Steatite Necklace with Fertility Symbols

Culture: Egyptian
Period: Late Period, 664 to 332 B.C.
Material: Steatite, faience
Dimensions: 76 cm long
Price: Sold
Ref: 1099
Provenance: North German private collection B.E., acquired 1966 to 1981.
Condition: Faience amulet with age-related wear, otherwise intact and ready to wear.
Description: Necklace consisting of white steatite tubes and small steatite beads and in total of seven faience pendants. In the centre an amulet of the Egyptian god Bes, worshiped as the god of conception and birth. He is considered as the protector of pregnant women and new born children. Next to him phallus amulets as well as grapes and a hand, clenched to a fist. The necklace was possibly worn with the belief in a higher fertility chance. It also probably had an apotropaic function and protected - thanks to Bes - during the pregnancy. Modern restrung and with a modern yellow gold clasp. Ready to wear.