Necklace Elements
1 of 2
Object Label
Amulets
In the New Kingdom, amulets represented magic in miniature form.
At that time, the Egyptians frequently wore amulets proclaiming their devotion to the cult of major deities such as Thoth, god of wisdom, or Hathor, an ancient goddess associated with music and love. These charms were intended to provide protection from specific dangers. Amulets of birth-gods, for example, were believed to protect women during pregnancy and childbirth and to watch over a newborn in the first years of life.
In the Eighteenth Dynasty, certain amulets began to be placed within mummy bandages to guarantee life after death. The most common included wedjat-eyes, signifying the restoration of wholeness; tyt-amulets, emblems of the goddess Isis, who restored her dead husband Osiris to life; and flowers, traditional symbols of fertility. Beads inscribed with a person’s name ensured that the memory of the individual would survive throughout eternity.
So-called heart scarabs, known since the Thirteenth Dynasty, are frequently found on New Kingdom mummies. The Egyptians believed that a deceased person’s fate would be determined by weighing his or her heart against the “Feather of Truth” on a divine balance. Texts carved on heart scarabs prevented the deceased’s heart from revealing anything negative during the weighing ritual.
Caption
Sumerian. Necklace Elements, ca. 2600–2500 B.C.E.. Gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian, chalcedony (?) on modern string , Overall length: 14 3/8 in. (36.5 cm) as mounted: 6 × 4 1/2 × 1 15/16 in. (15.2 × 11.4 × 5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Shelby White, 1999.109.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CONS.1999.109.1_xrs.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Culture
Title
Necklace Elements
Date
ca. 2600–2500 B.C.E.
Period
early Dynastic IIIA Period
Geography
Place made: Iraq
Medium
Gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian, chalcedony (?) on modern string
Classification
Dimensions
Overall length: 14 3/8 in. (36.5 cm) as mounted: 6 × 4 1/2 × 1 15/16 in. (15.2 × 11.4 × 5 cm)
Credit Line
Purchased with funds given by Shelby White
Accession Number
1999.109.1
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
Frequent Art Questions
Where did the museum find this jewelry and how many people do you think wore them?
Like much of the finest ancient art, this jewelry likely comes from a Sumerian tomb. Pieces like these made of such precious materials would have belonged to elite--even royal--members of society. We don't know how many hands they may have passed through before being buried though.Who would wear this piece of jewelry?
These necklaces come from Sumerian tombs, but include materials that had been imported from other regions such as modern day Afghanistan. Therefore such pieces were expensive and would only have belonged to elite members of society.How do you pronounce lapis lazuli?
The 'a' in "lapis" sounds like the 'a' in "apple" and the 'i' is short. The same 'a' sound is used in "lazuli," the 'u' is like 'oo' and it ends in a long 'i'.Thanks!Tell me more.
We actually don't know much about these beautiful adornments but they are certainly made of luxurious materials. They are of a style that would have been owned by wealthy Sumerians. Sumer was in southern Iraq.Gold, for example was highly valued in antiquity, not unlike today. Lapis lazuli, the dark blue stone was highly valued for its rarity and brilliant color. Carnelian, the reddish stone, was popular in Near Eastern and Mediterranean jewelry and seals.Thank you
Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at
