Late Period, 664-332 BC. A bifacial carved red stone amulet in a form of a tyet, or 'knot of Isis', pierced for suspension. Cf. Andrews, C. Amulets of Ancient Egypt, London, 1994, p.44. 1.61 grams, 22mm (1"). Property of an Essex gentleman; acquired from a collection formed in the 1920s. The tyet symbolises strength, power and protection, and was closely connected with the Girdle of Isis prescribed by Chapter 156 of 'The Book of the Dead'. They are often red for blood, as they represent the blood of Isis; her protection, and by association the power with which she raised her husband Osiris from the dead. If a tyet was placed on the neck of the mummy, 'the power of Isis will be the protection of his body'. Yuya, the grandmother of Tutankhamun, was buried with one of red glass, and thereafter no mummy was knowingly interred without one among its wrappings, almost invariably in the upper torso.

Fine condition.