Faience Amulet of Taweret

Culture: Egyptian

Period: Late Period, 664-332 B.C.

Material: Faience

Dimensions: 3.6 cm high

Price: Sold

Ref: 1609

Provenance: Swiss private collection K. Meyer (died in 1976). Subsequently inherited by his son Marc Meyer, Kreuzlingen, Switzerland. Gifted in 2021 to Elfriede Blume, Vienna.

Condition: Legs missing, head professionally reattached. Suspension loop restored.

Description: Finely crafted faience amulet of the Egyptian goddess Taweret, also known by the Greek name Thoëris. Taweret, the patron goddess of pregnant women, is depicted as a pregnant hippopotamus with human breasts and the head and snout of a hippopotamus. Her arms are human, while her paws resemble those of a lion. She places her arms in front of her belly. Taweret wears a tripartite wig, the front flaps of which reach down to her pendulous breasts. At the back is a striated back pillar representing the stylised tail of a crocodile. See for the type, the amulet in the Metropolitan Museum of Art with the object number 04.2.365. Mounted.