A fine Ancient Egyptian scarab modelled naturalistically in red carnelian. The obverse is curved and largely left smooth, with subtle definition around the head, eyes, and clypeus. The sides of the piece are deeply carved to depict the legs. The underside displays criss-cross grooves imitating the folded tibiae of the scarab. The carnelian shows beautiful hues of red, orange and brown which flow into each other. Naturalistically rendered scarabs and scaraboids, such as this beautiful example, were usually carved from precious and semi-precious stones and were found in tombs dating from the Late period onwards, usually placed on top of different parts of the mummy.
Date: Circa 664-332 BC Period: Late Period Condition: Very fine condition. Small chip to the clypeus, some chipping to the edges of the tibiae. Dark sediment in the grooves of the scarab.
The Ancient Egyptians believed that the Scarabaeus Beetle had the ability to spontaneously regenerate itself from cow dung, which these beetles roll around, forming small balls they push forward, bury themselves and lay eggs in. Consequently the scarab came to be associated with the spontaneous continuation of the life cycle. In addition, this movement resembled the journey the sun does everyday across the sky and therefore the Egyptian god Khepri, who represents the morning sun, became strongly associated with this insect. Scarabs are amongst the most popular and most numerous of all Ancient Egyptian artefacts and were especially employed in the funerary context.
To discover more about amulets in the Ancient Egyptian world, please visit our relevant post: Amulets in Ancient Egypt.
