u/Handicapped-007

Heart amulet with human head
New Kingdom or early Third Intermediate Period
ca. 1550–710 B.C.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 122
This unusual looking amulet is a combination of a simplified heart and a human head. The heart, of red jasper, is depicted as a flat, oval object with slightly rounded front and back surfaces and a pointed bottom. It does not have side projections, which are known from other heart amulets that depict the organ more naturalistically. At the top is a small, carnelian human head, which was manufactured separately and attached to the heart. Details of the face, such as the nose, eyes, and mouth are carved, but mainly due to the amulet’s small size and the hardness of the material, they are not well defined. A long, striated, black wig made out of chlorite conceals the junction between the two parts. The amulet is pierced twice latitudinally. The top piercing runs through the head, and a second is positioned in the lower third of the amulet. These piercings were possibly intended to fasten the amulet onto the bandages of a mummy.

Overview

Title: Heart amulet with human head

Period: New Kingdom or early Third
Intermediate Period

Dynasty: Dynasty 18 or 21–22

Date: ca. 1550–710 B.C.

Geography: Probably from Egypt

Medium: Jasper, carnelian, chlorite

Dimensions: H. 5.4 cm (2 1/8 in); w. 2.7 (1 1/16 in); d. 1,5 cm (9/16 in)

Credit Line: Gift of Miss A. M. Hegemann, 1938

Object Number: 38.8
Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

Curatorial Interpretation
In ancient Egypt the heart was already known to be a vital organ and the ancient Egyptians were therefore fearful of damage to the heart. One of the tasks of a heart amulet was to protect it and thus secure life functions. The heart was also thought to be the centre of feelings, thinking, memory, and therefore of consciousness and moral values. Heart amulets with a human head are personified hearts, depicting the organ together with the head of the deceased.
For the deceased the heart was extremely significant, as the Egyptians believed that at the final judgement, it was weighed against maat, the principle of justice and world order (see 30.3.31). Only if the deceased had acted in his or her lifetime according to maat was he or she allowed to live on in the Netherworld. Understandably, the ancient Egyptians were afraid to fail this strict judgement and special amulets were used to ensure a positive outcome. One of these was the popular heart scarab that depicts the scarab beetle, its underside inscribed with Book of the Dead chapter 30B. This text calls upon the heart not to stand up as a witness against its owner, not to be opposed to him or her, and not to tell lies.
The heart amulet was another such amulet. When placed on a mummy, like the heart scarab, it was meant to guarantee a positive outcome at the final judgement. This last point is made evident by the inscriptions on several large heart amulets of the New Kingdom, which bear chapter 30B of the Book of the Dead. Additionally there was a Book of the Dead chapter (29B) which belonged exclusively to heart amulets.
On funerary papyri or tomb walls the deceased can be depicted wearing a heart amulet around the neck. Many of these scenes depict the deceased after the final tribunal. Therefore, in these depictions, the heart amulet cannot have had the function of guaranteeing a positive judgement, but was probably meant as a kind of badge, demonstrating that the deceased had successfully passed the final judgement and was now a "justified one." Not only did depictions of heart amulets function as badges, but the actual amulets did so as well. This secured the deceased unimpeded access to the Netherworld. Heart amulets that were used in a funerary context clearly had many different and complex meanings.
Heart amulets with longer inscriptions, figurative decoration, or with a human head seem to occur only during the New Kingdom and into Dynasties 21-22 and are often relatively large.
Isabel Stünkel 2016

Provenance
Donated to the Museum by Miss A.M. Hegemann, 1938.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/547782

Heart amulet with human head, Dynasty 18 or 21–22, ca. 1550–710 B.C.; Probably from Egypt; Jasper, carnelian and chlorite; The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Heart amulet with human head
New Kingdom or early Third Intermediate Period
ca. 1550–710 B.C.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 122
This unusual looking amulet is a combination of a simplified heart and a human head. The heart, of red jasper, is depicted as a flat, oval object with slightly rounded front and back surfaces and a pointed bottom. It does not have side projections, which are known from other heart amulets that depict the organ more naturalistically. At the top is a small, carnelian human head, which was manufactured separately and attached to the heart. Details of the face, such as the nose, eyes, and mouth are carved, but mainly due to the amulet’s small size and the hardness of the material, they are not well defined. A long, striated, black wig made out of chlorite conceals the junction between the two parts. The amulet is pierced twice latitudinally. The top piercing runs through the head, and a second is positioned in the lower third of the amulet. These piercings were possibly intended to fasten the amulet onto the bandages of a mummy.

