Amulet of Ptah in a Gold Shrine

**Admin** Thu Oct 15, 2009 1:05 pm

The amulet represents Ptah, patron deity of the artists, wearing a straight beard and an unusual headdress of a sun disc and feathers reminiscent of the composite, primordial, creator god Ptah-Tatenen. His hands emerge from the shroud to hold the djed pillar, the emblem of the god Osiris; the feet do not exist any more. This lapis lazuli figure of Ptah is set within a superbly decorated gold shrine with a suspension loop on the roof, so that the piece could be worn like an amulet. Each side of the shrine is decorated with a double pair of gold falcons with solar discs on their heads, standing on papyrus columns. The outer walls of the shrine are covered with a mass of reliefs representing many squatting deities in pairs, six per side, and two per row.

Dimensions: Width 2.9 cm Height 6 cm