Heart Amulet

For the ancient Egyptians, the heart (ib) was the centre of thought and the driver of feelings and actions. Thus, it was the organ, which remembered the deeds done in life, that played a significant role in helping the deceased to reach the afterlife. During the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony, the heart of the deceased was placed on a scale, while the other pan of the scale held a Maat feather, a symbol of justice. Meanwhile, the deceased made the “Negative Confession” of the sins he had not committed. If the scale did not move, the dead person could move on to the afterlife. For this reason, the object was placed near the heart between the mummy shrouds to protect the organ left in the body during mummification and to ensure positive responses during the weighing, so that the dead could achieve afterlife and rebirth. The heart also played a role in the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony at the time of burial, when the heart of a bull was offered to the deceased to restore their earthly abilities.

There was no difference in the depiction of the heart as an animal or human organ, but the shape of the amulets was more like that of an animal. It was typically represented as an ovoid vessel, broader at the top, with a handle-like element on each side, perhaps indicating veins and arteries, and a flared and flattened rim at the top. In this case, the ribbed suspension loop was not drilled, making it unsuitable for suspension, thus the object must have been placed on the body. The object is made of lapis lazuli, a precious material in ancient Egypt, mined in Afghanistan, whose blue colour was the colour of the Nile, which is the source of fertility and regeneration, and thus supported renewal. In addition, it is the colour of the night sky, so that the colour of the journey of deceased to the afterlife.

The most important guide to the afterlife, the Book of the Dead, which includes the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony, suggests the wearing of heart amulets, so they became widespread after the introduction of the Book of the Dead in the New Kingdom, and played a significant role within grave goods until the end of the Pharaonic period.