Overview

Title: Heart amulet with human head

Period: New Kingdom or early Third
Intermediate Period

Dynasty: Dynasty 18 or 21–22

Date: ca. 1550–710 B.C.

Geography: Probably from Egypt

Medium: Jasper, carnelian, chlorite

Dimensions: H. 5.4 cm (2 1/8 in); w. 2.7 (1 1/16 in); d. 1,5 cm (9/16 in)

Credit Line: Gift of Miss A. M. Hegemann, 1938

Object Number: 38.8
Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

Curatorial Interpretation
In ancient Egypt the heart was already known to be a vital organ and the ancient Egyptians were therefore fearful of damage to the heart. One of the tasks of a heart amulet was to protect it and thus secure life functions. The heart was also thought to be the centre of feelings, thinking, memory, and therefore of consciousness and moral values. Heart amulets with a human head are personified hearts, depicting the organ together with the head of the deceased.
For the deceased the heart was extremely significant, as the Egyptians believed that at the final judgement, it was weighed against maat, the principle of justice and world order (see 30.3.31). Only if the deceased had acted in his or her lifetime according to maat was he or she allowed to live on in the Netherworld. Understandably, the ancient Egyptians were afraid to fail this strict judgement and special amulets were used to ensure a positive outcome. One of these was the popular heart scarab that depicts the scarab beetle, its underside inscribed with Book of the Dead chapter 30B. This text calls upon the heart not to stand up as a witness against its owner, not to be opposed to him or her, and not to tell lies.
The heart amulet was another such amulet. When placed on a mummy, like the heart scarab, it was meant to guarantee a positive outcome at the final judgement. This last point is made evident by the inscriptions on several large heart amulets of the New Kingdom, which bear chapter 30B of the Book of the Dead. Additionally there was a Book of the Dead chapter (29B) which belonged exclusively to heart amulets.
On funerary papyri or tomb walls the deceased can be depicted wearing a heart amulet around the neck. Many of these scenes depict the deceased after the final tribunal. Therefore, in these depictions, the heart amulet cannot have had the function of guaranteeing a positive judgement, but was probably meant as a kind of badge, demonstrating that the deceased had successfully passed the final judgement and was now a "justified one." Not only did depictions of heart amulets function as badges, but the actual amulets did so as well. This secured the deceased unimpeded access to the Netherworld. Heart amulets that were used in a funerary context clearly had many different and complex meanings.
Heart amulets with longer inscriptions, figurative decoration, or with a human head seem to occur only during the New Kingdom and into Dynasties 21-22 and are often relatively large.
Isabel Stünkel 2016

Provenance
Donated to the Museum by Miss A.M. Hegemann, 1938.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/547782

Heart amulet with human head, Dynasty 18 or 21–22, ca. 1550–710 B.C.; Probably from Egypt; Jasper, carnelian and chlorite; The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Heart Amulet

1069–715 BCE
Egypt, Third Intermediate (1069–715 BCE) or later

Medium
Deep turquoise-blue faience

Measurements
Overall: 3 x 2.1 x 1 cm (1 3/16 x 13/16 x 3/8 in.)

Credit Line
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1914.780

Location
Not on view

Provenance
Purchased in Egypt by Lucy Olcott Perkins through Henry W. Kent

Citations
Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 Reproduced: p. 515; Mentioned: p. 515-6

Cite this Artwork-
Heart Amulet, 1069–715 BCE. Egypt, Third Intermediate (1069–715 BCE) or later. Deep turquoise-blue faience; overall: 3 x 2.1 x 1 cm (1 3/16 x 13/16 x 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust, 1914.780

The Cleveland Museum of Art

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1914.78

Heart Amulet, 1069–715 BCE. Third Intermediate (1069–715 BCE) or later. Deep turquoise-blue faience; overall. The Cleveland Museum of Art.

Heart Amulet Surmounted by a Ram's Head
664–525 B.C.E. or later

Caption
Heart Amulet Surmounted by a Ram's Head, 664–525 B.C.E. or later. Faience, 2 1/4 x 15/16 in. (5.8 x 2.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.887E. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery
Not on view

Collection
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Key information

Title
Heart Amulet Surmounted by a Ram's Head

Date
664–525 B.C.E. or later

Dynasty
Dynasty 26, or later

Period
Late Period

Geography
Place made: Egypt

Medium
Faience

Classification
Accessory

Dimensions 2 1/4 x 15/16 in. (5.8 x 2.4 cm)

Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number
37.887E

Catalogue description
Light green faience heart amulet surmounted by a ram's head crowned with a sun-disk and a uraeus. The details of the heart are given in incised lines. There is a loop behind the sun-disk.

