Wedjat eye amulet, carved carnelian, Egypt, possibly Late or Ptolemaic Period

Carved carnelian amulet of a wedjat eye. The amulet is carved on only one side, with eyebrow and markings. There is a carved attachment hoop above the eye, for threading onto a string.

The Reverend Greville John Chester (1830-1892), born in Denton, Norfolk, studied at Oxford and became an ordained clergyman before sickness forced him to retire in 1865. For his ailing health, he was encouraged to travel to Egypt, making his first visit that year; he subsequently travelled there almost every year until his death, alongside journeys elsewhere across the Mediterranean and Near East. Each year, Chester bought items en masse, to sell or donate to British institutions upon returning. His acquisitions form a considerable backbone of the early holdings at the V&A, British Museum, Ashmolean and Fitzwilliam. His contributions to the Victoria and Albert Museum incorporate both ancient and Islamic artefacts, predominantly but not exclusively purchased in Egypt; the most significant acquisitions include several hundred fragments of Late Antique textiles from Akhmim, given to the museum between 1887 and 1892. Chester was widely regarded as having a keen eye for acquisitions, and cultivated close friendships with several prominent Egyptologists. He was also notable for recording the provenance of many ancient items he purchased, an unusual practice for the time.

The wedjat eye, or ‘Eye of Horus’, represents the eye of the god Horus, which was believed to have been injured by his uncle Seth and subsequently healed. As such, it symbolised protection and wholeness, and was commonly used as an apotropaic symbol. The markings underneath the eye are based on those of a falcon, the animal associated with Horus and in whose form he was frequently depicted.

319L-1867