Cylindrical Amulet
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Object Label
Among the rarest of Middle Kingdom amulets are hollow gold cylinders, usually decorated with tiny gold balls arranged in a geometric pattern. Goldsmiths attached these balls to the cylinders by granulation, a soldering technique developed in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) about 2500 B.C. Some amulets of this type contained tiny pieces of papyrus inscribed with magical spells.
Caption
Cylindrical Amulet, ca. 1938–1759 B.C.E.. Gold, copper (?), 2 1/16 x Diam. of cap 1/4 in. (5.3 x 0.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 59.199.1. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Title
Cylindrical Amulet
Date
ca. 1938–1759 B.C.E.
Dynasty
Dynasty 12
Period
Middle Kingdom
Geography
Place excavated: Lisht, Egypt
Medium
Gold, copper (?)
Classification
Dimensions
2 1/16 x Diam. of cap 1/4 in. (5.3 x 0.7 cm)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
59.199.1
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