Condition:
The piece is complete except for small chips on the sun disk, left horn, and lower part of the heart. the color has faded to white on the shoulder of the heart.

Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at
bkmcollections@brooklynmuseum.org.

The Brooklyn Museum

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/117478

Heart Amulet Surmounted by a Ram's Head, 664–525 B.C.E. or later, Dynasty 26, or later, Late Period, Faience, The Brooklyn Museum

Heart Amulet
New Kingdom, Ramesside
ca. 1295–1070 B.C.

Not on view

For the ancient Egyptians, the heart (ib) was the source of intelligence, feelings, and actions. A person's memory was also housed in the heart and so at the judgment ceremony (Weighing of the Heart) in the afterlife, the heart was able to speak on behalf of the deceased, accounting to Osiris for a lifetime of deeds. Therefore, heart amulets were only used on the mummy to protect the owner's organ and to ensure that his heart gave a positive response at judgment.

Overview

Title: Heart Amulet

Period: New Kingdom, Ramesside

Date: ca. 1295–1070 B.C.

Geography: From Egypt

Medium: Red jasper

Dimensions: H. 2.9 × W. 2.3 × D. 1.5 cm (1 1/8 × 7/8 × 9/16 in.)

Credit Line: Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910

Object Number: 10.130.1795

Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

Provenance
1883-1907, purchased by Reverend Chauncey Murch (1856-1907) [1]; 1907, inherited by Amelia Sophronia Murch, née Canfield; 1910, purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art with funds provided by Helen Miller Gould.

[1] Collected while Murch was a Presbyterian missionary in Luxor, Egypt, frequently from Mohammed Mohassib (1843-1928).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/545420

Heart Amulet, New Kingdom Ramesside, ca. 1295–1070 B.C., Jasper, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Heart Amulet
New Kingdom, Ramesside
ca. 1295–1070 B.C.

Not on view

For the ancient Egyptians, the heart (ib) was the source of intelligence, feelings, and actions. A person's memory was also housed in the heart and so at the judgment ceremony (Weighing of the Heart) in the afterlife, the heart was able to speak on behalf of the deceased, accounting to Osiris for a lifetime of deeds. Therefore, heart amulets were only used on the mummy to protect the owner's organ and to ensure that his heart gave a positive response at judgment.

Overview

Title: Heart Amulet

Period: New Kingdom, Ramesside

Date: ca. 1295–1070 B.C.

Geography: From Egypt

Medium: Red jasper

Dimensions: H. 2.9 × W. 2.3 × D. 1.5 cm (1 1/8 × 7/8 × 9/16 in.)

Credit Line: Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910

Object Number: 10.130.1795

Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

Provenance
1883-1907, purchased by Reverend Chauncey Murch (1856-1907) [1]; 1907, inherited by Amelia Sophronia Murch, née Canfield; 1910, purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art with funds provided by Helen Miller Gould.

[1] Collected while Murch was a Presbyterian missionary in Luxor, Egypt, frequently from Mohammed Mohassib (1843-1928).

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/545420

Heart Amulet, New Kingdom Ramesside, ca. 1295–1070 B.C., Jasper, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Model group; boat; figure

