Ancient Egypt, Late Dynastic period, ca. 712 to 332 BCE. A carved stone panel cippus, a votive plaque which once would have depicted the god Horus standing atop the two crocodiles, one of which is nicely preserved here. Below the crocodiles are three panels of hieroglyphs; the back of the plaque also has hieroglyphs incised into it. This example is made from a pretty piece of hard, layered stone, a type of brown slate. The crocodile present is well-carved, lifelike, with a nice attention to detail, indicating that the piece was made by a talented artist. Cippus amulets (cippi) became popular during the New Kingdom and continued to be popular until the Roman period. Egyptians believed that possessing one of these plaques could protect them from attacks by wild animals - a real problem in the Egyptian world. Size: 2.25" W x 2.75" H (5.7 cm x 7 cm)
The iconography of "Horus on the Crocodiles" stems from the story of Horus, hidden in marshes from his enemy Seth by his mother Isis so that he could heal from scorpion stings and snakebites. The protective spells on front and back of a cippis could be activated by pouring water over it and into a bowl, to be drunk by the person seeking protection. Smaller portable amulets like this one could be submerged in water, and then the water ingested ritually. Made to be treasured by hunters or anyone who had to venture beyond the safe space of the Nile delta into the wild peripheries of Egypt.
Provenance: private East Coast, USA collection; ex Charles Ede; ex Gustave Mustaki, Alexandria, Egypt, exported from Egypt to the UK under license 1949
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#157315
Condition
Piece is a fragment as shown. Nicely preserved on the side with the crocodiles aside from the loss of Horus; the back of the piece has some preserved hieroglyphs.