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<em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_front_PS4.jpg)
Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_front_PS4.jpg)
<em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_front_PS4.jpg)

Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_front_PS4.jpg)

<em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_NegC_front_bw_SL3.jpg)

Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_NegC_front_bw_SL3.jpg)

<em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_reference_SL1.jpg)

Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_reference_SL1.jpg)

<em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_back_PS4.jpg)

Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_back_PS4.jpg)

<em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.710E_view1_divinefelines_2013.jpg)

Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.710E_view1_divinefelines_2013.jpg)

<em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_NegD_back_bw_SL3.jpg)

Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_NegD_back_bw_SL3.jpg)

<em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.710E_erg456.jpg)

Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.710E_erg456.jpg)

<em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.710E.jpg)

Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.710E.jpg)

<em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.710E_view2_divinefelines_2013.jpg)

Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.710E_view2_divinefelines_2013.jpg)

<em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.710E_tlf.jpg)

Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.710E_tlf.jpg)

<em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 37.710E_37.711E_GrpA_SL4.jpg)

Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 37.710E_37.711E_GrpA_SL4.jpg)

<em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 37.710E_37.711E_GrpB_SL4.jpg)

Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 37.710E_37.711E_GrpB_SL4.jpg)

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Amulet in the Form of the God Bes

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Bes was popularly worshipped as protector of women and infants, and as a facilitator of fertility. Shown standing on the head and shoulders of a woman with a baby, in Bes with Lute the god protects the mother and newborn by driving away potential harm with the sounds of his musical instrument. The large, round ears and facial folds seen on the Finial are reminiscent of a snarling lion and connect Bes with powerful felines. Because Bes was a multifaceted god who offered protection during such times of transition as pregnancy and birth, women wore his images, like the Amulet, while giving birth or during rites of passage.
This text refers to these objects: 37.710E; 46.127; 37.921E
MEDIUM Gold
  • Place Made: Egypt
    • DATES ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E.
    DYNASTY Dynasty 18
    PERIOD New Kingdom
    DIMENSIONS 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 37.710E
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Pale gold pendant in the form of the god Bes. Sheet metal, made in two halves impressed in dies. Loop atop head and tail added separately. Condition: Good.
    EXHIBITIONS
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Amulet in the Form of the God Bes, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_front_PS4.jpg)
    IMAGE front, 37.710E_front_PS4.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2016
    "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
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    <em>Amulet in the Form of the God Bes</em>, ca. 1390–1322 B.C.E. Gold, 1 7/16 x 11/16 x 3/8 in. (3.6 x 1.7 x 1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.710E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.710E_front_PS4.jpg)

    TAGS

    Egyptian
    Nubia
    African
    guardia
    Bisu
    figure
    protector
    Middle Kingdon
    amulet
    Protection
    god Bes
    Diety
    Accessory
    Thebes, Egypt
    New Kingdom
    gold
    Sheet Gold
    Childbirth
    Dynasty 18
    Eighteenth Dynasty
    Dynasty XVIII
    Die Formed
    Soldered
    Deity
    New York Historical Society Collection

    TAGS

    Egyptian
    Nubia
    African
    guardia
    Bisu
    figure
    protector
    Middle Kingdon
    amulet
    Protection
    god Bes
    Diety
    Accessory
    Thebes, Egypt
    New Kingdom
    gold
    Sheet Gold
    Childbirth
    Dynasty 18
    Eighteenth Dynasty
    Dynasty XVIII
    Die Formed
    Soldered
    Deity
    New York Historical Society Collection

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