Object Type
model group
boat
figure

Museum number
EA41574
Description
Wooden model of sailing-boat: the hull is rather narrow, with moderate sheer; bow lower and more narrow than stern, which has notch for steering-oar; exterior devoid of paint. Deck flush and not cambered, so that raised gunwales are absent; painted white with deck-plan and outer edges in red. The painted centre-strip runs the full length of the vessel; the fore-deck is marked only by a normal painted thwart, but the after-deck is marked by an exceptionally broad painted band. There are seven white rectangles on each side; the midships pair are separated by the usual mast-space. The point of the fore-deck is painted black. In the after part of the vessel is an open-sided cabin, consisting of a rounded top supported on either side by four posts, the latter strengthened each side with a single cross-piece tied to them about half-way up. The rounded roof is yellow edged with black to represent leather strips which have white markings edged with black to indicate the lashings which hold them in place; the roof of the cabin is also decorated on each side with two paintings of round-topped shields, alternately white with black markings and black with white markings. The cabin is open to the stern. Immediately abaft the cabin stands a steering-post which has been trimmed roughly to an octagonal section but has no groove on top. To it was lashed the butt of the steering-oar, which was also lashed to the notch on the stern; the present lashings are modern. The tiller was broken off, only the stump remaining. In the bows stands the pilot with right arm extended and left hanging down. Between mast and cabin stand three sailors hauling on the rigging, while forward of the mast are two other members of the crew facing aft and heaving on quant-poles as if to push the boat off a sandbank; they are leaning forward with almost straight bodies, one arm and shoulder pressing on the quants while their disengaged arms are supposed to be pressing on the deck to obtain greater leverage; actually the hands do not quite touch the deck. The human figures on board have red bodies, white skirts, and short black wigs; it is noticeable that both the men working the rigging and those pushing on the quants have their legs well separated so as to get a good purchase on the deck. The helmsman sits in the stern, left arm at 45 degree with the body, right arm straight in front to grasp the tiller, which is missing; the stump is sticking out of the hole in the shaft of the steering-oar. In the cabin squats the figure of the owner of the boat; he has his right arm forward at an angle of about 45 degrees and his left arm slightly forward. Behind him are two round-topped travelling trunks placed one on top of the other and painted red and yellow. All the standing sailors except the pilot, as well as the owner, still have the remains of the original fabric skirts. No facial features carved except noses; eyes are painted on. Arms are pegged to shoulders and cut off straight at ends; hands are not shaped.

Cultures/periods
12th Dynasty

Findspot
Found/Acquired: Beni Hasan, Tomb 723
Africa: Egypt: Minya, el- (Governorate): Beni Hasan

Materials
wood

Type series
Reisner Type II

Technique
painted

Dimensions
Height: 53 centimetres
Length: 69.80 centimetres
Length: 87 centimetres
Depth: 31 centimetres

Curator's comments
As received by the Museum the mast and rigging were in disorder, but photographs taken by the excavator on the site show that the mast, yards and rigging, and the rolled-up sail originally rested in part on the cabin top and in part on the figures of the crew. The spars are slight twigs with much of the original bark and the minimum of trimming, and the samecomment applies to two quant-poles on which men are shown as pushing; these were 'in situ' when the boat was found.

The boat comes from the tomb of Sobkhetepi (no. 723), and was found lying on top of the outer wooden coffin (1905,0516.1), J. Garstang, 'The Burial Customs of Ancient Egypt' (London, 1907), fig. 170, together with a second boat (1905,0516.5.a), a model granary (1905,0516.3), a model of brewing, baking and butchering (1905,0516.6), and a wooden figure of a serving-girl with a basket on her head (not in the collection).

Bibliography:
J. Garstang, 'The Burial Customs of Ancient Egypt' (London, 1907), 237.

Bibliographic references
Glanville 1972 / Catalogue of Egyptian Antiquities in the British Museum II: Wooden Model Boats (12)

Location
Not on display

Exhibition history
Exhibited:
2005-2006 5 Nov-15 Mar, Valencia, Art Galore

Condition
Apart from the broken tiller and the decayed raffle of sail and cordage, the model is in exceptionally good condition.

Acquisition name
Purchased from: F G Hilton Price

Acquisition date
1905

Department
Egypt and Sudan

BM/Big number
EA41574

Registration number
1905,0516.4

Conservation
Treatment: 26 Sep 2005
Treatment: 14 Oct 2005
Treatment: 27 Jan 1997
Treatment: 24 Apr 2006

