Fragment of "Magic Knife" Although many varieties of objects
were made in all periods of Egyptian history, some were
manufactured for a limited time. Artisans created "magic
knives"—flat, sickle-shaped objects decorated with protective
images of gods, animals, and amuletic signs—only in the Middle
Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period. The Egyptians placed
"magic knives" on the stomachs of pregnant women during
childbirth and on newborns to protect them from demons and
disease. - Medium: Frit - Place Made: Egypt - Dates: ca.
1759-after 1630 B.C.E. - Dynasty: XIII Dynasty - Period: Middle
Kingdom - Dimensions: 1 3/8 x 3 9/16 in. (3.5 x 9 cm) (show
scale) - Collections:Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern
Art - Museum Location: This item is not on view - Accession
Number: 16.580.145 - Credit Line: Gift of Evangeline Wilbour
Blashfield, Theodora Wilbour, and Victor Wilbour honoring the
wishes of their mother, Charlotte Beebe Wilbour, as a memorial
to their father, Charles Edwin Wilbour - Rights Statement: