A fine blue glazed faience djed pillar amulet, slender tapering form, a tall broad shaft with ribbed capital surmounted by four short horizontal bars, hole for attachment at top.
cf: D’Auria, Lacovara and Roehrig, "Mummies and Magic," p.181 for a discussion of djed-pillars. The author writes that this form of amulet “has been variously explained as a column of papyrus stems, a tree-trunk with looped branches and a sheaf of bound cornstalks….. Though not originally associated with Osiris, by the New Kingdom the djed-pillar had come to be closely linked with the god, and its shape was reinterpreted as a representation of his backbone. The image also has connotations of stability and endurance and it was primarily to confer these qualities on the deceased that [they were] placed within the mummy wrappings.”
Condition: Attractive blue glaze thinner at back of piece, minor age appropriate wear and accumulation, part of attachment loop now missing.
Dimensions: height, 1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters)
Provenance: Private FL collection, acquired in Chicago in the 1960's and previously in the Robert L. McLaughlin collection.