The British Museum

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA41574

Model group; boat; figure, 12th Dynasty, The British Museum

Model group; boat; figure

Object Type
model group
boat
figure

Museum number
EA41574
Description
Wooden model of sailing-boat: the hull is rather narrow, with moderate sheer; bow lower and more narrow than stern, which has notch for steering-oar; exterior devoid of paint. Deck flush and not cambered, so that raised gunwales are absent; painted white with deck-plan and outer edges in red. The painted centre-strip runs the full length of the vessel; the fore-deck is marked only by a normal painted thwart, but the after-deck is marked by an exceptionally broad painted band. There are seven white rectangles on each side; the midships pair are separated by the usual mast-space. The point of the fore-deck is painted black. In the after part of the vessel is an open-sided cabin, consisting of a rounded top supported on either side by four posts, the latter strengthened each side with a single cross-piece tied to them about half-way up. The rounded roof is yellow edged with black to represent leather strips which have white markings edged with black to indicate the lashings which hold them in place; the roof of the cabin is also decorated on each side with two paintings of round-topped shields, alternately white with black markings and black with white markings. The cabin is open to the stern. Immediately abaft the cabin stands a steering-post which has been trimmed roughly to an octagonal section but has no groove on top. To it was lashed the butt of the steering-oar, which was also lashed to the notch on the stern; the present lashings are modern. The tiller was broken off, only the stump remaining. In the bows stands the pilot with right arm extended and left hanging down. Between mast and cabin stand three sailors hauling on the rigging, while forward of the mast are two other members of the crew facing aft and heaving on quant-poles as if to push the boat off a sandbank; they are leaning forward with almost straight bodies, one arm and shoulder pressing on the quants while their disengaged arms are supposed to be pressing on the deck to obtain greater leverage; actually the hands do not quite touch the deck. The human figures on board have red bodies, white skirts, and short black wigs; it is noticeable that both the men working the rigging and those pushing on the quants have their legs well separated so as to get a good purchase on the deck. The helmsman sits in the stern, left arm at 45 degree with the body, right arm straight in front to grasp the tiller, which is missing; the stump is sticking out of the hole in the shaft of the steering-oar. In the cabin squats the figure of the owner of the boat; he has his right arm forward at an angle of about 45 degrees and his left arm slightly forward. Behind him are two round-topped travelling trunks placed one on top of the other and painted red and yellow. All the standing sailors except the pilot, as well as the owner, still have the remains of the original fabric skirts. No facial features carved except noses; eyes are painted on. Arms are pegged to shoulders and cut off straight at ends; hands are not shaped.

Cultures/periods
12th Dynasty

Findspot
Found/Acquired: Beni Hasan, Tomb 723
Africa: Egypt: Minya, el- (Governorate): Beni Hasan

Materials
wood

Type series
Reisner Type II

Technique
painted

Dimensions
Height: 53 centimetres
Length: 69.80 centimetres
Length: 87 centimetres
Depth: 31 centimetres

Curator's comments
As received by the Museum the mast and rigging were in disorder, but photographs taken by the excavator on the site show that the mast, yards and rigging, and the rolled-up sail originally rested in part on the cabin top and in part on the figures of the crew. The spars are slight twigs with much of the original bark and the minimum of trimming, and the samecomment applies to two quant-poles on which men are shown as pushing; these were 'in situ' when the boat was found.

The boat comes from the tomb of Sobkhetepi (no. 723), and was found lying on top of the outer wooden coffin (1905,0516.1), J. Garstang, 'The Burial Customs of Ancient Egypt' (London, 1907), fig. 170, together with a second boat (1905,0516.5.a), a model granary (1905,0516.3), a model of brewing, baking and butchering (1905,0516.6), and a wooden figure of a serving-girl with a basket on her head (not in the collection).

Bibliography:
J. Garstang, 'The Burial Customs of Ancient Egypt' (London, 1907), 237.

Bibliographic references
Glanville 1972 / Catalogue of Egyptian Antiquities in the British Museum II: Wooden Model Boats (12)

Location
Not on display

Exhibition history
Exhibited:
2005-2006 5 Nov-15 Mar, Valencia, Art Galore

Condition
Apart from the broken tiller and the decayed raffle of sail and cordage, the model is in exceptionally good condition.

Acquisition name
Purchased from: F G Hilton Price

Acquisition date
1905

Department
Egypt and Sudan

BM/Big number
EA41574

Registration number
1905,0516.4

Conservation
Treatment: 26 Sep 2005
Treatment: 14 Oct 2005
Treatment: 27 Jan 1997
Treatment: 24 Apr 2006

The British Museum

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA41574

Model group; boat; figure, 12th Dynasty, The British Museum

Heart Amulet

Accession Number
AB7

Current Location
House of Death (ground floor), Amulets case, Shelf 2

Object Type
Jewellery, Amulet

Periods
Third Intermediate Period to Late Period

Material
Stone/minerals (Jasper)

Provenance
Egypt

Weight (grams)
4 grams.

