t itself conveyed the fruitful and strengthening aspect of this deity.21
One item that more distinctly shows the bringing of fruit to the mouth is ECM758, another faience amulet this time in the form of a monkey (fig. 4 © IAA University of Birmingham). Shown sitting on the ground with two hands towards his face, the amulet has a small loop on the back of the monkey’s head for attachment. A similar amulet, 71029 in the British Museum, depicts the same gesture although in this case the monkey is shown standing and also has its young between its legs. It seems likely that the action of raising fruit to the mouth communicated powers of fecundity22 and would have acted as a fertility aid for the wearer of the amulet, thus providing divine intervention.23
ECM2067 is a small faience amulet depicting the god Shu, shown kneeling to the ground with both arms raised either side of a solar disk which sits on top of his head (fig. 5). Similar amulets to ECM2067, such as ECM1538, also show the god in the same stance, for example 60439 in the British Museum and 636 and 339 in the Jacques-Édouard Berger Collection.24 As the mythological god of air, it was Shu’s job to separate his two children, Geb, god of the earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky.25 Therefore, the gesture of raising his arms, which is markedly different from the way in which Isis as a mourner adopts a similar action,26 could communicate Shu’s mythological origins and in doing so the divine power of Shu is conveyed. As a result Egyptians would wear amulets like this knowing that the powerful god who was mythologically holding up the heavens, was protecting them. Therefore it is unlikely that Shu’s gesture is directly related to protection itself, however another object from the collection clearly displays an action that would have communicated this to the ancient Egyptians.
ECM1478 is an amuletic pectoral made of faience, separated into three pieces which, when placed side-by-side, show a goddess kneeling to the ground with her wings outstretched (fig. 6). The amulet is listed as representing Isis, who was often depicted with the cow horns and solar disk during the later periods of ancient Egyptian history. The body of the goddess has fifteen piercings and two suspension loops on the reverse, whilst there are twelve and thirteen piercings on her wings. The goddess’ outstretched wings communicate protection offered by the image of the goddess to the wearer of the amulet and can also be seen on other amuletic examples, such as UC52591 and UC52592 from the Petrie Museum at University College London. This particular gesture of protection does not only appear to have been communicated in an amuletic form, but can be seen in many other instances. For example on coffin decoration27 and temple carvings, such as the image on the wall of the inner temple of Isis’ sanctuary at Philae which depicts the goddess actually wrapping her wings around the god Osiris (fig. 7). This suggests that actions of communication were not reserved for one medium only, but rather that these gestures and their communicative meaning were common to other forms of ancient Egyptian art.
Gestures Communicating Ideologies
Ancient Egyptian culture consisted of many beliefs and ideas that had been passed down through the generations over hundreds of years. Certain texts and objects of material culture communicated these aspects between the Egyptian people. Two particular amulets from the Eton Myers Collection at the University of Birmingham provide an idea of how actions were used to convey these beliefs.
ECM785 and ECM787 are both pale green faience amulets showing the goddess Isis in one of the most enduring images of ancient Egyptian culture; suckling her infant son Horus (fig. 8). Shown seated on a block throne, Isis supports Horus on her lap as she nurses him. This image does not only appear in an amuletic form, but many statuettes also display it, such as X722 housed in the Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity Museum at the University of Birmingham and UC42553 in the Petrie Museum.28 Isis’ action communi