Quadruple Wedjat-Eye Pendant with Rosette and Lotus Heads
Egypt,
Lapis lazuli
Third Intermediate Period (1069 – 664 BCE)

Without a doubt, the best-known of all protective amulets of ancient Egypt is the wedjat (or udjat) eye, literally ‘the sound one.’ This refers to the eye of the falcon-headed Horus after it had been plucked out during one of his interminable battles with his uncle Seth and then healed by Thoth, the god of magic. Horus was the celestial falcon and creator god whose right eye was the sun and left eye the moon. The wedjat was the moon eye, which was injured as it waned and restored as waxed each month. According to the Osiris myth, Horus offered the healed eye to his dead father and so powerful a charm it was that it restored him to life. The wedjat is probably found in greater numbers on mummies than any other amulet, but it was also worn in life.

If one wedjat gave protection, multiple wedjats would provide even more: during the Third Intermediate Period some forms of the amulet (such as this) comprise four wedjats, two on top and two, inverted, on bottom (Andrews, Amulets of Ancient Egypt, 1994).  

1.25 x 1.375 in :: 3.2 x 3.5 cm

InventoryID #13-2556

Not For Sale