Bes-Image with Child Glazed Faience, 7 1/2 x 2 7/8 x 5/8 in. (19.1 x 7.3 x 1.6 cm) Egypt, Third Intermediate Period, ca. 1075-656 B.C.E. Brooklyn #08.480.4, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund Photo © Joan Lansberry, May 2008-2016

(From museum website): "Bes was a name applied to several deities represented as a sort of dwarf lion-man. The Bes-image's deities were, among other things, protectors of pregnant women, young children, and the newly born sun (the sun-god was believed to be reborn each day at dawn)." Info from another Bes figure: "In antiquity metal rings were inserted into the holes at the top of the headdress and through the pierced ears. When shaken like a rattle, the piece produced a rustling sound intended to soothe a crying baby." Info from another Bes Amulet: "Ancient Egyptian women wore amulets of birth gods to protect them during and immediately after childbirth. One of these birth gods, a female deity often known as Taweret, was shown with the head and body of a hippopotamus, lion's paws, and a stylized crocodile hanging down her back. Her male counterpart, commonly called Bes, usually appeared frontally. In early Dynasty 18, artists depicted Bes with a human face and a lion's body and mane." Amulet in the Form of Bes-Image Faience, 1 3/16 x 5/8 x 3/16 in. (3 x 1.6 x 0.5 cm) Place Made: Egypt New Kingdom, XVIII Dynasty, ca. 1539-1478 B.C.E. Brooklyn #37.914E, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund Here is another example of a Bes and Taweret amulet, this one from the Metropolitan Museum: Appliqué with Bes flanked by figures of Taweret Gold Egypt, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, 1550-1350 B.C.E. MMA #15.6.13 Gift of Mrs. Frederick Thompson, 1915 This was caught in process of capturing another piece, seen here as well.