Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 0.625" (1.6cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Third Intermediate Period, Dyn. XXI The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun  More »

Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 0.625" (1.6cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Third Intermediate Period, Dyn. XXI The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun was propelled across the heavens by means of a scarab, or sacred beetle. With the passing of time, the Egyptians created a series of amulets in the form of this beetle in a great variety of materials, and these were routinely provided with inscriptions in hieroglyphs conveniently accommodated to their stylized flat bottoms. Our scarab is just such a variation. Its top is designed in the classic manner in which the component elements of its head, plate, and clypeus are carefully articulated, although the thorax and elytra, or wing case, are treated as a single unit. The bottom of our scarab exhibits finely cut hieroglyphs, the contours of each being both crisply and clearly executed. The top and bottom features identical, stylized versions of a pool with lotus flowers (Gardiner, Sign List M8) which frame the central zone. This is framed to the left and right by a uraeus, or sacred cobra, flanking two hieroglyphs in the center representing the sun disc itself and the sacred beetle or cobra. These two signs may be read as Re-kheper. It is preferable, perhaps, to interpret these two signs as the prenomen of Pharaoh Osorkon II who ruled during Dynasty XXII. Osorkon II was an aggressive builder of temples, of which the best known is undoubtedly his great festival hall at Bubastis, home of the cat goddess in Egypt’s Eastern Delta.   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1991 BC to 1783 BC Dimensions: 0.825" (2.1cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Dynasty XII The entomological details of the top of this scarab are  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 1991 BC to 1783 BC Dimensions: 0.825" (2.1cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Dynasty XII The entomological details of the top of this scarab are carefully designed and include the head and its component elements, namely, the plate, eyes, and clypeus, all of which are clearly articulated. The thorax is divided from the elytra, itself divided into two parts, by deeply scored lines, and the legs are likewise well-defined. The bottom of our scarab is inscribed with a title and name of its owner, “The Great One of Nubia (?), [named] Sa-sobek.” The orthography of the individual hieroglyphs and their arrangement in the field find their exact correspondences in a second scarab, assigned by Petrie to his “scarabs without borders” classification, so named because there are no framing elements around the perimeter of their inscribed bottoms. All of the hieroglyphs on our scarab appear in exactly the same order and exhibit the same orthography as the scarab published by Petrie with the exception of the last sign. Our pin tail duck is replaced by a swallow in Petrie’s example. The change documents that the name of the owner of Petrie’s scarab was an individual called, “Wer-sobek.” Both that individual and our Sa-sobek were holders of the same title, “The Great One of Nubia.”   « Less

Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Dynasty XXV The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun was propelled across the  More »

Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Dynasty XXV The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun was propelled across the heavens by means of a scarab, or sacred beetle. With the passing of time, the Egyptians created a series of amulets in the form of this beetle in a great variety of materials, and these were routinely provided with inscriptions in hieroglyphs conveniently accommodated to their stylized flat bottoms.Our scarab is just such a variation with a remarkable degree of ornamentation on its upper side, the perimeter of which relies on a notched pattern. The details of the head, plate, and clypeus are well done as are those of the thorax and elytra, or wing case, both elements of which are additionally decorated with “curls,” to use Petrie’s designation. The bottom of our scarab is decorated with a cruciform motif in the form of stylized floral forms, perhaps to be identified as the lotus. There is a single nefer sign in the field to the left and right of the upper shaft of the cruciform floral element and a single ankh sign in each of the corresponding fields of the lower shaft. Such motifs, which may have originally been imbued with magical properties, were first introduced in the Middle Kingdom and were repeatedly encountered on scarabs of later periods. The unique curl designs on our scarab suggest a dating within Dynasty XXV, when such decorative accents enjoyed great popularity. This was the dynasty during which time the Nubians ruled Egypt as pharaohs in their own right. They projected themselves as ardent worshippers of the state god Amun and aggressively fought against the Assyrians in order to preserve Egypt’s independence.   « Less

Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Middle Kingdom, Dyn. XII The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun was propelled  More »

Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Middle Kingdom, Dyn. XII The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun was propelled across the heavens by means of a scarab, or sacred beetle. With the passing of time, the Egyptians created a series of amulets in the form of this beetle in a great variety of materials, and these were routinely provided with inscriptions in hieroglyphs conveniently accommodated to their stylized flat bottoms. This amulet in the form of a scarab is one of several Egyptian variations on the theme. The body of the beetle is stylized to the extent that the details of the head, plate, and clypeus are confined to a single zone and rely on a few ornamentally incised strokes for their articulation. The bottom is divided into three distinct zones. The sedge plant and the bee occupy the top, and these two hieroglyphs form the phrase, The King of Upper and of Lower Egypt.” In the center, and very stylized and abstracted in their design, are two wadjet, or sacred eyes, front to front. Below is a beetle flanked on either side by a nefer-sign. The ornamental appearance of the elements in this composition should not obscure the fact that they may have possessed either magical or symbolic value for their original owner.The dating of our scarab to the Egyptian Middle Kingdom seems assured by the combination of motifs such as the sedge and the bee in association with the wadjet-eyes and beetle with nefer-signs.   « Less

Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Second Intermediate Period The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun was  More »

Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Second Intermediate Period The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun was propelled across the heavens by means of a scarab, or sacred beetle. With the passing of time, the Egyptians created a series of amulets in the form of this beetle in a great variety of materials, and these were routinely provided with inscriptions in hieroglyphs conveniently accommodated to their stylized flat bottoms. So popular was the scarab that it became the one amulet associated with Egypt by all of her neighbors, and local variations were created in imitation of the Egyptian model. Our scarab is just such a variation. Its head and clypeus are designed as a single triangular form ending in a pincer-like shape. A pair of triangular-shaped notches serves to distinguish the thorax from the elytra, or wing case. A single, large male figure, to the right, fills the field on the scarab’s flat bottom. He is depicted wearing a pleated kilt and a striated wig. One arm is held along the side of his body while the other is bent at the elbow and raised in the air with its hand holding a conically-shaped object. The field above this object contains a sign in the form of a Figure-8, whereas a large nefer-sign occupies the space in front of the figure’s legs.   « Less

