Ca. 1550–1077 BC. New Kingdom. A golden amulet in the shape of a tilapia fish. Fish pendants were worn as jewellery and were braided into the hair. A particularly famous story involving a fish pendant comes from the Westcar Papyrus, in which a female rower drops her fish pendant into the water and grieves until a magician splits the lake in half with magic to retrieve the item - a tale that highlights the precious nature of these pieces. The tilapia was a favourite in Egyptian art, and as an animal it was revered for the way in which the females protect their young. By swallowing their own eggs in order to protect them until they were ready to hatch, these mother fish mimicked the goddess Nut swallowing the sun each evening before birthing it each dawn, and thus the tilapia became a symbol of regeneration. Has undergone XRF Testing in order to confirm authenticity, this will accompany the piece as well as the full analysis from an independent gemmologist. Size: L:17mm / W:33mm ; 4.4gProvenance: Private London collection; formerly in a 1970s French collection.