Necklace of Princess Khenmet

Consisting of two rows of small, flat gold beads, with twenty-one finely worked pendants suspended at regular intervals, this delicate necklace, measuring approximately 37 cm in length, was discovered among the linen wrappings of Princess Khenmet’s mummy and has been reconstructed in its most plausible original arrangement.

The amulets are fashioned in gold and inlaid with semi-precious stones including lapis lazuli, carnelian and turquoise. Falcon-headed terminals formed the necklace fastenings, demonstrating the exceptional skill of the goldsmiths of Egypt’s 12th Dynasty.

Far more than an ornament, the necklace served as a powerful funerary amulet intended to protect the princess in the afterlife and assist her rebirth. At its centre is the ankh, symbol of life, placed above the hetep sign of peace and wellbeing.

Arranged symmetrically on either side are protective and regenerative emblems, including the was sceptre of power; the goddesses Nekhbet and Wadjet, guardians of Upper and Lower Egypt; the cow-eared goddess Bat; the Wedjat Eye of Horus, associated with health and restoration; the djed pillar of stability; further ankh signs; symbols of union; and the bee, emblem of Lower Egypt.

Together, these images formed a carefully ordered programme of protection, vitality, stability and eternal renewal for the princess in the world beyond.

Like other symbolic pieces of jewelry, usekh collars were placed among the linen wraps of the mummy to ward off evil from the deceased. The jewelry that accompanied the princess for eternity testify to the exceptional mastery that the goldsmiths of the 12th Dynasty had attained.

This necklace is more modest. These items were found, scattered, between the mummy’s banners. 37cm long, it was reconstituted in the most plausible way. It consists of two rows of multiple small flat gold pearls.