Amulet Plaque

Some of the images on this piece are well known as three-dimensional amulets, such as the wedjat eye (see for example 89.2.415) and the djed pillar (see 10.130.1814). Other motifs seen here occur in amuletic form in gold (often in gold foil) and usually are not found as three-dimensional amulets in faience or semi-precious stones. These include various tools, scepters, and headdresses. Thus gold amulets seem to have had a different repertoire of motifs than three-dimensional ones made out of other materials. In fact, a specific ritual for gold amulets existed and can be traced through different periods. During this ceremony, priests placed golden amulets on the mummy while reciting religious spells, including excerpts from the Book of the Dead.

When the gold amulet plaque came to the Museum, it was attached to a folded and wrapped Book of the Dead papyrus (see 24.2.18). Several features suggest that both objects had been placed on a wrapped mummy. At first, it was unclear if the two pieces had a direct connection to one other or whether they were coincidentally placed in the same area and became stuck together. The papyrus was unfolded in 1931 and turned out to contain only two Book of the Dead spells. The small papyrus can be assigned to a category of manuscripts that we call amulet papyri. Its two spells can be featured on amulet papyri or can be included on longer Book of the Dead scrolls. Most interestingly though, both texts occur together with spells specifically for golden amulets as part of the long ritual papyrus of a man called Montuemhat that specifically mentions a ritual for gold amulets. The small papyrus and the amulet plaque to which it was stuck can thus be seen in direct relationship to one another: both objects were part of the same ritual, which was performed over the mummy of a woman called Garjry, who is named as the deceased in the small papyrus.

Isabel Stünkel 2020

Purchased in Luxor from Sayed Molattam, 1924.

Stünkel, Isabel 2015. "An amulet plaque and a Book of the Dead papyrus from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and some observations on gold amulets." In Weitergabe: Festschrift für die Ägyptologin Ursula Rößler-Köhler zum 65. Geburtstag, edited by Ludwig Morenz and Amr El Hawary. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, pp. 407–27.