Amulet of Sekhmet

CC0 Public Domain Designation

Arts of Africa

Third Intermediate Period (about 1069–664 BCE)

Egyptian

With the head of a lion and the idealized figure of a woman, this amulet depicts a powerful ancient Egyptian goddess. Ancient Egyptians—both living and dead—wore amulets of gods and goddesses to bring protection and health. These included depictions of deities in their human, animal, or mixed forms.

This amulet represents one of several goddesses who appeared in a hybrid leonine-human form, likely Sekhmet, a goddess of pestilence and divine violence. In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet acted as the Eye of Re, the daughter and protector of the sun god, Re. She had the ability to make enemies fall sick or heal those who were afflicted, so she would have provided the wearer of this amulet with protection from disease and other dangerous forces.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Africa

Artist: Ancient Egyptian
Title: Amulet of Sekhmet
Place: Egypt (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: c. 1069 BCE–664 BCE
Medium: Faience
Dimensions: 7.8 × 1.7 × 2.7 cm (3 1/8 × 11/16 × 1 1/8 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Charles L. Hutchinson, Henry H. Getty, and Norman W. Harris
Reference Number: 1892.58
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/135838/manifest.json

Thomas George Allen, A Handbook of the Egyptian Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1923), p. 131.

Art Institute of Chicago, When the Greeks Ruled: Egypt After Alexander the Great, October 31, 2013 - July 27, 2014.

Émile Brugsch (1842-1930), Bulaq Museum and Egyptian Antiquities Service, Cairo; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1892; price reimbursed by Charles L. Hutchinson and Henry H. Getty, 1892.

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.