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Djed Pillar Amulet

Third Intermediate Period–Ptolemaic Period
ca. 1080–30 BCE
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 130
Amulets were thought to magically transfer their power to the wearer. Such power often derived from their shape, material, color, and/or the recitations spoken over them. This amulet depicts the so-called djed pillar that ensured permanence. From the New Kingdom on it was also closely connected to Osiris, the god revived after death. Several djed pillar amulets were often placed on the chest of a mummy. Green and blue shades were popular colors for amulets as they alluded to water and vegetation, which in a desert country bore the power of life and regeneration.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Djed Pillar Amulet
  • Period: Third Intermediate Period–Ptolemaic Period
  • Date: ca. 1080–30 BCE
  • Geography: From Egypt
  • Medium: Bright blue faience
  • Dimensions: H. 3 × W. 1 cm (1 3/16 × 3/8 in.)
  • Credit Line: Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915
  • Object Number: 30.8.331
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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