By December 10, 2008 Read More →

Bracelet of Shoshenq II, c. 890 BCE

Bracelet from Shoshenq II.jpg

Bracelet found on the mummy of King Shoshenq II, from his tomb at Tanis (San el-Hagar).

The main element of its inlaid decoration is a large udjat eye. In Egyptian mythology the god Horus had his eye torn to pieces by his wicked uncle Seth. Thoth, the god of cleverness and wisdom, succeeded in reassembling the eye so that it once again became “the sound eye” (the word udja means “sound,” “healthy.”) The udjat eye was one of the most widespread and potent symbols.

Egyptian Museum, Cairo

Malek, Jaromir, Egypt; 4000 years of Art. London- Phaidon Press, 2003.

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