Number of Elements
1

Measurements
Height: 25mm | Width: 16mm | Depth: 6mm

Description
A red jasper heart amulet. This appears to be a cornice heart amulet (Sousa 2011, 17–20), which dates at the earliest to the Twenty-first Dynasty, though most are Late Period. It was a gift from University of Wales, Aberystwyth. To the Egyptians the heart was the most important organ of the body, the seat of intelligence and feeling. It was the heart that was weighed on the balance in the afterlife to judge whether or not a person should live again. Only two heart amulets are known before the New Kingdom, but once established this amulet was so important that it appeared on every mummy. Red stones were most commonly used. Four chapters of the Book of the Dead were concerned with not taking a man's heart away. Spell 26 is the 'Spell for giving the deceased's heart to him in the realm of the dead'. Spell 29B is for a heart amulet of carnelian. Spell 30B of the Book of the Dead is for the heart amulet. The importance of the heart is made clear in Chapter 30B of the Book of the Dead; a plea for the heart not to oppose the deceased before the tribunal. The heart was the essence of the person, their seat of intellect and emotion. Indeed, the weighing of the heart scene was associated with Spell 30B before it became associated with Spell 125 (Gee 2009, 4–5). However, Sousa (2011) associates the cornice heart amulet with the child deities, such as Harpocrates, who were particularly popular in the Late Period. He further suggests that such amulets may well have been worn during life.

Bibliography
Andrews, Carol 1994. Amulets of ancient Egypt. London: The British Museum Press.

Gee, John 2009. Of heart scarabs and balance weights: a new interpretation of Book of the Dead 30B. Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities 36, 1–15.

Naguib, Saphinaz-Amal 1994. Interpreting abstract concepts: towards an attempt to classify the ancient Egyptian notion of person. Discussions in Egyptology 29, 99–124.

Piankoff, Alexandre 1930. Le "cœur" dans les textes égyptiens depuis l'Ancien jusqu'à la fin du Nouvel Empire. Paris: Paul Geuthner.

Sousa, Rogério 2007. The meaning of the heart amulets in Egyptian art. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 43, 59–70.

Sousa, Rogério 2011. The heart of wisdom: studies on the heart amulet in ancient Egypt. BAR International Series 2211. Oxford: Archaeopress.

Object History

Previous Owner
Aberystwyth University

Acquisition
Gift, Aberystwyth University (24 Mar 1997)

The Egyptian Centre

https://egyptcentre.abasetcollections.com/Objects/Details/959?SavedSelections=$Search-Heart$Page-1

Heart Amulet, Third Intermediate Period to Late Period, Jasper, The Egyptian Centre

Last modified: 27 Mar 2026

Heart Amulet

Accession Number
AB7

Current Location
House of Death (ground floor), Amulets case, Shelf 2

Object Type
Jewellery, Amulet

Periods
Third Intermediate Period to Late Period

Material
Stone/minerals (Jasper)

Provenance
Egypt

Weight (grams)
4 grams.

Number of Elements
1

Measurements
Height: 25mm | Width: 16mm | Depth: 6mm

Description
A red jasper heart amulet. This appears to be a cornice heart amulet (Sousa 2011, 17–20), which dates at the earliest to the Twenty-first Dynasty, though most are Late Period. It was a gift from University of Wales, Aberystwyth. To the Egyptians the heart was the most important organ of the body, the seat of intelligence and feeling. It was the heart that was weighed on the balance in the afterlife to judge whether or not a person should live again. Only two heart amulets are known before the New Kingdom, but once established this amulet was so important that it appeared on every mummy. Red stones were most commonly used. Four chapters of the Book of the Dead were concerned with not taking a man's heart away. Spell 26 is the 'Spell for giving the deceased's heart to him in the realm of the dead'. Spell 29B is for a heart amulet of carnelian. Spell 30B of the Book of the Dead is for the heart amulet. The importance of the heart is made clear in Chapter 30B of the Book of the Dead; a plea for the heart not to oppose the deceased before the tribunal. The heart was the essence of the person, their seat of intellect and emotion. Indeed, the weighing of the heart scene was associated with Spell 30B before it became associated with Spell 125 (Gee 2009, 4–5). However, Sousa (2011) associates the cornice heart amulet with the child deities, such as Harpocrates, who were particularly popular in the Late Period. He further suggests that such amulets may well have been worn during life.

Bibliography
Andrews, Carol 1994. Amulets of ancient Egypt. London: The British Museum Press.

