Archaeological Museum of Bologna

Museo Civico Archeologico
Via dell'Archiginnasio 2 - 40124 Bologna
Tel. 051.27.57.211

Direzione e Uffici
Via de' Musei 8 – 40124 Bologna
Tel. 051.27.57.211 - Fax 051.26.65.16
mca@comune.bologna.it

MAP

  • banner sezioni

Collections / Itineraries / Egyptian collection: amulets

Introduction

The Archaeological Museum of Bologna has a rich collection of over 2,000 amulets of different periods, shapes and materials. These are small objects, often precious, that Egyptians wore in life or laid on the deceased, to keep away the most diverse dangers.
The power and effectiveness of the amulets derived from the shape which could reproduce divine figures, animals, gifts or divine attributes, human body parts, hieroglyphic signs, figures in miniature; from the nature of the material, because every single stones had specific magical powers and from colors: green symbolizes the vegetation in the spring, blue the water or the sky, red the blood, etc. Their power was also increased by the presence of representations and engraved texts or by magic formulas that were pronounced over them by the priests.

Exhibition rooms | Egyptian collection