An Egyptian Frog

[Molinari]

Over the summer, I bought this very small but still charming little Egyptian faience frog, c. 2nd-1st Millenium BC.  It's about 11mm maximum diameter.

[David Atherton]

What a wonderful little piece! Was it used as some sort of charm or simply decorative?

[Molinari]

It was strung on (presumably) a necklace.  I was outbid on a very similar piece from the Hendin collection and always regretted not bidding higher, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this available for purchase.

Thanks for the compliment.  It is very small but looks nice in the library's display case.  Amphibians, being of two worlds, have always interested me, especially in relation to religious practices.

[Joe Sermarini]

We have two Egyptian frog amulets in the catalog.

https://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=1616

[Molinari]

Nice write-up, Joe.  I didn't realize you had any for sale.

I added the following to my gallery:

From Forvm's description of a similar piece:

The frog was a symbol of the Egyptian goddess of birth, Heget. Her priestesses were midwives and women often wore frog amulets during childbirth. Heget was said to have breathed life in to the new body of Horus and some of her amulets include the phrase, "I am the resurrection." Curiously, early Christians adopted the frog as a symbol of Christ's resurrection.

[Joe Sermarini]

Believe it or not, I probably spent at least three hours researching Egypt and Heget and frog amulets, and it all was reduced down to those few lines.