Two-finger amulet

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This amulet depicts two stylized human fingers that are about life-size. Two-finger amulets were used exclusively for the dead and were often found on the lower left of the torso. This is the area of the incision that was made during the mummification process in order to remove the internal organs. These amulets were meant magically to heal the wound. The first examples of this amulet type date to Dynasty 26. Their preferred material was obsidian or other dark stones. Sometimes the amulets were gilded, and faint traces of gilding are present on this example.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art