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<em>Bes-Image Amulet</em>, ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/16 × 5/8 × 3/16 in. (3 × 1.6 × 0.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.914E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.914E_erg2.jpg)
Bes-Image Amulet, ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/16 × 5/8 × 3/16 in. (3 × 1.6 × 0.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.914E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.914E_erg2.jpg)
<em>Bes-Image Amulet</em>, ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/16 × 5/8 × 3/16 in. (3 × 1.6 × 0.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.914E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.914E_erg2.jpg)

Bes-Image Amulet, ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/16 × 5/8 × 3/16 in. (3 × 1.6 × 0.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.914E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.914E_erg2.jpg)

<em>Bes-Image Amulet</em>, ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/16 × 5/8 × 3/16 in. (3 × 1.6 × 0.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.914E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.914E_negL_897_11A_bw.jpg)

Bes-Image Amulet, ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/16 × 5/8 × 3/16 in. (3 × 1.6 × 0.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.914E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.914E_negL_897_11A_bw.jpg)

<em>Bes-Image Amulet</em>, ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/16 × 5/8 × 3/16 in. (3 × 1.6 × 0.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.914E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 37.912E_37.913E_37.914E_37.915E_37.927E_GrpA_SL4.jpg)

Bes-Image Amulet, ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/16 × 5/8 × 3/16 in. (3 × 1.6 × 0.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.914E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 37.912E_37.913E_37.914E_37.915E_37.927E_GrpA_SL4.jpg)

<em>Bes-Image Amulet</em>, ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/16 × 5/8 × 3/16 in. (3 × 1.6 × 0.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.914E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.37.915E_37.913E_37.927E_37.912E_37.914E_neg_grpA_bw.jpg)

Bes-Image Amulet, ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/16 × 5/8 × 3/16 in. (3 × 1.6 × 0.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.914E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , CUR.37.915E_37.913E_37.927E_37.912E_37.914E_neg_grpA_bw.jpg)

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Bes-Image Amulet

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Ancient Egyptian women wore amulets of birth gods to protect them during and immediately after childbirth. One of these birth gods, a female deity often known as Taweret, was shown with the head and body of a hippopotamus, lion's paws, and a stylized crocodile hanging down her back. Her male counterpart, commonly called Bes, usually appeared frontally. In early Dynasty 18, artists depicted Bes with a human face and a lion's body and mane.

MEDIUM Faience
  • Place Made: Egypt
    • DATES ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E.
    DYNASTY Dynasty 18
    PERIOD New Kingdom
    DIMENSIONS 1 3/16 × 5/8 × 3/16 in. (3 × 1.6 × 0.5 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 37.914E
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Dark blue-green glazed faience amulet representing, in relief (rear surface flat), the god Bes standing, with hands at hips, on a low plinth. Arms, legs, and tail are disengaged from the body. Details of beard and body fur given by incised lines. Figure pierced from side to side for suspension. Pendant breasts are indicated. Condition: Small cracks.
    EXHIBITIONS
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Bes-Image Amulet, ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/16 × 5/8 × 3/16 in. (3 × 1.6 × 0.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.914E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.914E_erg2.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, CUR.37.914E_erg2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 10/16/2007
    "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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    <em>Bes-Image Amulet</em>, ca. 1539–1478 B.C.E. Faience, 1 3/16 × 5/8 × 3/16 in. (3 × 1.6 × 0.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.914E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.37.914E_erg2.jpg)

    TAGS

    Egyptian
    amulet
    bes
    jewelry
    childbirth
    motherhood
    egypt
    ancient
    god
    faience
    Protection
    Accessory
    goddess
    deity
    18th Dynasty
    New Kingdom
    New York Historical Society Collection
    XVIII Dynasty

    TAGS

    Egyptian
    amulet
    bes
    jewelry
    childbirth
    motherhood
    egypt
    ancient
    god
    faience
    Protection
    Accessory
    goddess
    deity
    18th Dynasty
    New Kingdom
    New York Historical Society Collection
    XVIII Dynasty

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