Two Earrings

Much ancient Egyptian jewelry was essentially decorative, like the pair of gold earrings shown here, which are simply thick hoops. But other items of adornment sometimes acted like amulets to protect the wearer, such as the necklaces mounted together here. These necklaces include ancestor bust figures for communicating with the dead; cornflowers, which were associated with renewal; a frog, symbolizing rebirth; and the pregnant hippopotamus, protector of pregnant women and thus a guardian of rebirth.