WALTERS-EG
Walters Art Museum (Egyptian) · jewelry
Amulet with a Crocodile as a Solar God
Description
<p>On top of the bead is the carved figure of a crocodile, sculpted in the round, and on the base is the sacred boat with the sun-disk, as well an inscription with the name of Amun-Re. The sun-boat itself is a cryptographic sign for the god Amun-Re.</p><p>For the latest information about this object, <cite><a href='https://purl.thewalters.org/art/42.24' rel='external'>Amulet with a Crocodile as a Solar God</a></cite>, visit the Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum.</p>
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.
Oval amulet carved in relief, showing the upper portion of a crocodile-like figure associated with a solar deity theme, with a grid/net pattern across much of the body and an arched head/face detail at the bottom.
The object is a small, oval steatite amulet with a high-relief form. The center features a stylized, upright crocodile-like head/body element; the head has a rounded snout and a recessed facial area. Across the larger body surface are dense carved lines forming a rectilinear grid/net-like pattern. On the lower half, there is also a large curved, horn/crest-like form or a secondary relief element suggesting the surrounding body/solar aspect. The overall carving emphasizes the crocodile silhouette and the solar-god association implied by the catalogue. The back side is not visible, and no clear cartouches are discernible. No legible hieroglyphic text appears to be present; markings are primarily decorative/figurative relief rather than caption-like inscriptions.
religious
Unknown (likely Late Period/Early Ptolemaic based on style; not enough information to be certain)
good
Deities
Solar deity (exact deity unclear)Crocodile-associated solar god (likely Sebek-related solar aspect, exact identification unclear)
Materials
light beige steatite
Inscriptions (1)
Inscription #1
English description
[Translation] The barque in the top line is a well known cryptographic writing for the god Amun-Re: Amun-Re, / perfect of perfect manifestations; / Amun-Re, / may he grant all life, happiness, and stability.
Cross-references (2)
- Walters-AccNum 42.24 tier-2
- Walters-id 39873 tier-2
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About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Walters Art Museum (Egyptian).
- 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.