A BLUE-GREEN FAIENCE ‘WINGED BABOON’ AMULET, THOTH, LATE PERIOD

Egypt, circa 664-332 BC. Finely modeled standing stout on its hindlimbs with its long wings tucked to the back, the primate with its forepaws resting on his knees, as he glares straight ahead, the face neatly incised with a charming expression and surrounded by a wide radiating ruff, partially obscured by a striated wig, and crowned by a large headdress.

Expert’s note: Thoth, the Egyptian god of writing, reckoning, and wisdom, was represented either as an ibis-headed man, a full ibis, or as a baboon, most often the hamadryas. Baboon figures and amulets of Thoth are well attested from the Third Intermediate through Late Periods and typically served as votive offerings or funerary talismans for scribes and the deceased.
By contrast, depictions of a baboon with added wings are rare, with only a handful of confirmed examples, such as a Late Period faience amulet in the Princeton University Art Museum. In such pieces, the wings are best understood as generic avian attributes rather than specifically those of an ibis, which is why “ibis wings” should be avoided as a description.
The association with Thoth in these unusual hybrids relies on the baboon form itself and, where preserved, lunar symbols or inscriptions that reinforce his role as a lunar deity. These composite amulets belong to a broader Late Period repertoire of protective objects in which elements from different animals or divine beings were deliberately fused to amplify their power. The winged aspect underscores solar qualities, while the baboon continues to signal Thoth’s central role as divine scribe and arbiter in the judgment of the dead.
In sum, while Thoth as a baboon is common, the addition of wings marks this as a highly uncommon and syncretic form, reflecting the creative flexibility of Late Period amuletic iconography.

Provenance: The private collection of Antoinette Downing, Providence, USA. Thereafter with Ancient Objects, Rhode Island, USA. A private collection in Switzerland, acquired from the above in 2012 and thence by descent. Antoinette Downing (1904–2001) was an American architectural historian and preservationist who wrote the standard reference work on historical houses in Rhode Island. She is credited with spearheading a movement that saved many of Providence's historic buildings from demolition in the mid-20^th century and for her leadership was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1978.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Old wear, minor irregularities, small losses, some pitting and encrustations, all as expected.

Weight: 100 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 5.3 cm (excl. stand), 13.7 cm (incl. stand)

Mounted on an associated stand. (2)

Amulets were, and in many cultures still are, believed to protect the living and the dead from danger or to provide them with extraordinary power. Some amulets have the same power as the object whose shape they depict (a divinity, an animal a body part, a hieroglyph, or another symbol). Some are made of materials thought to have supernatural qualities, while some derive their power from their color. It is the instructions for use that make the amulets really effective. They must be employed in a certain way, at a certain moment, and by the right person, with the relevant spells being recited. Amulets served to protect the entice person, but were also laid on various parts of the mummy's body, and associated with the gods who had those body parts under their particular care. Jewelry and amulets are difficult to distinguish functionally. A bead can have a certain amuletic value and amulets almost always worked into jewelry. There are about 300 different types of Egyptian amulets known from all periods. Some of them remained popular for thousands of years. From about 1000 BC on, the production of amulets increased dramatically, particularly their use for the benefit of deceased persons. Dozens of specimens have thus been found on and inside mummies.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related pale blue-green glazed-composition baboon with bird’s wings and tail, illustrated by Carol Andrews in Amulets of Ancient Egypt, 1994, p. 37, no. 33a. Compare a closely related baboon amulet, Late Period, Dynasty 27-30, 525-343 BC, 4.5 cm high, in the Risd Museum, object number 1988.097.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s London, 29 October 2003, lot 375
Price: GBP 4,465 or approx. EUR 11,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Egyptian turquoise faience baboon, Late Period
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling and similar expression and glaze. Note the smaller size (3.8 cm).