r/ancientegypt

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.

Thanks on advance! I'm not very knowledgeable in this area, could it be Ma'at or isis?

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.

I left it in situ!

Djedefre was the son and immediate throne successor of Khufu, the builder of the Great Pyramid of Giza; his mother is not known for certain. He is the king who introduced the royal title Sa-Rê (meaning “Son of Ra”) and the first to connect his cartouche name with the sun god Ra. His name is said to mean "Enduring like Re" and his Horus name was Kheper which is said to mean "Horus Appears".

He introduced major innovations in the design and construction of pyramids, and at least three of his pyramids survive to this day