Art Institute of Chicago

Amulet of a Djed Pillar

Egyptian

Date

Third Intermediate Period–Ptolemaic Period (11th–7th centuries BCE)

Medium

Faience

Culture

Egypt

Department

Arts of Africa

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Columns with crossbars at their top represent the stylized backbone of the god Osiris, the main god of the afterlife. Known as djed columns, the backbone was associated with stability, hence with continued life.

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