An amulet of a Ba bird in pale yellow chalcedony. The amulet has a human face but the body of a bird with tightly folded wings, a small suspension loop on the back.
 
Egyptian Late period: Circa 713-332 BC.
 
Condition: Complete and intact, the details a little worn, some light accretions.
Height 2.5 cms (1 inch)
 
Provenance: From a private collection acquired by the previous owner's father in the 1950's.
 
In ancient Egyptian belief, a person's soul had multiple parts, and the it was imagined as a human-headed bird because it needed to move freely, to fly between the worlds of the living and the dead. After death, the Ba would leave the body during the day to visit family, places, or even the temples. At night, the Ba had to return to the tomb and reunite with the body, so the dead person could survive in the afterlife. The Ba amulet helped guarantee that this return happened, it magically "anchored" the Ba back to the mummy or the body. Without this reconnection, the person could be lost or destroyed forever. So, wearing or placing a Ba amulet in the tomb was like giving the soul a magical "home beacon" to find its way back safely every night.
 
See our blog post on Egyptian amulets