Gee, John 2009. Of heart scarabs and balance weights: a new interpretation of Book of the Dead 30B. Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities 36, 1–15.

Naguib, Saphinaz-Amal 1994. Interpreting abstract concepts: towards an attempt to classify the ancient Egyptian notion of person. Discussions in Egyptology 29, 99–124.

Piankoff, Alexandre 1930. Le "cœur" dans les textes égyptiens depuis l'Ancien jusqu'à la fin du Nouvel Empire. Paris: Paul Geuthner.

Sousa, Rogério 2007. The meaning of the heart amulets in Egyptian art. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 43, 59–70.

Sousa, Rogério 2011. The heart of wisdom: studies on the heart amulet in ancient Egypt. BAR International Series 2211. Oxford: Archaeopress.

Object History

Previous Owner
Aberystwyth University

Acquisition
Gift, Aberystwyth University (24 Mar 1997)

The Egyptian Centre

https://egyptcentre.abasetcollections.com/Objects/Details/959?SavedSelections=$Search-Heart$Page-1

Heart Amulet, Third Intermediate Period to Late Period, Jasper, The Egyptian Centre

Last modified: 27 Mar 2026

Statuette of the Goddess Thoëris (or Taweret)

Object Number
BSAe III 01513

Cultural area
Egypt

Epoch
Late Period (Egypt)

Basic information
Limestone, H. 11.4 cm Late period, 26. Dynasty, 664–525 BC Inv. BSAe III 01513

Provenance
Depositum Museum of Cultures, Basel. Until 2005 Museum of Cultures, Basel. 1903 Donation by Rudolf Nötzlin-Werthemann (1840–1911) to the Ethnology Museum, Basel. Acquired at the Museum Bulaq, Cairo.

Description
The largely intact limestone statuette of the patron goddess Thoëris is of fine quality. She is a mixed creature of hippo, lion and crocodile. With her short hippo legs, Thoëris stands on a rectangular base plate, which is damaged at the left corner. The mouth of the hippopotamus head is half open and makes the carefully executed teeth visible with the large canines and the small incisors. Nostrs and eye ams are plastically highlighted. A strand wig connects the head with the pregnant hippo body. Its back is formed by a crocodile's back. The human arms, which end in lion pranks, are slightly bent and led forward to the pregnant body. The equally human breasts hang down heavily. Their urtal mixed shape is composed of pregnant hippo, lion and crocodile, all powerful animals that could be dangerous to humans on the Nile. In magic, on the other hand, they opposed its protection. Especially the pregnant hippopotamus, which protects its young, was rated positively as a donor of fertility and food.

Bibliography
H. Schlögl (ed.), gift of the Nile. Egyptian works of art from Swiss ownership (Basel 1978) 90, No. 306.

Antikenmuseum Basel

https://antikenmuseumbasel.zetcom.net/en/collection/item/74657/

Statuette of the Goddess Thoëris (or Taweret), Dynasty 26 Late period 664–525 BC, Limestone, Antikenmuseum Basel

Inner Coffin Lid of Iawttayesheret

PLACE CREATED Egypt, Africa

CULTURE Egyptian

PERIOD Late Period, Dynasty 25

DATE 722-655 BCE

MEDIUM Wood, gesso, pigment

CREDIT LINE Charlotte Lichirie Collection of Egyptian Art

DIMENSIONS 66 15/16 x 11 13/16 x 21 1/16 in. (170 x 30 x 53.5 cm)

OBJECT NUMBER 1999.001.008 D

Label Text
This nested set of coffins belonged to a woman named Iawttayesheret. The daughter of Padikhnum and Tadiaset, Iawttayesheret was the Great Follower of the Divine Adoratirce of Amun, and almost certainly resided in Thebes. Both her titles and the high quality of her coffins indicated that Iawttayesheret was a woman of some stature.

Exhibition History
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, July 18, 1999 - January 17, 2000
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, October 6, 2001 - Present

Published References
Peter Lacovara, "The New Galleries of Egyptian and Near Eastern Art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum". Minerva, The International Review of Ancient Art and Archaeology. September/October 2001. p. 9-16.

Peter Lacovara & Betsy Teasley Trope. The Realm of Osiris. Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum (2001): 53-55.

MCCM website, Spring 2008-, http://www.carlos.emory.edu/egyptian-nubian

TERMS coffinspainting (image-making)

PROVENANCE
Ex coll. Niagara Falls Museum, Niagara Falls, Canada. Purchased by MCCM from William Jamieson (1954-2011) [Golden Chariot Productions], Toronto, Canada.

