Art Institute of Chicago

Double Crown Amulet

Egyptian

Date

Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BCE)

Medium

Gold

Culture

Egypt

Department

Arts of Africa

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Small-scale Egyptian figurines, known as amulets, were thought to promote health and good luck. Amulets were such an important part of Egyptian religious beliefs that they were worn by both the living and the dead. They could be mounted on rings or strung as bracelets or necklaces and were placed among the mummy wrappings to secure the deceased’s rebirth and well-being in the afterlife. Many varieties of amulets survive, including figures of deities, parts of the human (ordivine) body, animals, plants, and objects of daily life. The crowns of Northern and Southern Egypt are shown atop a half basket which is the hieroglyph for “all” or “lord.” Therefore, this amulet may express the wish that the deceased, as a form of Osiris, rule over all Egypt.

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