Charming Frog Amulet

393, Lot: 752. Estimate $500. Sold for $1900. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Brown and blue faience frog amulet. Egypt, Third Intermediate Period, 1070-664 BC. An amulet of a seated frog with fine details and multicolored glaze. On base, an inscription reading “Amun.” Central piercing. Dimensions: 23x16.5mm. Intact and an excellent example of type. Cf. Petrie, Amulets pl. II, 18a-e.

From the Carl Devries Collection.

Frogs were symbols of fertility in ancient Egypt as they were closely associated with the Nile. The flooding of the river was crucial to Egyptian life, with the annual deluge depositing not only the fertile soil necessary for growing crops, but innumerable frogs as well!