The pectorals of ancient Egypt were a form of jewelry, often in the form of a brooch. They are often also amulets, and may be so described. They were mostly worn by richer people and the pharaoh.
One type is attached with a nah necklace, suspended from the neck and lying on the breast. Statuary from the Old Kingdom onwards shows this form.
A later form was attached as a brooch, with the thematic, iconographic function and statement outweighing its actual use as a piece of jewellery for adornment. The thematic statements were typically about the pharaoh or statements of ancient Egyptian mythology and culture. They are usually of gold with cloisonné inlays of gemstones.
The many determinatives for pectoral are not portrayed in the Gardiner's Sign List. However, one of the 10 words[1] for 'pectoral', or 'collar' uses the Usekh collar determinative, S11, the "collar necklace"
The basic definition of a brooch is as a wide piece of jewellery. Therefore, one form of the 'pectoral' word listings uses the word for "breadth, broad", "to be wide or spacious", the Egyptian word usekh. (Cf. Usekh collar.)
Though Gardiner lists only the "broad collar", S11, the following listing of words for "pectoral" shows the other types of pectoral jewellery forms that have a Gardiner-unlisted type of pectoral hieroglyph sign:[2]
The list of Gardiner-unlisted determinatives for pectoral:[3]
ari aui-(none) (bracelets, armlets)
usekh-(Gard-unl. 1 to 7) (8 is the S11 collar)
utcha-(Gard-unl. 9 to 12) (12 has beads)
babaa-