By Caroline Roberts, Conservator
I don’t know about you all, but I am ready to get on a train to anywhere but here. I am anxious to travel, to see loved ones … but at the same time, I am all too aware of the risks. Thankfully, we have vaccines, a range of stylish masks, and over a year of pandemic experience to lean on as we consider venturing out again. But there’s a part of me that craves something more. Something like this month’s Ugly Object.
This small cippus—a stone pedestal with a rounded back—is carved with a figure of Horus, the Egyptian falcon god. Significant parts of Horus are missing, but we can still see the head of the protector god Bes above him, as well as the snakes and scorpions he holds by the tails in either hand. There is also some magical text on the back of the cippus. According to our database, it says:
Oh Protector [i.e., Horus] (against) scorpions, oh great god;
the son of Re [Horus] who battles the scorpions that attack;
oh Protector (against) scorpions, the bull, the sun of Re; the bull
… oh Protector
…
I’m not an Egyptologist, so I can’t explain the religious significance of each threat, though I’m sure the thought of a bunch of scorpions attacking won’t be lost on anyone. But what is clear is that this cippus was designed to shield its owner from any number of foes. The object’s small size and the holes under Bes’s beard make me wonder if someone might have carried or worn it as a protective amulet—not unlike the lucky mask I put on some mornings. I figure another layer of magical defense against life’s uncertainties can’t hurt!
