AePIX_Scheffer-Győry

Scheffer, Krisztina 1 – Győry, Hedvig 2,
1 Semmelweis Museum for Medical History – 2 HEFS Ancient Egyptian Commettee, Vámbéry Ármin Oriental Academy,
Budapest HU

A Private collector and an amulet in the Semmelweis Museum for Medical History
DOI: https://doi.org/10.71067/AePIX-2025-175-203 
 Download  

Aegyptus et Pannonia IX, Acta Symposii anno 2023, objects and Concepts.
Proceedings of the Conference held 19th-20th Januar, 2023, Budapest; ed. by Hedvig Győry.
Published by The Ancient Egyptian Committee of the Hungarian-Egyptian Friendship Society, Budapest 2025.
ISBN: 978-615-6571-04-5 (printed), ISBN 978-615-6571-05-2 (pdf); DOI: https://doi.org/10.71067/AePIX-2025
Soft cover. No Jacket. 1.st Edition. 18+380 pages (24x17), with colour pictures.

Abstract
A recent research direction of the HNMPCC Semmelweis Museum for the Medical History (SOM) focuses on investigating the provenance of the objects in its Egyptian collection and the circumstances of their acquisition, as well as, through their study, gaining a deeper understanding of ancient Egyptian conceptions of health. The present paper concentrates on a djed-pillar amulet purchased from Rudolf Bedő, which entered the collection prior to the Museum’s official foundation. We examined the life of the former owner, attempted to clarify the origin of the amulet, and reviewed current scholarly knowledge concerning the djed pillar. In addition, we sought to address the question of what health-related meanings – beyond its funerary associations – the emblem identified with the backbone of Osiris, the god of the dead, might have embodied in the eyes of the ancient Egyptians. The importance of thissymbol is underscored by its prominent placement in the tomb of Tutankhamun, where a nearly half-metre-high example was installed among the shrines.