Egyptian wax covered amulet of Duamutef, Third Intermediate Period, 21st-22nd Dynasty, c.1069-715 BC
Terracotta, wax
Height: 8.4cm
10018
The terracotta amulet of the jackal headed Duamutef is represented mummiform, wearing a wig, the surface covered in a thick layer of beeswax. Intact, the surface stained.
During the 21st and 22nd Dynasties the mummification practice changed, in as much as the four vital organs were removed, separately embalmed, and instead of being placed in canopic jars were put back in the body. They were accompanied by the wax figurines, which were either bundled up with them, or placed adjacent to them.
The preservative properties of wax, its association with divine bees, its mythical origins as having come from the eye of Ra, its malleability and its flesh-like appearance made it a very suitable material for these amulets.
During the 21st and 22nd Dynasties the mummification practice changed, in as much as the four vital organs were removed, separately embalmed, and instead of being placed in canopic jars were put back in the body. They were accompanied by the wax figurines, which were either bundled up with them, or placed adjacent to them.
The preservative properties of wax, its association with divine bees, its mythical origins as having come from the eye of Ra, its malleability and its flesh-like appearance made it a very suitable material for these amulets.
Provenance
Gustave Mustaki, Alexandria, Egypt; exported from Egypt to the UK c.1950Elsa McLellan, UK; by descent from the above
Private collection, London, UK; by descent from the above
Literature
Compare L.M. Berman, Catalogue of Egyptian Art; The Cleveland Museum of Art (Cleveland, 1999), pp.379-380, no.287-288. There are also several examples in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA; see accession nos. 25.3.159 and 25.3.1541
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