Scarab

Middle Kingdom–Second Intermediate Period

ca. 2030–1550 B.C.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 109

This amulet was found bound on the right hand ring finger of a mummy. This amulet is carved of jasper, a very hard stone. The oval shape and lightly carved lines on the back identify it as a beetle, better known to Egyptologists as a scarab. Although the base of this scarab is uninscribed, the beetle itself acts as a power amulet for rebirth. The word for beetle in ancient Egyptian was similar in sound to the word meaning "come into being" (or become). The Egyptians also imagined that the sun as it was reborn while rising in the eastern sky each morning was being pushed into the sky by a beetle. These associations made the scarab one of the most popular amulets for the Egyptians, and it is one of the most common objects to survive from ancient times.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Scarab
Period: Middle Kingdom–Second Intermediate Period
Dynasty: Dynasty 13–17
Date: ca. 2030–1550 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Asasif, East of Pabasa, Radim, Burial 6A.X.B26; from right hand ring finger of, MMA excavations, 1918–19
Medium: Jasper
Dimensions: L. 2 cm (13/16 in.); W. 1.4 cm (9/16 in.) H. 1.1 cm (7/16 in.)
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1919
Object Number: 19.3.156
Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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