<em>Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring</em>, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Steatite, glaze, gold, 9/16 × 15/16 in. (1.5 × 2.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.199. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.08.480.199_view1_erg2.jpg)

Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Steatite, glaze, gold, 9/16 × 15/16 in. (1.5 × 2.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.199. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.08.480.199_view1_erg2.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Because the cowrie shell resembles female genitalia, the Egyptians believed it could magically ensure procreative powers. Wealthy Egyptians frequently wore cowroids mounted in gold rings. The design on the bottom of this cowroid is carved in a style frequently found on Hyksos scarabs.

MEDIUM Steatite, glaze, gold

Place Collected: Egypt

DATES ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E.

DYNASTY late Dynasty 13 to Dynasty 17

PERIOD Second Intermediate Period

DIMENSIONS 9/16 × 15/16 in. (1.5 × 2.4 cm) mount (m2 - wall mount): 1/2 × 1 × 1 1/2 in. (1.3 × 2.5 × 3.8 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 08.480.199

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

PROVENANCE Archaeological provenance not yet documented; by 1893, acquired by Armand de Potter; November 1893, lent by Armand de Potter to the University Museum, Philadelphia, PA; 1905, inherited from Armand de Potter by Aimee S. de Potter (Amy S. Beckwith) of Asheville, NC; March 1908, purchased from Aimee S. de Potter by the Brooklyn Museum.

Provenance FAQ

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Steatite cowroid seal, glazed green and mounted on gold ring with swivel. Base of seal inscribed with conventionalized floral design. Ends of ring twisted back on shank. Condition: Good. Glaze worn.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view

CAPTION Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Steatite, glaze, gold, 9/16 × 15/16 in. (1.5 × 2.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.199. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.08.480.199_view1_erg2.jpg)

IMAGE overall, CUR.08.480.199_view1_erg2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 11/13/2008

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.