 放大圖片
護心聖甲蟲胸飾 Pectoral with heart-scarab
埃及新王國時期第19王朝 19th Dynasty, New Kingdom, Egypt(c. 1275 BC)
這件精美的釉彩首飾，原本放在一位名叫普塔姆赫伯的女性木乃伊身上，用來保護她安全到達來世。護心聖甲蟲被放置在木乃伊裹屍布內心臟的位置，心臟是製作木乃伊時唯一沒有被去除掉的器官。它們的作用可以從《亡者之書》中得知，例如第30章B的咒語，內容就是描述護心聖甲蟲的重要功用，這些咒語通常雕刻於聖甲蟲的背面。因為心臟是人類思想、願望、行動之源和記憶之本，所以護心聖甲蟲可以防止心臟在死者面對冥府審判生前罪孽之時，說出不利於死者的話。
This exquisite piece of glazed jewellery, once placed on the mummy of a lady called Ptahemheb, had to secure her attainment of an afterlife. Heart scarabs were placed between the mummy wrappings at the level of the heart – the only organ never removed from the body by the embalmers. Their function is revealed by the text that the more elaborate examples have engraved on their reverse, which as a rule is spell 30B from the Book of the Dead. Heart scarabs had to prevent the organ from speaking out against the deceased when, on arrival in the Underworld, it was examined for lifetime sins, for the heart was the source of a person's thoughts, desires and actions, and the seat of memory. ■資料：香港藝術館
|
放大圖片
