Ancient Egypt, Late Period Faience Papyrus - Sceptre Amulet

Attention: due to customs regulations we can only ship inside the European Union. Please ensure you have a valid EU shipping address before placing a bid. Ancient Egyptian finely detailed turquoise faience amulet, depicting a rolled papyrus sceptre, also known as wadj or papyrus column. The body is shaped in typical column form, tapering towards the bottom. The top flares outwards to a splayed terminal with a decorated loop for suspension. Size: ± 24,6 mm Condition: Good, solid and intact condition with fine detail. Signs of wear consistent with age and use. Certificate of Authenticity: available upon request (pdf-format). -> Ancient Egyptians associated the green of fresh vegetation with youthfulness, new life and resurrection. Wadj amulets were a symbol of eternal youth, and were often placed upon a dead body around the neck upon burial to ensure eternal youth in the afterlife. Papyrus column amulets occur from the New Kingdom on and were very popular in the Late Period. -> Faience was very popular and widely used in ancient Egypt. The earliest evidence of faience production was discovered in a 7500 year old workshop near the temple in Abydos. The production and style of faience changed through Egyptian history. Different colourants were used for aesthetic and symbolic purposes, or to imitate the more expensive and rare semi-precious gemstones like turquoise, carnelian, lapis lazuli, garnets or obsidian. Egyptians believed that faience in the colour of gemstones had the same properties. Red had protective powers, dark lapis blue gave strength, courage and wisdom, bright turquoise was associated with fertility and offered protection to the wearer. As faience was more available than semi-precious gemstones it became a popular and widely used material for small objects like scarabs and other forms of amulets, beads, jewellery, small size statuettes, cosmetic vessels and ritual objects. In ancient Egypt, faience objects were seen as magical, reflecting the eternal shimmer of the sun and infused with the powers of rebirth and sparkle with the brilliance of eternity.

Estimate:£188.88

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