Thoth Amulet

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Amulets often represent deities in order to invoke their protection and specific powers. Such amulets were used by the living and often placed on mummies as well. The piece here depicts the god Thoth as a man with an ibis-head. Thoth was the god of knowledge and writing, and he was thought to have healing powers. Thoth amulets were popular mummy amulets, which possibly relates to his healing powers and to his role as recorder of the final judgment, in which it was determined if the deceased had lived a virtuous life.

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