Amulets were personal adornments worn by the living and placed on mummy wrappings to provide protection and aid on the journey from death to the afterlife. The color, shape, and other qualities of the materials were believed to endow the amulet and its wearer with special powers and protections. This amulet, usually worn by women and children as protection, bears an image of Bes on one side and a wejdat eye on reverse. Bes was a popular household god associated with childbirth who watched over women and children. The wedjet eye, also known as the eye of Horus, was believed to provide strength, protection, and good health.

Bes was usually portrayed as a short, stocky, leonine figure with a large head featuring a mask-like and beared face with staring eyes and a protruding tongue.

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Bes is also often seen sporting a plumed headdress. Images of Bes not only appeared on amulets, but on headrests, beds, mirrors, jars, cosmetic containers, and possibly also on masks worn during dances and performances. This amulet is made of faience, a sandy mixture of crushed quartz, natron, and pigment that was heated to fuse the mixture together. It could be pressed into molds or shaped by hand before firing.

Sources:

Andrews, Carol. Amulets of Ancient Egypt. 1994 (British Museum Press). University of Texas Press, 1998.

Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2003.

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