STATUS On view

COLLECTIONS Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art

The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University

https://collections.carlos.emory.edu/objects/19003/inner-coffin-lid-of-iawttayesheret?ctx=eff06a3bb76ef48e4929ad09adf03f94d9d5a566&idx=138

Inner Coffin Lid of Iawttayesheret, Dynasty 25 722-655 BCE late period,Wood guesso pigment, The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University

Inner Coffin Lid of Iawttayesheret

PLACE CREATED Egypt, Africa

CULTURE Egyptian

PERIOD Late Period, Dynasty 25

DATE 722-655 BCE

MEDIUM Wood, gesso, pigment

CREDIT LINE Charlotte Lichirie Collection of Egyptian Art

DIMENSIONS 66 15/16 x 11 13/16 x 21 1/16 in. (170 x 30 x 53.5 cm)

OBJECT NUMBER 1999.001.008 D

Label Text
This nested set of coffins belonged to a woman named Iawttayesheret. The daughter of Padikhnum and Tadiaset, Iawttayesheret was the Great Follower of the Divine Adoratirce of Amun, and almost certainly resided in Thebes. Both her titles and the high quality of her coffins indicated that Iawttayesheret was a woman of some stature.

Exhibition History
MCCM Permanent Collection Galleries, July 18, 1999 - January 17, 2000
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, October 6, 2001 - Present

Published References
Peter Lacovara, "The New Galleries of Egyptian and Near Eastern Art at the Michael C. Carlos Museum". Minerva, The International Review of Ancient Art and Archaeology. September/October 2001. p. 9-16.

Peter Lacovara & Betsy Teasley Trope. The Realm of Osiris. Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum (2001): 53-55.

MCCM website, Spring 2008-, http://www.carlos.emory.edu/egyptian-nubian

TERMS coffinspainting (image-making)

PROVENANCE
Ex coll. Niagara Falls Museum, Niagara Falls, Canada. Purchased by MCCM from William Jamieson (1954-2011) [Golden Chariot Productions], Toronto, Canada.

STATUS On view

COLLECTIONS Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern Art

The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University

https://collections.carlos.emory.edu/objects/19003/inner-coffin-lid-of-iawttayesheret?ctx=eff06a3bb76ef48e4929ad09adf03f94d9d5a566&idx=138

Inner Coffin Lid of Iawttayesheret, Dynasty 25 722-655 BCE late period,Wood guesso pigment, The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University

Inner Coffin of Nephthys
Middle Kingdom
ca. 1961–1878 B.C.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 112

The mummy of Nephthys (11.150.15c) was buried in a coffin set that included an outer rectangular wooden coffin (11.150.15a) and an inner mummy-shaped coffin made out of cartonnage (layers of linen with plaster). The inner coffin features a gilded face and a broad collar. In addition, a small necklace was incorporated into the neck area of this coffin.

Overview ‎
Title: Inner Coffin of Nephthys

Period: Middle Kingdom

Dynasty: Dynasty 12

Reign: reigns of Senwosret I to Senwosret II

Date: ca. 1961–1878 B.C.

Geography: From Egypt, Middle Egypt, Meir, Khashaba excavations, 1910–11

Medium: Painted cartonnage, wood, gold leaf, Egyptian blue, calcite, carnelian, beryl, silver wire, faience

Dimensions: L. 179.5 cm (70 11/16 in.)

Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1911

Object Number: 11.150.15b

Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

Provenance
Excavated by Ahmed Kamal in excavations sponsored by Sayyid Khashaba at Meir, 1910. Received by Khashaba in the division of finds. Purchased from Khashaba by the Metropolitan Museum, 1911.

References
Hayes, William C. 1953. Scepter of Egypt I: A Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in The Metropolitan Museum of Art: From the Earliest Times to the End of the Middle Kingdom. Cambridge, Mass.: Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 311.

Fischer, Henry G. 1964. "Two Royal Monuments of the Middle Kingdom Restored." In The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, new ser., vol. 22, no. 7 (March), p. 245, n. 1.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/558155

Inner Coffin of Nephthys, Dynasty 12 Middle Kingdom ca. 1961–1878 B.C., Painted cartonnage, wood, gold leaf, Egyptian blue, calcite, carnelian, beryl, silver wire, faience, The Metropolitan Museum of Art