Scarab Inscribed with Hieroglyphs in a Scroll Border
The underside of the scarab shows several hieroglyphs placed inside an oval that is framed by a continuous border of interlocking scrolls. In the upper part of the oval is a wedjat-eye placed underneath two signs that form an incomplete version of a well-known formula of the Middle Kingdom meaning ‘given by Re’. Below are three hieroglyphs forming a debased rendering of the name Ptah. The incorrect inscriptions and the way the back of the scarab is decorated indicate that this is a Canaanite scarab dated to the Second Intermediate Period, ca. 1700-1600 B.C. These Canaanite scarabs often imitate Middle Kingdom designs.
Artwork Details
- Title: Scarab Inscribed with Hieroglyphs in a Scroll Border
- Period: Second Intermediate Period
- Date: ca. 1700–1600 B.C. (Middle Bronze Age IIB)
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Steatite
- Dimensions: L. 2 cm (13/16 in.)
- Credit Line: Theodore M. Davis Collection, Bequest of Theodore M. Davis, 1915
- Object Number: 30.8.1003
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
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