Ave!

Harpocrates, Amulet Pendent, c. 2nd Cent BC-3rd Cent AD

Copper alloy; 23mm/2.2gm

Con/ As cast; loop intact with dark brown patina; cleaned and waxed, wearable for sure. Much better in hand as, no matter how we try to photograph it, it looks poor. In hand he does have a very clear face.

Seller's Note/ Harpocrates was the god of silence, secrets and confidentiality in the Hellenistic religion developed in Ptolemaic Alexandria. Harpocrates was adapted by the Greeks from the Egyptian child god Horus, who represented the newborn sun, rising each day at dawn. Harpocrates' name was a Hellenization of the Egyptian Har-pa-khered or Heru-pa-khered, meaning "Horus the Child".

As seen in our photo, Harpocrates was cast as seated, and holds one hand, possibly an index finger, to his mouth invoking silence. The dating of such amulets is difficult as the Romans adopted him into their pantheon early in the 1st Century AD.

The new god of Librarians? :-)