Art Institute of Chicago

Amulet of a Double Animal: Lion and Bull

Egyptian

Date

Late Period, Dynasty 26 (664–525 BCE)

Medium

Faience

Culture

Egypt

Department

Arts of Africa

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Ancient Egyptians had several terms for small objects like this, which we call “amulets.” Worn by the living and the dead, these charms were meant to bring protection, health, and good luck, ensuring the bearer’s well-being in both life and the afterlife. This amulet depicts the foreparts of both a lion and a bull, joined together at the back. It resembles another amulet type that shows conjoined lions, a representation of the god Aker, who was associated with the western and eastern horizons in the underworld. The identities of the figures on double-bull, double-ram, or lion-and-bull amulets like this one remain more elusive. To an ancient Egyptian audience, the placement of the suspension loop in the center of the two animals would have evoked the hieroglyph for “horizon,” which represents the sun between two hills. Viewed in profile, the loop resembles the sun rising or setting against the horizon of the animals’ backs and may suggest that the amulet’s significance is tied to the solar cycle. Ancient Egyptians hoped that, just as the sun was reborn each day, they would experience their own rebirth into the afterlife.

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