The English archaeologist Reginald Engelbach discovered this Ancient Egyptian pectoral jewellery in a tomb at Riqqeh, Egypt, in 1912 near the entrance to the Faiyum lake region. Its tomb ceiling had collapsed, crushing a tomb robber, which is probably why this jewellery survived. This pectoral is a piece of golden chest jewellery with stones of carnelian, turquoise and lapis lazuli. This small (4.2cm wide) object has perhaps the most dramatic biography of any in the Manchester Museum collection, and one which would not seem out of place in a Hollywood movie script. Known today as the Riqqeh Pectoral after the site at which it was discovered, this ornate chest ornament, with two loops for suspension indicating that it was worn on a necklace, is an undoubted highlight of the Manchester Museum. The piece was created using a technique termed cloisonné, in which separate gold sections are filled with semi-precious stones. Lapis lazuli (dark blue), carnelian (red) and turquoise (blue/green) give the pectoral its colourful appearance and gem-like lustre. The reverse is chased in gold with details of the figures: two wedjat eyes (or ‘eyes of Horus’) flank a sun disk above two falcons (sometimes described as ‘crows’) on symbols for ‘gold’. The composition is arranged symmetrically around a stylised papyrus umbel suggesting a sekhem sceptre – a symbol of power. Two inward turned papyrus stalks frame the group.

Riqqeh pectoral. Manchester Museum Accession No 5966.