Amulet with twinned Bes-images

Although tiny, this amulet is a dynamic piece of sculpture, enhanced with silver bands around the chests and foreheads of the dwarflike, back-to-back Bes-images. The armlets, anklets, earrings, and nose rings are likewise made from silver wire, while their navels and the feathers in their head ornaments were once filled with glass paste. Silver was prized in ancient Egypt because it was not available locally and thus had to be imported. The amount of metal seen here would have contributed to the significance of this object, no matter its size.

The back-to-back deities seen here is an unusual occurrence in Egyptian art. Bat and Hathor are the two goddesses most often represented this way, and other examples are rare. Showing one face looking forward while the other looks behind, both positions immutable, could have communicated the ability of the deity to see the entire world at once. In the case of this Bes-image, as a doubled figure he provides protection by being aware of all directions from which danger could emanate. Given its elaborateness, drenched in silver, this statuette could have provided protection or supported fertility as a resident of a household shrine.