Amulet in the shape of a Frog

Product Description

Made of faience and probably molded, this amulet represents a frog in stylized forms. The arched body has no indication of forelegs, while the hind legs are folded in a W-shape along the body, as if the animal was ready to spring. A long vertical incision on its back reproduces the spine. The reverse side is flat and without any detail. The suspension ring is pierced horizontally, between the eyes of the amphibian.

Frogs were widely present in the marshlands of Mesopotamia and on the banks of the Nile, which explains their popularity in Near Eastern and Egyptian iconography, from the Neolithic period and all throughout ancient times. Carved or modeled from various materials (stone, faience, sometimes ivory or metal, etc.), frog-shaped figurines were most often used as amulets: their symbolism was certainly linked to the theme of water, a vital element in a desert environment such as Mesopotamia, but also to that of the perpetual renewal of life, because of their high fertility, of the dramatic changes they go through during the stages of their life cycles (egg, tadpole, frog) and of their ability to adapt to both aquatic and terrestrial environment.

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