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Source Description
The ancient Egyptians regarded the heart as the source of human intellect, memory, conscience, and passions. Believed to embody one's true character, the heart was weighed on the balance of the Court of the Underworld to ascertain if the owner was worthy of being reborn in the afterlife. Heart amulets were part of the amulet set of the deceased beginning in the New Kingdom. The meaning of such heart amulets may be that of a substitute for the real heart. Several spells from "The Book of the Dead" deal with the danger that could arise if the heart was taken away from a person, or damaged; it was thought that such a separation could destroy his/her existence in the afterlife.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
7479
label
Heart Amulet
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
7479
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Heart Amulet
description
The ancient Egyptians regarded the heart as the source of human intellect, memory, conscience, and passions. Believed to embody one's true character, the heart was weighed on the balance of the Court of the Underworld to ascertain if the owner was worthy of being reborn in the afterlife. Heart amulets were part of the amulet set of the deceased beginning in the New Kingdom. The meaning of such heart amulets may be that of a substitute for the real heart. Several spells from "The Book of the Dead" deal with the danger that could arise if the heart was taken away from a person, or damaged; it was thought that such a separation could destroy his/her existence in the afterlife.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
712-304 BCE (Late Period)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Ceramics
pendants
amulets
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
3
height
1.1
depth
0.4
dimensionsRaw
H: 1 3/16 x W: 7/16 x D: 1/8 in. (3 x 1.13 x 0.35 cm)
Source extras
cul
Egyptian
dynasty
26th-30th Dynasty
med
faience
creator_ids
6182
collection_ids
EGY
JWL
exhibition_ids
2513
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
c771c25d43c8c7d4
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
ef0360434338e07c
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no