Amulet of a Menat Counterpoise with Lion-headed Goddess

-747·Faience·3.7 × 1.2 × 0.5 cm (1 1/2 × 1/2 × 1/4 in.)

Ancient Egyptians, both living and dead, wore amulets of gods and goddesses— depictions of deities in their human, animal, or mixed forms—to bring protection and health. This example shows a small, lion-headed goddess atop a menat counterpoise, a beaded necklace with a counterweight attached to the back to hold it in place. Ancient Egyptians used the menat in religious ceremonies, where it could simply be worn or could serve as a percussion instrument, since shaking it created noise that calmed deities. While the identity of the goddess is uncertain, she wears a sun disc and the uraeus (a hooded cobra affixed to the crowns of royalty and deities), both symbols for the Eye of Re. The goddesses who acted as the Eye of Re were the daughters and protectors of the sun god, Re.

Catalogue

Year: -747
Medium: Faience
Dimensions: 3.7 × 1.2 × 0.5 cm (1 1/2 × 1/2 × 1/4 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Ancient Egyptian

Artist

Ancient Egyptian

Textile

Egyptian civilization formed in northern Africa along the banks of the Nile River over six thousand years ago. The region’s artists and artisans were highly trained in a visual vocabulary that endured for thousands of years—and which continues to influence artistic and architectural forms to this day. Although these ancient artists rarely signed their work, their talents were highly regarded, as evidenced by the images on the walls of many tombs depicting artists and craftsmen sculpting and polishing statues, producing intricate jewelry, and carving wooden furniture, among other artistic pursuits. The artworks they produced served a range of functions—given as gifts to their gods as acts of worship, placed in tombs to aid the dead in the afterlife, and used in daily life. Draftsmen, sculptors, and painters usually worked in teams attached to the royal court or one of Egypt’s many temples. They sometimes lived in distinct workmen’s villages, such as Deir el-Medina in modern Luxor, likely where a skilled artist produced the Sketch of a King , the Art Institute's oldest drawing. These teams used a system of proportion and style that gave ancient Egyptian art its iconic look, but also allowed for innovation and the creation of exceptional works. In 1890 the Art Institute became the first Chicago museum to acquire an ancient Egyptian artifact: the Ushabti (Funerary Figurine) of Horudja . What is now the Oriental Institute Museum at the University of Chicago and the Field Museum soon followed, forming collections of their own and establishing Chicago as a center for studying ancient Egypt in the United States. Today the Art Institute’s collection includes works that span the entirety of ancient Egyptian history—from about 4000 BCE to the first centuries CE. The museum’s holdings showcase ancient Egyptians’ mastery of many media and forms, including stone sculpture, copper alloy statuettes, faience figurines, gold amulets, wooden coffins, and painted cartonnage mummy masks

Full artist profile →