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HOME :
Egyptian Antiquities :
Archive : Faience Amulet of the God Bes
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Faience Amulet of the God Bes - PF.2982
Origin: Israel
Circa: 1600
BC
to 600
BC
Dimensions:
2.125" (5.4cm) high
Collection: Egyptian
Style: New Kingdom
Medium: Faience
Additional Information: SOLD
$1,800.00
Location: United States
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| Description |
Bes was one of the most popular gods in the
Egyptian pantheon. He was a popular subject
for amulets and appears to have been widely
worshipped as a household deity. Part of his
appeal appears to have been the perception that
he was more accessible and willing to listen to
the prayers and supplication of the common man
than were the intimidating state gods such as
Amun, Osiris, or Horus. Bes was believed to be a
patron god of music and art and a protector of
pregnant women. He was also held to be a god
of war. The god is usually depicted as a dwarf
with a face that is both leonine and human.
Greco-Roman period images of Bes, however,
frequently show him as a more heroic looking
figure brandishing a sword while on horseback.
This extraordinary green faience amulet depicts
the head, shoulders, and part of the torso of the
god Bes. The features of the face are rendered in
painstaking detail, with every facial line,
including the creases in the outer ears, clearly
delineated with dark deposits of green glaze. The
mouth of the god is open and his tongue
protrudes jauntily. Atop his head is a plumed
headdress, the feathers of which arch gracefully
over the back of the god's head as though blown
by a breeze.
- (PF.2982)
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