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Egyptian Antiquities :
Egyptian Amulets : New Kingdom Faience Amulet of a Djed Column
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New Kingdom Faience Amulet of a Djed Column - FJ.5804
Origin: Egypt
Circa: 1600
BC
to 600
BC
Dimensions:
1.125" (2.9cm) high
Collection: Egyptian
Style: New Kingdom
Medium: Faience
Additional Information: Found in Israel, SOLD
$900.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
The first examples of amulets appeared
in Ancient Egypt as early as 4000 B.C.
Believed to possess magical powers that
protected the wearer or bestowed upon
the properties they symbolized, amulets
were worn both by the living as well as
the dead. Throughout their evolution,
talismans were crafted from a variety of
materials including precious metals such
as gold and silver, semiprecious stone
like jasper and carnelian, as well as
other more affordable glazed
compositions such as faience. The
particular powers of an individual
amulet were based upon its specific
shape, although the material and even
the color of the charm could affect its
magical abilities. While many of the
amulets created to be worn by the living
could also be worn after death, there
also existed a specific group of charms
that were made specifically to be placed
upon the mummified remains of the
deceased. All together, amulets
represent an important class of Ancient
Egyptian art that furthers our
understanding of their complex religious
beliefs.
Faience, which dates back to predynastic
times, at least 5,000 years, is a
glasslike non-clay substance made of
materials common to Egypt: ground
quartz, crushed quartz pebbles, flint, a
soluble salt-like baking soda, lime and
ground copper, which provided the
characteristic color. The dried objects
went into kilns looking pale and
colorless but emerged a sparkling
"Egyptian blue." Called tjehnet by the
Ancient Egyptians, meaning that which is
brilliant or scintillating, faience was
thought to be filled with the undying
light of the sun, moon and stars and was
symbolic of rebirth. Ancient Egyptians
believed the small blue-green objects
helped prepare them for eternity in the
afterlife.
While the form of the djed column is
fairly clear: a tall wide shaft crossed
by four short horizontal lines at the
top, its interpretation is surely
enigmatic. Some scholars believe it
originally represented a stylized palm
tree, others suggest it was supposed to
be a bundle of papyrus stalks. As a
symbol, it first appears as early as the
3rd Dynasty; however, it was not until
the end of the Old Kingdom that the djed
appears as an amulet. By the New
Kingdom, the djed column has come to be
associated with Osiris, and the form was
said to represent his backbone. In the
Ancient Egyptian language, the word djed
meant, “to endure” or “to be stable.”
Thus, as an amulet, the djed column was
supposed to infuse the wearer with the
qualities of stability and endurance.
As a funerary element, the Book of the
Dead details instructions for placing
the djed on the throat of the deceased.
Yet despite these instructions, djed
amulets have been found most often on
the breast or stomach of mummies.
- (FJ.5804)
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