Hare Amulet
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
On View: Funerary Gallery 2, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor
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.
MEDIUM
Faience
DATES
ca. 664–30 B.C.E.
PERIOD
Late Period to Ptolemaic Period
DIMENSIONS
H: 2.7 cm, H. of base: c. 0.5 cm; length 4.6 cm, L. of fig. 4.5 cm, L. of ears: 2.2 cm; width 5.0 cm
(show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER
72.38
CREDIT LINE
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Carl L. Selden through The Roebling Society
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
One green glazed faience amulet of a rabbit crouching on a base rounded in the back; with large ears extending back from the head and resting on an attachment to the back. Attachment is pierced horizontally for suspension.
CAPTION
Hare Amulet, ca. 664–30 B.C.E. Faience, H: 2.7 cm, H. of base: c. 0.5 cm; length 4.6 cm, L. of fig. 4.5 cm, L. of ears: 2.2 cm; width 5.0 cm. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Carl L. Selden through The Roebling Society, 72.38. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 72.38_threequarter_left_PS2.jpg)
IMAGE
threequarter, 72.38_threequarter_left_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009
"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.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
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.
What is the meaning of the rabbit?
Rabbits were common animals in the Ancient Egyptian desert. This particular object was an amulet worn around the neck that suggests fertility. Have you noticed that the Ancient Egyptian made many images of the animals from their environment?
Yes, we just thought about that!
