Scarab Inscribed with the Name of the Kushite King Senkamanisken

Late Period

ca. 643–623 B.C.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 130

The base of this scarab bears an inscription forming the name of a Kushite ruler. The hieroglyphs on the right side form the name Senkamanisken, belonging to one of the Kushite kings who ruled around 643-623 B.C. at Napata, the capital of Kush, the Nubian kingdom located south of Egypt. Senkamanisken is a contemporary of the Egyptian pharaoh Psamtik I of Dynasty 26 (ca. 664-610 B.C.). A century earlier, around the mid-8th century B.C., the kings of Kush had conquered Egypt and ruled it for approximatively one century as Egypt’s Dynasty 25 (ca. 733-664 B.C.). Accompanying the name is the blessing ‘given life forever’.

Artwork Details

Overview

Translation

Provenance

Title: Scarab Inscribed with the Name of the Kushite King Senkamanisken
Period: Late Period
Dynasty: Dynasty 26
Date: ca. 643–623 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt
Medium: Faience
Dimensions: L. 2.2 × W. 1.5 × H. 1 cm (7/8 in., 1.5 cm, 3/8 in.)
Credit Line: Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926
Object Number: 26.7.410
Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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