Hypocephalus

These rare ‘false’ amulets are barely decribed ¹. Hypocephali are small discs generally made of stuccoed linen. They were placed under the heads of the deceased. The circle symbolized the Eye of Re and was believed to magically cause the head and body to be enveloped in light. The scenes painted on them relate to ideas of ressurection, connecting them with the Osirian myth and the Book of the Dead

Stuccoed linen Ø 15.5 Ptolemaic Period
© 1998 Musée du Louvre/Dist. Grand Palais Rmn/Georges Poncet #E 18940

Reference

¹Petrie W F M. Amulets, 1914, p. 30 and Figs. 134a-c for very poor examples