Small Egyptian Scarab
Small Egyptian Scarab
Small Egyptian Scarab
Small Egyptian Scarab

Small Egyptian Scarab

£ 110.00

A small-sized steatite scarab from the renowned Mustaki collection. The bottom of the item is inscribed with the hieroglyph representing a basket (translating as nb, Egyptian word for ‘everything’, ‘every’, ‘master’, ‘lord’ or ‘lady’), above which is the Uraeus hieroglyph, in the form of the Egyptian cobra, used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty and divine authority. Under the cobra there is a lotus flower hieroglyph, and on the right there is the hieroglyph for ‘stele’, ‘boundary stone’ or ‘landmark’. The piece is longitudinally pierced.

Date: Circa 1550 – 1077 BC
Period: New Kingdom
Provenance: From the Gustave Mustaki collection, a collector of antiquities who amassed a large collection in Alexandria (Egypt). Mustaki was an avid collector in the early 20th century and his collection came to the UK under the Egyptian licence in 1947. Many of his pieces are in major museums worldwide, including the British Museum, the Getty Museum and the Egyptian State Museum. We have purchased over 1700 scarabs from this collection and many of these items were catalogued by Carol Andrews (formerly Egyptian Department in the British Museum).
Condition: Very fine and intact. The item has minor chipping to the base. It is suitable for modern wear with care.

SOLD

Product Code: ES-51
Category: Tags: , ,

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.
Dimensions L 1.4 cm
Region

North Africa
Stone

Steatite
Egyptian Mythology

Khepri