A large Egyptian Basalt Headrest Amulet, Late Period, ca. 664 - 332 BCE Jewelry and loss to the underside

and loss to the underside tip of nose

it fits comfortably in the hand and was clearly used often for the base is very smooth

The plummet (or plumb-line) looks like a pyramid with feet and was most often carved from dark-colored stone

and the thin inner bark is weighted with stones and scorched with fire to flatten it out

Medium: Acrylic on Canvas

A large Egyptian Basalt Headrest Amulet, Late Period, ca. 664 - 332 BCE Jewelry and loss to the undersideBefore the Third Intermediate Period, headrest amulets are found only in royal burials; Tutankhamen owned one of iron, as did Prince Hornakht and King Sheshonq II at Tanis. However, from the Saite Period onward, they are made almost exclusively of hematite or of another dark colored substitute such as basalt (such as this large example), serpentine, obsidian, or diorite. It was essentially intended to magically raise up the head of the deceased in