XII.—The Nefer, † (or perhaps). The funda

mental idea attached to this amulet is not very clear, but from the fact that this same word is used to express young man, and maiden, and young horse and well-favoured cow, we may assume that it was supposed to bring to its wearers the strength, gladness and happiness of youth. The word also means good, and what is good, pretty or beautiful, and perhaps also perfect and perfection. Neter nefer,, is the well-doing or beautiful god. The amulet was made of glazed faïence, carnelian, etc., and large numbers were made to string on necklaces and pectorals. Originally it represented the human heart with an attachment, but in the XXVIth dynasty popular ideas associated it with a musical instrument, and it was commonly held to typify joy and gladness.

a man-headed hawk.

XIII. The Ba, or Soul amulet, This amulet was made of gold and inlaid with semi-precious stones, e.g., lapis-lazuli and carnelian, and was laid on the breast of the mummy with the object of enabling the soul of the deceased to visit its body in the tomb. Sometimes the amulet takes the form shown in the hieroglyph above, and sometimes the wings are outspread; a good, characteristic example is B.M. 57323. In the Vignette to Chapter LXXXIX of the Book of the Dead the soul is seen hovering over the mummy, which is lying on its bier, and in the text the deceased is made to say, " Grant that my soul may come to me from wheresoever it may be. Let me have possession of my Ba (soul) and of my Aakhu (spirit). Let me not lie down as a dead being in Ånu (Heliopolis), the place wherein souls are joined unto their bodies in thousands (?). Let my soul appear before the gods, and grant that it may journey, O ye gods who tow along the Boat of the Lord of Millions of Years, in the eastern sky with you and follow on to the place where it was yesterday. And let it have peace, peace in Amentt. May it look upon its natural body, may it rest upon its sāļu (spirit-body), and may its body neither perish nor suffer corruption for ever!"

XIV.—The Sma, Ţ

or

IAAT.

T. This amulet represents the lungs,,sma, and it was believed to impart to the wearer of it the power to breathe freely, and to prolong the existence of the breath of life in the body. It is usually made of dark-coloured stone, and varies in length from three-quarters of an inch to an inch and three-eighths; the examples in the British Museum (8291 and 24082) are uninscribed.

XV. The Sun on the horizon,. This amulet was made of red jasper, red paste or red glass, carnelian, and other stones of a reddish colour (B.M. 8297, 8299, 8300). It symbolized the

X

strength of Horus the rising sun, and was believed to afford to the wearer heat and protection in life, and renewed life, or resurrection after death.

XVI, XVII, XVIII.-Crown amulets. These were: The Red Crown of the North (Lower Egypt),

Teshert; the White Crown of the South (Upper Egypt), -, Ḥetchet;

the Two Crowns of the South and North,

XIX.-The Two Feathers, or

Sekhemti.

This amulet represents the two plumes which some of the gods wear, e.g., Åmen and Osiris. The straight plumes, Д,

are those of Amen, and indicate the power of generation, virility, and the plumes with curved tops are the feathers worn in the Atef Crown,, by Ptah-Seker-Osiris, the triune god of the Egyptian Resurrection. From first to last the feather symbolized air and light. The Shuti amulet was made in stone, sometimes dark, sometimes light (B.M. 8143, 20618), and also in solid gold, but the natives melt down the latter as soon as they find one.

XX. The Shen, Q, originally represented the end of a cylindrical seal being rolled over the moist mud which is to take the impression of the seal, but at a very early date it was associated with the idea of a ring with an attachment which bore an inscription and was used as a seal. The word shen, & O,

www

O, means

୪

or Q, and some

circle." The determinative is sometimes times, and it is possible that the cartouche amulet, O, is only a modification of this sign. In any case the Shen represents the all-embracing power of the sun, and probably also eternity.

I.

XXI. The Cartouche, . This amulet is made of lapislazuli (B.M. 13469) and dark stone, and sometimes a pair of plumes,

IP, are attached to it (B.M. 8166, 8168). The hieroglyph is

used as a determinative for ren,

the word for name, and it is

possible that the idea underlying the use of this amulet was the preservation of the name of the deceased in perpetuity, or as long as the solar disk continued to revolve in the sky.

XXII.—The Serpent's head,, Ārār-t. This amulet is made of red jasper, red paste, carnelian and other reddish

PLATE XXII

Painted and gilded plaster head-case for the mummy of a woman, with models of her two feet. IIIrd century A.D.

B.M. No. 29477.

Stone figure of a human-headed hawk, with pendent breasts, symbol of the Ba, or human soul. From Nubia. Meroïtic Period. B.M. No. 53965.

stones. It represented Isis as the great serpent-goddess, and was placed inside the wrappings of mummies and attached to their necks to prevent their being devoured by worms in the tombs. It was also worn by the living as a protection against snake bite. The hekau, or words of power, which are found engraved on the amulet, are taken from two Chapters of the Book of the Dead (XXXIV and XXXV) which were intended to prevent the deceased from being devoured by worms or serpents in the Other World. In Chapter XXXIV he says, “I am flame emanating from the brow of the god of Eternity I am the Maftet," i.e., the divine Lynx,

One example (B.M. 23301) contains an address to the Great God in

(B.M. 3125), and a third is inscribed with a text

XXIII.-The Menȧt,

4. This amulet was in use

in Egypt in the early dynastic period, and was probably invented by the pre-dynastic Egyptians. It was worn by gods, goddesses, kings, priests, and others, and it often forms the pendant of a necklace, being made of lapis-lazuli, dark stone or glazed faïence, and, when attached to large statues, of bronze. The primitive idea associated with this amulet was physical well-being, in the male virility and in the female fecundity, and it was buried with the dead with the idea of renewing their sexual instincts and powers in the Other World. In Lower Egypt the Menat was a prominent attribute of Ptaḥ of Memphis, and in Upper Egypt of Hathor, whether as a fine cow or beautiful woman. Two characteristic examples are B.M. 8172, 8173, but one of the finest examples known is B.M. 41515. It is 6 inches long by 23 inches. The upper part consists of an aegis of Hathor set between two papyrus columns, the one surmounted by the Uraeus of the South, and the other by the uraeus of the North. The goddess wears a plaited head-dress, and a heavy curl falls by each side of her face. Above her head is a small shrine

☐, in which is a serpent, upright, wearing a disk and horns &

The aegis rests upon another shrine, which is flanked on each side. by a lotus pillar surmounted by a head of Hathor. Within the shrine are figures of two goddesses in the form of women, the one wearing and the other a sistrum (?). On the reverse of the menat this shrine is provided with two doors and two bolts. On