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Middle Eastern ➔ Amulet, Eye Of Horus
Identifier:
37164Description:
Faience amulet of the Eye of Horus.This faience is a glazed non-clay ceramic material and is composed mainly of quartz wih amounts of lime and natron or plant ash. The body could be coated with soda-lime silica glaze. By adding different metals (and their oxides) the appearance could change to a different color. Faience was used in ancient Egypt because of its' association with light and rebirth. The Eye of Horus was used as a protective amulet.
Amulets were used by ancient Egyptians to ward off evil and gain the protection of various gods. Each deity had its own area of protection, such as Taweret for fertility and childbirth, or Horus for the majesty of kingship. Abstract symbols like the wadj scepter represented the papyrus plant stem and conveyed “eternal youth”, and the djed pillar symbolized “stability.” People would wear, carry, or offer amulets to deities to gain blessings and would be buried with mummies to protect them in the afterlife.
Spells in the Book of the Dead and other Egyptian funerary texts told morticians where to place each amulet, what stone it should be made of, which spells to say over it, and what effect each amulet would have.