Signet ring

New Kingdom, Amarna Period

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 121

The ring bezel is decorated with the royal device of two cartouches topped by ostrich plumes. The cartouches frame dancing figures of Bes, a minor god who frightened away demons and killed snakes and other harmful animals. Bes was closely associated with women in labor and with small children, and use of his image on this ring suggests that it belonged to a queen.

Signet ring, Gold

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