<em>Amulet in Form of Hathor Head Inscribed for Hatshepsut & Senenmut</em>, ca. 1478–1458 B.C.E. Carnelian, 13/16 x 11/16 x 1/4 in. (2.1 x 1.7 x 0.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of John Hewett, 61.192. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 61.192_SL1.jpg)

Amulet in Form of Hathor Head Inscribed for Hatshepsut & Senenmut, ca. 1478–1458 B.C.E. Carnelian, 13/16 x 11/16 x 1/4 in. (2.1 x 1.7 x 0.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of John Hewett, 61.192. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 61.192_SL1.jpg)

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Were these worn as personal jewelry?

Rings and amulets like these were worn in life, and it was also common to bury a mummy adorned with jewelry.

You will see scarab beetles in a lot of jewelry, like the pieces here. To the Egyptians, the scarab represented the cycle of the sun and rebirth.

Dung beetles create balls of dung in which they lay their eggs and then roll the balls around the desert. When the eggs hatch they emerge from the dung ball as if by magic. Fascinated by this process, one Ancient Egyptian belief was that a similar beetle rolled the sun across the sky!

Amulet in Form of Hathor Head Inscribed for Hatshepsut & Senenmut

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

Personal Arts

The reigns of Hatshepsut through Thutmose IV represent a transitional phase in Eighteenth Dynasty art.

At first, artists continued to favor simple, elegant forms common earlier in the dynasty, but eventually they developed elaborate, highly detailed designs that dominated the dynasty’s final decades. Under Amunhotep II and Thutmose IV, for example, craftsmen increased the use of a soft, pastel blue pigment that had been invented during the reign of Thutmose III. Potters also molded vessels in human and animal form, and artisans rediscovered the Middle Kingdom fascination for colorful stones such as red carnelian.

Art historians consider the scarabs (beetleshaped amulets) of this era among the finest ever made. Figure Vase of Woman Holding Dog

MEDIUM Carnelian

Place Made: Egypt

DATES ca. 1478–1458 B.C.E.

DYNASTY Dynasty 18

PERIOD New Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 13/16 x 11/16 x 1/4 in. (2.1 x 1.7 x 0.7 cm) (show scale)

INSCRIPTIONS Four line inscription: "Beloved of Iwny.t [the goddess of Armant], the steward of Amun, Sen-mut". Single line inscription: The good god, Maat-ka-re".

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 61.192

CREDIT LINE Gift of John Hewett

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Carnelian amulet in the form of a Hathor head, pierced horizontally at top, back flat and inscribed in four lines “Beloved of Iwny.t (the goddess of Armant), the steward of Amun, Sen-mut”. On top edge single line “The good god, Maat-ka-re”. Very fine work. Condition: A few minute chips on edges of back. Otherwise intact.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Amulet in Form of Hathor Head Inscribed for Hatshepsut & Senenmut, ca. 1478–1458 B.C.E. Carnelian, 13/16 x 11/16 x 1/4 in. (2.1 x 1.7 x 0.7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of John Hewett, 61.192. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 61.192_SL1.jpg)

IMAGE front, 61.192_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT 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.

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Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Were these worn as personal jewelry?

Rings and amulets like these were worn in life, and it was also common to bury a mummy adorned with jewelry.

You will see scarab beetles in a lot of jewelry, like the pieces here. To the Egyptians, the scarab represented the cycle of the sun and rebirth.