One of the Four Sons of Horus
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: One of the Four Sons of Horus, ca. 664 B.C.E.–after 30 B.C.E.. Faience, 4 5/16 × 1 1/2 × 7/16 in. (10.9 × 3.8 × 1.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 51.223.4. (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.
Small blue faience amulet shaped like a standing falcon-headed figure with outstretched wings or arms, likely representing one of the Four Sons of Horus.
The object is a small, glossy blue faience figure viewed from the front against a light gray background. It has a humanlike lower body with crossed/held arms and a rounded head with a beak-like projection at the top, giving it a bird/falcon form. The figure stands upright on a flat base, with a tail-like element or garment folds suggested along the back/side. The surface shows molded details and darker inlaid or painted lines at the facial area and along the body. No visible hieroglyphic text or cartouche is present on the image, and no Greek/Coptic/Arabic lettering is visible.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 51.223.4 tier-2
- BKM-Object 65617 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.