The Art and Science of Healing: From Antiquity to the Renaissance

The Art and Science of Healing: From Antiquity to the RenaissanceThe Art and Science of Healing: From Antiquity to the Renaissance

Stomach Amulet

Stomach amulet recto Stomach amulet verso

Stomach amulet: ibis tied to a flower pot Limonite, brown 22 x 20 x 4 mm 1st–5th c. AD Egypt Alexander G. Ruthven. KM 1963.04.0007

On the obverse we see the image of an ibis striding to the left and tied at the neck to an altar on the right. The altar is topped with a vase containing three stalks of a plant. On the reverse we read the following Greek inscription: πεσσε, πεσσε, πεσσε, “Digest, digest, digest!”