Menit amulet
The menat is a term for the counterweight of a menat necklace, a heavy set of beads with counterweight sacred to great female goddesses in particular who were appeased by the sound of the shaken beads. The counterweight served as a symbol of the whole elaborate necklace. The menat remained an important magical amulet throughout Egyptian history, serving to propititate the great goddesses and evoke their powerful protection.
Artwork Details
- Title: Menit amulet
- Period: Late Period–Ptolemaic Period
- Date: 664–30 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Blue faience
- Dimensions: L. 4.5 × W. 2 × D. 1.6 cm (1 3/4 × 13/16 × 5/8 in.)
- Credit Line: Bequest of W. Gedney Beatty, 1941
- Object Number: 41.160.148
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
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ca. 872–664 BCE
664–525 BCE
4th century B.C.
360–343 BCE
200–30 B.C.
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