ANCIENT EGYPTIAN CARNELIAN TURTLE AMULET
New Kingdom, Ca. 1550-1070 BC. A finely modelled carnelian turtle, with a rounded upper body, a flat underside and protruding limbs, head and tail. Turtles let their form to amulets since the Predynastic period. Considered an ambiguous force as both land and sea creatures, turtles were often considered enemies of the sun-God Ra, with the formula ‘May Ra live and may the Turtle die’ appearing in chapter 161 of the Book of the Dead. In its amuletic form, however, the turtle was thought to act as a force against such negative apotropaic properties. For a similar see The Metropolitan Museum accession number 10.130.2397. Size: L:18mm / W:12.3mm ; 1.76g Provenance: Property of a North London gentleman; previously acquire on the UK/European art market in the 1980s.

Estimate: GBP 150 - 300