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Amulet of a Leg and Foot
Late Old Kingdom–First Intermediate Period, Dynasty 5–11 (about 2494–2055 BCE)
- Medium
- Carnelian
- Classification
- Costume and Accessories
- Dimensions
- 2 × 1 × 0.3 cm (3/4 × 3/8 × 1/8 in.)
- Culture
- Egypt
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Africa
- Credit line
- Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Small-scale Egyptian figurines, known as amulets, were thought to promote health and good luck. Amulets were such an important part of Egyptian religious beliefs that they were worn by both the living and the dead. They could be mounted on rings or strung as bracelets or necklaces and were placed among the mummy wrappings to secure the deceased’s rebirth and well-being in the afterlife. Many varieties of amulets survive, including figures of deities, parts of the human (ordivine) body, animals, plants, and objects of daily life. The leg and foot were thought to provide the deceased with mobility in the afterlife. Multiple examples of these types of amulets have been found on the ankles of mummies.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
