Amulet of a Djed Pillar
Third Intermediate Period–Ptolemaic Period (11th–7th centuries BCE)
Medium
Faience
Dimensions
3.6 × 1.2 × 1 cm (1 3/8 × 1/2 × 3/8 in.)
Classification
amulet
Department
Arts of Africa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
140340
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Columns with crossbars at their top represent the stylized backbone of the god Osiris, the main god of the afterlife. Known as djed columns, the backbone was associated with stability, hence with continued life.
About the Artist
Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian artists, a collective of highly skilled artisans spanning over three millennia from the Predynastic period (c. 6000–3150 BC) to the Roman era (30 BC–4th century AD), produced some of humanity's most enduring masterpieces. These anonymous craftsmen, often organized in state-sponsored workshops, lived in dedicated communities like Deir el-Medina near Luxor during the New Kingdom (c....