Amulet In Turquoise-glazed Steatite Depicting A Female Deity, Egypt, Late Period

Egypt, Late Period, 664–332 BC

Small amulet carved from steatite and covered with a turquoise glaze, depicting a standing female deity with her left leg advanced according to traditional Egyptian iconographic conventions. The figure wears a long tripartite wig framing the face and is surmounted by an important headdress.

The reverse features a dorsal pillar engraved with a vertical column of hieroglyphs. Despite its modest size, the piece retains a remarkable presence, enhanced by surviving traces of its turquoise glaze, which continue to animate the surface of the stone more than two millennia after its creation.

Ancient wear and minor losses consistent with age.

Height: 5.6 cm (2.2 in.)

Provenance: Former private archaeological collection, dispersed through a specialised public auction sale.

Among the many artistic productions of ancient Egypt, small figural amulets occupy a special place. Intended to accompany, protect, or invoke, they demonstrate the remarkable ability of Egyptian artists to condense rich symbolic meaning into objects of very modest scale.

This female figure is a fine example. The codified stance, the hieratic treatment of the body, and the inscribed dorsal pillar all belong to an artistic tradition that remained strikingly consistent for centuries. The surviving turquoise glaze, whose colour remains inseparable from the imagery of ancient Egypt, further enhances its evocative power.

We are particularly drawn to the way this small sculpture combines formal simplicity with profound historical depth. More than two thousand years after its creation, it retains the quiet presence that characterises the finest objects produced by the great civilizations of Antiquity.