Ca. 664-30 BC. Late Period - Ptolemaic Dynasty. A necklace made of restrung glazed beads with a faience amulet of the goddess Taweret. The beads are a range of colours, and a mix of short round beads and long cylindrical ones. Necklace strings do not survive from antiquity as they degrade over the millennia, but the beads can be found (typically in tombs as funerary goods) and restrung. The placement of fine jewellery in tombs allowed the deceased to continue their lavish lifestyle in the next life. The figure depicted in the amulet, Taweret (whose name means 'the great one'), was 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. This amulet may have been purpose-built for the grave, to help the tomb-owner combat the demons encountered on the journey to the afterlife, but it was probably a treasured item owned in life that was buried with the deceased. Size: L:255mm / W:mm ; 5.6g. Provenance: From an old British collection of Asian Art formed in the 1990 on the UK and European art market.