Pectoral amulet depicting the god Anubis

Object Details

• Description

  Faience pectoral amulet. Perforated horizontally for stringing, shrine-shaped plaque. The top border of the shrine is modeled and accented with black, but the other details are painted in black beneath the final coat of glaze. The central design is surrounded by a border. The border pattern on the top and sides consists of two narrow lines connected by sets of three perpendicular lines separated by blank spaces. On the bottom, the border consists of a bar of seventeen continuous simple shrines with doors. Within the border are two shrines with decorated cornices and doors, very similar in shape to the pectoral itself. Atop each shrine is a recumbent jackal, which face each other in antithetical composition. Their tails hang down behind the shrines, and their ears are alert. Each wears a magical tie or collar. There are different epithets above and behind each jackal. Since the jackals represent Anubis, the god of mummification, this pectoral is a purely funerary type of amulet. It would have rested on the chest of a mummy.

• Inscriptions

  Two hieroglyphic inscriptions, one above and behind each jackal. Above the left jackal: inpw imy wt = Anubis who is embalmer. Above the right: inpw hnty w`bt ntr = Anubis who is before the god’s place of embalming.

• Provenance

  To 1907

  Dikran G. Kelekian (1868-1951), Cairo, Egypt, Paris, France, and New York to 1907 [1]

  From 1907 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Dikran G. Kelekian in 1907 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Pottery List, L. 1581, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt (January 28, 2023 to 2025)

  Charles Lang Freer and Egypt (June 13, 1998 to October 2, 2011)

  Art of Dynastic Egypt (December 15, 1976 to September 22, 1977)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Dikran Garabed Kelekian (1868-1951) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  Egypt

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Jewelry and Ornament

• On View

  Freer Gallery 20: A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  BCE 1000s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Kelekian, Dikran Garabed

• Place

  Egypt

• Topic

  Dynasty 19 (ca. 1292 - 1190 BCE), Art, Ancient Egyptian Art, Anubis (Egyptian deity), Protection, New Kingdom (ca. 1539 - 1075 BCE), Dynasty 18 (ca. 1539 - 1295 BCE)

• Culture

  Egyptians

• Object Type

  Ornaments, Jewelry

• On View

  Yes