Egyptian
Feldspar palette gold pendant, Egyptian, Late Dynastic Period, circa 730 - 332 BC
Feldspar, gold
Length of palette: 2.5 cm
Length of chain: 18 in
Length of chain: 18 in
Further images
A beautifully delicate ancient Egyptian feldspar amulet in the form of a scribe’s writing tablet, set in a modern 18 carat gold pendant. The palette has a small, pierced loop...
A beautifully delicate ancient Egyptian feldspar amulet in the form of a scribe’s writing tablet, set in a modern 18 carat gold pendant. The palette has a small, pierced loop at the top, which would have been used for suspension or attachment.
Provenance
Private collection, Bayeux, France, collected before 1940Literature
Egyptian amulets were believed to possess positive properties that could be magically bestowed upon the owner. This magical power could be derived from several elements of the amulet: the material, colour, shape, decoration, and the object that the amulet was intended to represent. Amulets could be worn with other pieces of jewellery or sewn into clothes.
Feldspar, mined in the Libyan desert, was a prized and popular stone used to make jewellery and amulets in ancient Egypt. Turquoise or light blue-green stones symbolised vegetation and fertility.