~Viper~

Ramesses III was the second Pharaoh of the 20th Dynasty and is considered to be the last great New Kingdom king to wield any substantial authority over Egypt. Some have put forth a hypothesis that a snakebite from a viper was the cause of the king's death but this proposal has not been proven. It is also known that he lived as long as about 2 weeks after the assassination attempt. His mummy includes a protective amulet to protect Ramesses III in the afterlife from a snakebite, which is very unusual for a pharaoh. The servant in charge of his food and drink was among the listed conspirators, but there were also some conspirators called the snake and the lord of snakes that might have been the most responsible. Perhaps his amulet is similar to this one I made. If you notice the snake like coils going around the bead. The pattern is even snake-like. And in keeping with the gestures for the kings of that era, this has been lined with copper electroforming to represent the gold which the Egyptian's so loved. I gave it a quick bath in a patina so that it has an antique look about it. March 2007