Ca. 1520-30 BC. New Kingdom - Ptolemaic Dynasty. A collection of scarabs, statuettes, and pestles. These include a small yellow statuette of Taweret, a red figurine of a hippo, a green figurine of a goose, four scarabs, and two black pestles. Taweret (whose name means 'the great one'), is depicted as a pregnant part-hippo, part-lion, part-crocodile, whose ferocious appearance scared away demons and sickness. She was particularly associated with using her apotropaic skills in service of mothers and new-borns. Both the amulet depicting her and the hippo figurine here probably invoked her, as hippos were associated with Taweret as fiercely maternal animals. The goose was a symbol of Amun and of creation. The scarabs all bear hieroglyphic inscriptions and the titulary of kings. The white one bears the name of Men-Ma'at-Ra (the throne name of Seti I). The blue one says 'nfr ntr Mn-Xprw-Ra nb tAwy PtH mry' which means 'the beautiful god Men-Kheperu-Ra (the throne name of Thutmose IV), lord of the Two Lands and beloved of Ptah'. The yellow one bears the name of User-Ma'at-Ra (the throne name of Ramses the Great) and the epithet 'stp-n-ra', meaning 'the elect of Ra'. The greenish one bears the name Men-Kheper-Ra (the throne name of Thutmose III). The pestles would have been used for grinding up minerals for cosmetics. Size: L:Set of 9: 14 - 67mm / W:8 - 38mm ; 50g. From a London private family collection; formerly acquired on the UK art market in the 1960s - 1970s; thence by descent.