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<em>Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring</em>, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Steatite, glaze, gold, 9/16 x Diam. 15/16 in. (1.5 x 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 x Diam. 15/16 in. (1.5 x 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)
<em>Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring</em>, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Steatite, glaze, gold, 9/16 x Diam. 15/16 in. (1.5 x 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 x Diam. 15/16 in. (1.5 x 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)

<em>Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring</em>, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Steatite, glaze, gold, 9/16 x Diam. 15/16 in. (1.5 x 2.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.199. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.08.480.199_view2_erg2.jpg)

Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Steatite, glaze, gold, 9/16 x Diam. 15/16 in. (1.5 x 2.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.199. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.08.480.199_view2_erg2.jpg)

<em>Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring</em>, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Steatite, glaze, gold, 9/16 x Diam. 15/16 in. (1.5 x 2.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.199. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 08.480.199_front_PS9.jpg)

Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Steatite, glaze, gold, 9/16 x Diam. 15/16 in. (1.5 x 2.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.199. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 08.480.199_front_PS9.jpg)

<em>Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring</em>, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Steatite, glaze, gold, 9/16 x Diam. 15/16 in. (1.5 x 2.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.199. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 08.480.199_back_PS9.jpg)

Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Steatite, glaze, gold, 9/16 x Diam. 15/16 in. (1.5 x 2.4 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.199. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 08.480.199_back_PS9.jpg)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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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 x Diam. 15/16 in. (1.5 x 2.4 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    EXHIBITIONS
    ACCESSION NUMBER 08.480.199
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    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.
    CAPTION Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Steatite, glaze, gold, 9/16 x Diam. 15/16 in. (1.5 x 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.
    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.
    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.
    <em>Cowrie-Shaped Amulet in Gold Ring</em>, ca. 1630-1539 B.C.E. Steatite, glaze, gold, 9/16 x Diam. 15/16 in. (1.5 x 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)

    TAGS

    accessory
    Cowrie Shell
    Cowroid Amulet
    Egypt
    Egyptian
    glazed
    gold
    jewelry
    Late 13th Dynasty- 17th Dynasty
    ring
    Second Intermediate Period
    steatite

    TAGS

    accessory
    Cowrie Shell
    Cowroid Amulet
    Egypt
    Egyptian
    glazed
    gold
    jewelry
    Late 13th Dynasty- 17th Dynasty
    ring
    Second Intermediate Period
    steatite
    + Add Tag

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