Canaanite Scarab - LO.1126 Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Style: Middle Bronze Age IIB The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun was propelled across the heavens by  More »

Canaanite Scarab - LO.1126 Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Style: Middle Bronze Age IIB The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun was propelled across the heavens by means of a scarab, or sacred beetle. With the passing of time, the Egyptians created a series of amulets in the form of this beetle in a great variety of materials, and these were routinely provided with inscriptions in hieroglyphs conveniently accommodated to their stylized flat bottoms. So popular was the scarab that it became the one amulet associated with Egypt by all of her neighbors, and local variations were created in imitation of the Egyptian model. Our scarab is just such a variation. Its head and clypeus are designed as a single triangular form ending in a pincer-like shape. A pair of triangular-shaped notches serves to distinguish the thorax from the elytra, or wing case.The design elements on the bottom of our scarab are stylized and abstracted in their design. The principal figure appears to be a quadruped, facing right, with its hindquarters emphasized by linear ornamentation and its long tail raised high in the air. The figure may thus be identified as a baboon, although the possibility that a sphinx is intended cannot be overlooked. The linear network of ornament around the figure appears to be decorative, although the single element beneath the tail may have been intended to represent a nefer-sign.   « Less

Egyptian Seal - LO.1128 Origin: jericho Circa: 1300 BC to 900 BC Dimensions: 0.625" (1.6cm) wide x 0.375" (1.0cm) depth Collection: Egyptian Style: Seal Medium: Steatite

Egyptian Seal - LO.1128 Origin: jericho Circa: 1300 BC to 900 BC Dimensions: 0.625" (1.6cm) wide x 0.375" (1.0cm) depth Collection: Egyptian Style: Seal Medium: Steatite   « Less

Origin: jericho Circa: 1300 BC to 900 BC Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Scarab Medium: Steatite The sacred beetle of ancient Egypt, the  More »

Origin: jericho Circa: 1300 BC to 900 BC Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: Scarab Medium: Steatite The sacred beetle of ancient Egypt, the scarab is an emblem of the creator, Khepera. The word kepher denotes Being, Existence, Creation, or Becoming, and the god Kephera is the self-existent maker of all things. The worship of the scarab, which is symbolic of resurrection and fertility, dates from the earliest period of civilization in Egypt. Carved scarabs served two major functions: as amulets with protective and religious powers, and as personal seals, which designated the property and authority of the individual whose name was placed upon them. In both cases, the power ascribed to the scarab was very great—in life they served as the signature of their owner and were thought to bring prosperity, and in the afterlife they ensured rebirth through eternity. - (LO.1129)   « Less

Circa: 1700 BC to 1640 BC Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Early Middle Bronze Age II B The scarab is characteristically designed  More »

Circa: 1700 BC to 1640 BC Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Early Middle Bronze Age II B The scarab is characteristically designed so that there are no separations between the thorax and wing case, but attention has been paid to the detailed treatment of the head, clypeus, and plate. The inscription on the base is of particular interest. Its top is decorated with a winged sun disc, from the center of which two uraei, or sacred cobras, are suspended. There are identical sets of two hieroglyphs to the left and right sides of the central, vertically arranged cartouche. These identical sets contain the hieroglyph representing the club used by fullers in washing which represents the ideogram for “[His] Majesty.” Below this is the hieroglyph representing the heart and windpipe of an animal which represents the ideogram, nefer, “good.” The cartouche framed by these elements contains hieroglyphs which appear to represent a special combination of three letters, namely “a-n-r.” As a result, our scarab belongs to a particular group of Canaanite examples which exhibit variations. Scholars are divided in their opinions about the exact interpretation of these letters. Some would prefer to interpret these letters as a reference to the Egyptian sun god Ra. Others, noting the indisputable Canaanite origin of such scarabs, are inclined to accept these signs as genuine attempts on the part of Canaanite artisans to imitate contemporary Egyptian models. The second interpretation appears preferable inasmuch as the pairs of hieroglyphs flanking the cartouche do not constitute a classically Egyptian epithet. Despite these differing opinions, there is scholarly consensus that the scarabs of the “a-n-r” group were created in Canaan by local artisans and were treasured by their Canaanite owners for their inherent magical properties.   « Less

Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 0.625" (1.6cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Second Intermediate Period The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun was  More »

Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 0.625" (1.6cm) wide Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Second Intermediate Period The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun was propelled across the heavens by means of a scarab, or sacred beetle. With the passing of time, the Egyptians created a series of amulets in the form of this beetle in a great variety of materials, and these were routinely provided with inscriptions in hieroglyphs conveniently accommodated to their stylized flat bottoms. This amulet in the form of a scarab is one of several Egyptian variations on the theme. The body of the beetle is stylized to the extent that the details of the head, plate, and clypeus are confined to a single zone and these take the form of a modified hour-glass. A single V-shaped notch on either side of the body serves to separate the thorax from the elytra, or wing case. The principal image is that of a lion striding toward the right. He is preceded by a uraeus, or sacred cobra, in front of which and rotated ninety degrees from the horizontal in order to accommodate itself into the curve of the scarab’s top is a winged sun disc. A stylized sa-sign, symbolizing protection, appears under the belly of the lion, while elsewhere in the field one finds two depictions of the rising sun, a water sign, and an unadorned sun disc.   « Less