Glazed powdered quartz composite (faience), 0.65 grams; 21.07 mm. Late Dynastic Period, circa 715-332 BC. An amuletic papyrus sceptre or 'Wadj', first mentioned in Coffin Text no. 206. By the time the Book of the Dead was compiled it had become a prescribed amulet. Both chapters 159 and 160 concern the placement of a papyrus column at the throat of the deceased. The Wadj guaranteed the wearer rejuvenation and linked him with the protective goddesss Wadjyt. Made with a hole through its centre for suspension. Very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection.