This apotropaic amulet intended to prevent snake bites and possibly to refresh the throat of the deceased1. They are mainly in red carnelian and jasper, but faience and gold were also used1. Period: New Kingdom onwards but mainly from the Late Period with a variant in which the head of the snake forms an angle with the body (see below)
Red jasper, L 4.9, W 1.9, Ø 1.4
Late Period
© The Trustees of the
British Museum #EA3128
Carnelian L 2.3, Ø 0.7
Late Period
Private collection DA
Blue glaze L 2.4
Late Period MET #26.7.1044
Carnelian L 1.5, W 0.3
Late Period
© Musée du Louvre/
Antiquités égyptiennes
#E 4993
References
1Andrews C. Amulets of Ancient Egypt, 1994, p. 85 and Figs. 86a-e