Egyptian Fish Amulet | 12th Dynasty, 1900–1800 BCE
This beautiful gold and green feldspar amulet represents the nekhau fish—what we now call the Nile tilapia. In ancient Egypt, fish like this symbolized regeneration and were worn by children (especially girls) as protective charms against drowning.
They were often braided into a child’s sidelock, believed to ward off danger through aversion magic: a fish from the Nile offering protection from the Nile.
One story in the Westcar Papyrus, a Middle Kingdom tale, describes a harem girl losing her “nekhau of fresh turquoise” while rowing a pharaoh across a lake—just like this one.
Feldspar was often used as a substitute for turquoise, which came from the Sinai mines.
Gold, green stone, protective magic, and the memory of a river’s sacred life—all in one tiny charm.
© The Trustees of the British Museum
Additional information I found:
This amulet is made from a sheet gold cloison that frames a central green feldspar inlay, with striated gold fins and tail soldered in place. A suspension loop at the fish’s nose allowed it to be tied or braided into the wearer’s hair.
The tilapia (bolti in modern Egyptian Arabic) was sacred in Egyptian culture for its associations with fertility and rebirth, as the fish was believed to guard its young in its mouth. These qualities made it an especially meaningful amulet for children and young women.
Its earliest literary mention appears in the Westcar Papyrus, a collection of magical tales from the Middle Kingdom. The specific form—gold frame, green inlay—is identical to the amulet described by a girl of Pharaoh Snofru’s court when her turquoise nekhau falls into the lake.
