Ma’at Amulet
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: Ma’at Amulet, ca. 1539–1295 B.C.E.. Lapis lazuli, 15/16 x 1/2 in. (2.4 x 1.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.109. (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 dark blue stone figurine/amulet shaped like a standing human figure with hands positioned in front of the body.
The image shows a small, wedge- to seated-structured object in a deep blue/black tone. The figure is depicted in a simplified manner, standing upright with a raised, bent posture of the arms such that the hands meet or rest in front of the chest/abdomen. The head and torso are formed as a single mass with minimal facial detail; the legs end in a blocky base. No clear papyrus or feather plumes are visible from the single viewpoint, and no obvious hieroglyphic signs or cartouches are legible on the surface. A smooth, polished surface suggests a carved stone object suitable for wearing as an amulet.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 08.480.109 tier-2
- BKM-Object 3240 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.