Necklace; Egypt, Late Period, 664–332 B.C.

Necklace; Egypt, Late Period, 664–332 B.C.
Faience.
It has a modern cord.
Measurements: 28 cm (length); 3.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 cm (amulet).
Provenance: Family bequest from Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló. An archaeological collection assembled beginning in the 1950s by successive generations of the family through purchases at European galleries and auction houses. This piece previously belonged to a private collection in the United Kingdom.

Necklace made of tubular and disc-shaped beads in blue fayenza and other shades. “Fayenza” refers to a ceramic material with a vitreous exterior finish, the color of which typically ranges from blue to bluish-green. It was widely used in Ancient Egypt to create household objects, small figurines, amulets, ushabti, and so on. In the central part of the necklace, one can see an amulet depicting the deity Ptah. The god Ptah is depicted as a bearded dwarf with crooked legs and a beardless face, sometimes with a scarab on his head, and also as a bearded, mummy-like man (the lifeless body of Osiris), adorned with two feathers on his head and crowned with the solar disk and two ram’s horns.