Egyptian Faience Sow Amulet
An ancient Egyptian blue faience amulet of a sow with breasts engorged for nursing its litter. Saite Period, 26th Dynasty, Ca. 664-525 BC. Length: 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm). Intact. The sow (a mother pig) was associated with the gods, Nut and Set in ancient Egypt. Images of sows were sometimes used as New Year gifts as they were thought to ensure fecundity. The sky-goddess Nut was sometimes represented as a sow. Sow amulets in glazed composition were produced in large numbers at Naukratis in the Nile Delta, suggesting that the animal was associated with a cult located there. cf.: C. Andrews, Amulets of Ancient Egypt, (Texas, 1994), p. 35, fig. 32. Formerly in a New York private collection, acquired at auction in Paris; previously in the collection of Msr. & Mme. Bruyere, Paris, acquire in the early in the 20th century.
Inv#: 7851
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