Object Image

Cynocephalus Amulet

Unknown Artist

The god Thoth was associated with two animals: the ibis and the baboon. Here, he is shown as a baboon squatting with its hands on its knees and wearing a crescent and a full moon on its head. As an amulet, it could have been worn, carried, or offered to a deity with the belief that it will magically bestow a particular power or form of protection during life or in the afterlife.

Credit: Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910

c. 1295-1070 B.C.

Red jasper

0.9 x 0.5 x 0.6 in

10.130.1933

Image and text © Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2020

Where you'll find this

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Permanent collection