Beautiful ceramic reproductions of the Cartouche of the Egyptian God of War, Seth.
I created these pendants from high-fire clay, air-dried then carved Seth's Cartouche. Then in the kiln for several hours, glazed and fired once again.
These pendants have been strung onto adjustable satin cords and measure approximately 1-5/8'' long by 1'' wide by 3/16'' thick ( 40mm x 25mm x 4mm).
Ancient Egyptian Cartouches:
'Cartouche' is actually a French word meaning 'gun cartridge'. When Napoleon's soldiers were in Egypt, they nicknamed this shape 'cartouche' because it reminded them of the shape of their gun cartridges, or bullets. At the time, people could not read the hieroglyphic writing, so they did not know that the cartouche surrounded the name of the pharaoh. 'Cartouche' became so commonly used that it has remained the standard name for the shape around the name of an Egyptian pharaoh or queen.
Set, also known as Seth and Suetekh, was the Egyptian god of war, chaos and storms, brother of Osiris, Isis, and Horus the Elder, uncle to Horus the Younger, and brother-husband to Nephthys. His other consort was the goddess Tawaret, a hippo-headed deity who presided over fertility and childbirth.