AN EGYPTIAN GOLD WEDJAT EYE AMULET WITH URAEUS, LATE PERIOD-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD CIRCA 664-30 B.C.

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AN EGYPTIAN GOLD WEDJAT EYE AMULET WITH URAEUS, LATE PERIOD-PTOLEMAIC PERIOD CIRCA 664-30 B.C. Worked in high-karat gold, this Egyptian amulet takes the form of the Wedjat, or Eye of Horus, its elongated profile rendered in openwork with a suspension loop above. The form is compact and clearly legible, with the eye, brow and pendant tear-line arranged within a balanced horizontal composition. The warm gold surface gives the amulet a strong visual presence, while the pierced openings lighten the design and emphasise its function as a personal talisman. The front is finely engraved, with a feathered brow running along the upper edge and carefully incised lines defining the eye and lower markings. The long curved element beneath the eye is pierced through, while the front terminates in a uraeus cobra, its body detailed with small cut and chased elements and surmounted by a solar disk. The reverse is plain, allowing the raised and engraved front to remain the focus. The simplicity of the back and the presence of the suspension loop indicate that the amulet was intended to be worn. In Egyptian belief, the Wedjat eye was one of the most important protective symbols, associated with healing, restoration and divine safeguarding. Its origin lay in the myth of Horus, whose injured eye was restored, making the emblem a powerful sign of wholeness and protection. The addition of the uraeus and solar disk adds a further layer of meaning: the cobra was a symbol of royal and divine power, while the disk referred to the protective force of the sun god Ra. Together, these elements form a concentrated image of protection, renewal and authority. Dating to the Late Period-Ptolemaic Period, circa 664-30 B.C., the amulet belongs to a long tradition of Egyptian personal adornment in which gold and sacred imagery were closely joined. Such amulets were worn not simply as ornaments, but as active symbols intended to protect the wearer in life and, in some contexts, beyond death. The use of gold, with its enduring brightness and solar associations, would have strengthened the symbolic force of the image. The piece is recorded as from a Private British Collection in 2001, having previously been acquired via the European trade. With its finely worked openwork form, clear sacred imagery and union of Wedjat eye, uraeus and solar disk, this amulet is a concise and carefully made example of Egyptian protective jewellery. Length: 2.9 cm Weight: 4 g

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