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Amulet of a Bes-image

New Kingdom
ca. 1386–1347 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 120
This amulet represents a deity that is referred as the Bes-image because it can be a number of different deities, in particular Bes and Aha. Their responsibilities generally centered on the guarding of children and their mothers during childbirth. In later times, he assisted in protecting the eternal survival of Egypt as recorded in a well-known myth of the Far Away Goddess. From the New Kingdom on, Bes has a close tie to music and is often depicted playing a different instruments. Either the protective nature of this deity or his musical ability could speak to a role at Malqata. In all likelihood, this amulet would have been suspended as an ornament on the body or as decoration in the royal city.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Amulet of a Bes-image
  • Period: New Kingdom
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 18
  • Reign: reign of Amenhotep III
  • Date: ca. 1386–1347 BCE
  • Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Malqata, South Village, MMA excavations, 1911–12
  • Medium: Faience
  • Dimensions: H. 3 × W. 1.7 × D. 0.7 cm (1 3/16 × 11/16 × 1/4 in.)
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1911
  • Object Number: 11.215.178
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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