned
in the form of gods and goddesses or of
animals sacred to those deities. Amulets gave their owners
magical protection from awide variety of ills and evil forces,
including sickness, infertility, and death in childbirth.
They were often provided with loops so they could be strung and
worn like a necklace.
Some amulets were made to place on the body of the deceased in
order to protect the soulin the hereafter.
Vervet Monkey
Vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) are depicted as exotic
household pets as earlyas the Old Kingdom, walking on a lead beside
the noble tomb-owners prize hounds. In
the New Kingdom one is often shown tied beneath the tomb owners
chair, but is it
still a representation of a pet or a symbolic depiction to
guarantee the tomb ownerssexual prowess in the afterlife? By the
New Kingdom, amulets of vervets were
undoubtedly worn so that their wearer might assimilate the
creatures well-known
sexual behavior. It is also because of this symbolism that
vervets feature asdecorative elements of cosmetic objects. The
creature is frequently depicted squatting
with its front paws up to its chin, sometimes holding a small
piece of food to its mouth or
else playing a musical instrument.
Amulet of the Goddess Taweret
Taweret, the hippopotamus goddess, was the goddess of women and
children and, most
importantly, of the moment of childbirth. With her rounded belly
and pendulous breasts
indicating a pregnant female, Taweret was associated most
specifically with childbirth,and she was often depicted watching
over the birthing bed. Taweret amulets would have
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been worn during life by women and children. In the tomb, they
were placed on the body
of the deceased as a symbol of rebirth.
The Taweret and other closely related goddesses were created
from a blending of lion,hippo, crocodile, and human attributes. The
three animals were some of the fiercest
species found in ancient Egypt and combining their strengths
produced a most potent
deity and therefore amulet. Taweret's particular responsibility
was the protection ofwomen during pregnancy and childbirth. She is
often portrayed leaning on a sa symbol.
Her representation was sometimes used on tomb walls or funerary
equipment to protect
the deceased during rebirth.This great, protective goddess of
childbirth was a rather frightening figure who was often
depicted in the company of Bes, the protector dwarf god Bes A
deity of either African or
Semitic origin; came to Egypt by Dynasty XII. Depicted as a
bearded, savage-looking yet
comical dwarf, shown full-face in images. Revered as a deity of
household pleasures suchas music, good food, and relaxation. Also a
protector and entertainer of children.
However, many texts point to the idea that Bes was a terrible,
avenging deity, who was as
swift to punish the wicked, as he was to amuse and delight the
righteous... With a
hippopotamus head, a crocodile tail, lion arms and legs, human
breasts, and a swollenbelly, she scared away any negative spirits
who might harm the baby. Amulets with her
image were often worn by expectant mothers.Third Intermediate
Period 21st Dynasty
Art and Culture
With the weakening of centralized royal authority in the Third
Intermediate Period, the
temple network emerged as a dominant sphere for political
aspirations, socialidentification, and artistic production. The
importance of the temple sphere obtained, with
more or less visibility, for the ensuing first millennium. Egypt
again divided; one dynasty
rules in Nile Delta, sharingpower with high priests of Amun at
Thebes.
Relatively little building took place during the Third
Intermediate Period, but the creation
of stylistically and technologically innovative bronze and
precious temple statuary ofgods, kings, and great temple officials
flourished. Temple precincts, with the sanctity and
safety they offered, were favored burial sites for royal and non
royal persons alike. Gold
and silver royal burial equipment from Tanis shows the highest
quality of craftsmanship.Non royal coffins and papyri bear
elaborate scenes and texts that ensured the rebirth of
the deceased.
New emphasis was placed on the king as the child/son of a divine
pair. This theme and
other royal themes are expressed on a series of delicate
relief-decorated vessels and othersmall objects chiefly in faience,
but also of precious metal. The same theme is manifested
architecturally in the emergence and development through the
first millennium of the
mammisi, or birth house, a subordinate temple where the birth of
a juvenile god identifiedwith the sun god and the king was
celebrated. In Egypt, the Third Intermediate Period
was a time of turmoil and economic decline. Control split
between pharaohs reigning in
the Delta and the priesthood of the temple of Amun at Karnak.In
Egyptian art, there was a strong sense of order, form, and
symbolism; certain items
held certain meanings. The paintings especially were highly
stylized and they told a
story. The style of art in Egypt didn't change for three
thousand years in part because the
artists quite simply obeyed the rules set out for those Amulets
are items worn to protect
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their wearer by their religious associations, a religious
equivalent to amour. In ancient
Egypt, any item of jewelry is likely to have some amuletic
function in addition to its
aesthetic, economic, and social values. The religious
significance may have varied fromuser to user, and for each
individual according to the moment in his or her lives. It is
difficult to assess the relative importance of the amuletic or
religious aspect against these
other aspects of the item worn. In Egyptology, the word amulet
is therefore generallyreserved for bodily adornments of unambiguous
religious form or context.
In comparison, both amulets had magical powers and both had
great powers over birth
the vervet was for the either living or dead. Taweret
Hippopotamus goddess of womenand children and most importantly of
the moment of childbirth and placed on the
deceased as a symbol of rebirth. The vervet monkey served as a
sexual prowl ness in the
afterlife of the deceased.
References:
http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/singleObject.cfm?ObjectId=3234
http://www.asia.si.edu/collections/singleObject.cfm?ObjectId=3235
http://timelines.ws/0C1300_500BC.HTMLhttp://www.writedesignonline.com/history-culture/ancient.htm#egyptian
http://www.lib.umich.edu/pap/magic/def1.htmlhttp://www.phoenixmasonry.org/egyptian_gods.htm
