Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art · jewelry

Hare Amulet

Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art, acc. 72.38. Public domain (CC0). Copy archived by egyptianinscriptions.org with attribution; original at the holding institution.

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Accession: 72.38
Find spot: Egypt, Egypt approx. site location
Period: Late Period to Ptolemaic Period
Date: ca. 664–30 B.C.E.
Date range: 664 BCE – 30 BCE
Materials: ['Faience']
Height: 2.7 cm
Width: 5.0 cm
Repository: Brooklyn Museum
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Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art, Hare Amulet (72.38). Egyptian Inscriptions Database. https://egyptianinscriptions.org/object/18778

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Description

Object Label: Living persons wore only one or a few amulets at a time, but mummies usually bear many amulets. The Ma’at amulet (no. 2) and heart scarabs (nos. 1, 3, 11), which occurred in many forms, guaranteed a successful judgment of the dead. The amulets of a hand (no. 8), lungs and a windpipe (no. 12), and wadjet-eyes (i.e., “healthy” eyes; no. 4) protected those parts of the body and also had connotations of resurrection and the unity or integrity of the mummy. The enigmatic aper amulet (no. 13) takes the form of the hieroglyph meaning “to be equipped,” perhaps in reference to the mummy’s preparation. The two crowns (nos. 5, 6) were symbols of power. The Heh insignia (no. 7), like the popular ankh-sign, denoted eternal life. Among the living, the frog (no. 9) and possibly also the hare (no. 10) suggested fertility. The amulets of the Four Sons of Horus (no. 15) perhaps served, as they did with canopic jars, to protect various organs of the body. Caption: Hare Amulet, ca. 664–30 B.C.E.. Faience, 1 1/16 × 1 15/16 × 1 13/16 in. (2.7 × 5 × 4.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Carl L. Selden through The Roebling Society, 72.38. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano

Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.

A small sculpted hare/crouching animal amulet in the shape of a sitting hare with one hind leg tucked and head facing left.

The object appears as a glazed, light-colored faience amulet carved in the form of a hare. The hare is shown seated or crouched, with the head turned slightly left and the body resting on a flat base that is slightly rectangular. The ears are prominent: one ear stands upright/leans back while the other is visible as a higher, ridged form. A single drilled/indented hole is visible near the side of the head/ear region, suggesting suspension or attachment. The surface has a worn glaze/patina with areas of discoloration, indicating age and use. No legible hieroglyphic, Greek, Coptic, or Arabic text is visible in the provided image, and no cartouches or royal inscriptions can be confirmed. No explicit deity iconography beyond the animal form is observable.

decorative Late Period to Ptolemaic Period (as catalogued) good

Materials Glazed faience (color/patina consistent with faience)

Connections

Deities Horus Wadjet

Cross-references (2)

BKM-Accession 72.38 tier-2
BKM-Object 98589 tier-2

About this record's data

From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.