**First Time At Auction**
Ancient Egypt, New Kingdom, late 18th Dynasty, Amarna Period, reign of Amenhotep III and Akhenaten, ca. 1361 to 1336 BCE. A wonderful hand-carved miniature baboon amulet made from red jasper. This votive piece depicts the stylized baboon sitting in profile with hands upon his knees. An integral loop is carved on the top of the head for suspension and the verso is flat. The jasper is a pretty sanguine hue with polished surfaces. The baboon is representative of Thoth, the god of intellectual pursuits such as writing and accounting. Baboons were also guardians of the first door to the underworld. The amulet may have been worn as a protective piece for the living or even used in mummy wrappings for guidance in the afterlife. A fine example of Egyptian artistry! Size: 0.71" L x 0.31" W (1.8 cm x 0.8 cm)
According to Egyptologists Erik Hornung and Betsy M. Bryan, "As primeval animals, baboons and green monkeys were prominent parts of the Egyptian cosmogony. The earliest gods are sometimes depicted with baboon heads. The baboon became an aspect of the sun god, Re . . . And of the moon god, Thoth-Khonsu. Thoth (Djehuty in ancient Egyptian) was the god of writing and knowledge, who was depicted in the form of two animals: the baboon (Papio cynocephalus) and the sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus). In his baboon form Thoth was closely associated with the baboon god, Hedj-wer (the great white one) of the Early Dynastic period. By the end of the Old Kingdom (2686 - 2181 BCE) he was usually portrayed as an ibis-headed man, holding a scribal palette and pen or a notched palm leaf, performing some kind of act of recording or calculation." (Hornung, Erik and Betsy M. Bryan, eds. "The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt." National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2002, p. 200)
Provenance: ex-Phillip Mitry collection, noted antiquities dealer in Cairo, Egypt before emigrating to the United States in 1951
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#164486
Condition
Great condition. Intact with light mineral and earthen deposits in recessed areas.