Amulet of Thoth
Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BCE)
Medium
Glazed steatite
Dimensions
4 × 1.5 × 1.5 cm (1 5/8 × 9/16 × 9/16 in.)
Classification
amulet
Department
Arts of Africa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
140735
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Thoth, a god of wisdom and writing, could be shown as an ape or an ibis-headed man. The disk on the ape’s head alluded to his association with the moon.
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....