Pataikos Amulet

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This elaborate Pataikos amulet depicts a male dwarf with a winged goddess on his back. His bow-shaped and bent legs stand slightly apart. Each foot rests on a small crocodile that faces straight at the viewer while the reptile’s body curves towards the back where the tails of both animals meet and overlap. The right foot and right crocodile are only partially preserved. The dwarf is naked and his genitals are shown below his protruding belly. His short arms are slightly bent and each hand rests on his stomach while firmly grasping a knife that is painted black. On his head he wears a tight cap. It is topped by a three-dimensional scarab-beetle, which is painted black as well. The dwarf is shown three-dimensionally. On his back, but with a small gap in-between, is a winged goddess that is represented two-dimensionally. She stands upright and is facing right. She wears a long tight dress and lifts her arms up a little. Underneath her arms are bird wings that spread protectively towards the side of the dwarf. On her head are cow horns with a sun disk. In the space between the dwarf’s neck and the goddess’ head and headdress is a large loop for suspension. Pataikos amulets were meant to protect the wearer from dangerous forces.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art