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Hare Amulet

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Funerary Gallery 2, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
Living persons wore only one or a few amulets at a time, but mummies usually bear many amulets. The Ma’at amulet (no. 2) and heart scarabs (nos. 1, 3, 11), which occurred in many forms, guaranteed a successful judgment of the dead. The amulets of a hand (no. 8), lungs and a windpipe (no. 12), and wadjet-eyes (i.e., “healthy” eyes; no. 4) protected those parts of the body and also had connotations of resurrection and the unity or integrity of the mummy. The enigmatic aper amulet (no. 13) takes the form of the hieroglyph meaning “to be equipped,” perhaps in reference to the mummy’s preparation. The two crowns (nos. 5, 6) were symbols of power. The Heh insignia (no. 7), like the popular ankh-sign, denoted eternal life. Among the living, the frog (no. 9) and possibly also the hare (no. 10) suggested fertility. The amulets of the Four Sons of Horus (no. 15) perhaps served, as they did with canopic jars, to protect various organs of the body.
MEDIUM Faience
  • Place Made: Egypt
  • DATES ca. 664–30 B.C.E.
    PERIOD Late Period to Ptolemaic Period
    DIMENSIONS H: 2.7 cm, H. of base: c. 0.5 cm; length 4.6 cm, L. of fig. 4.5 cm, L. of ears: 2.2 cm; width 5.0 cm  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 72.38
    CREDIT LINE Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Carl L. Selden through The Roebling Society
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION One green glazed faience amulet of a rabbit crouching on a base rounded in the back; with large ears extending back from the head and resting on an attachment to the back. Attachment is pierced horizontally for suspension.
    CAPTION Hare Amulet, ca. 664–30 B.C.E. Faience, H: 2.7 cm, H. of base: c. 0.5 cm; length 4.6 cm, L. of fig. 4.5 cm, L. of ears: 2.2 cm; width 5.0 cm. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Carl L. Selden through The Roebling Society, 72.38. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 72.38_threequarter_left_PS2.jpg)
    IMAGE threequarter, 72.38_threequarter_left_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009
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