A turquoise faience amulet of the goddess Isis wearing a long close-fitting sheath dress and seated on a throne holding the baby Horus to her breast, supporting his head with her left hand.
Egyptian Late Dynastic period: Circa 6th-1st century BC.
Very Fine condition: Broken at the top in antiquity and now missing the top of the back pillar which would have also formed the suspension loop, also extending to the top of the head.
Height 4.46 cms (1.75 ins)
Literature: Illustration 18a: Amulets of Ancient Egypt: Carol Andrews.
Provenance: Ex London gallery; previously in a 1930's Home counties UK collection.
This statuette depicts a tender moment of Isis nursing the infant Horus, so that one day he may overthrow Set and become king of Egypt like his father, Osiris. The amulet displays serene dignity, and in later Christian times, the image of Isis and the infant Horus may have become the model for the Madonna and child.