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Details
LOT 0462
Egyptian Hardstone Scarab
LATE PERIOD, 664-332 B.C.
1 in. (10.1 grams, 27 mm).
With detailed clypeus and head, raised ridge separating the wing case, resting on an oval base with plain underside.
Provenance
From the property of a London, UK, gentleman, 1970-2000s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Footnotes
The scarab, which represented the dung beetle, was the most popular amulet in ancient Egypt for approximately two thousand years until the Ptolemaic Period when it gradually fell out of favour. The popularity of scarabs extended beyond the borders of Egypt, and they were also distributed and produced in other regions, such as Phoenicia and Israel. The beetle is named khepri, derived from the verb 'to come into existence', and was considered the embodiment of the creator god Khepri, who was self-engendered. The ancient Egyptians mistakenly believed that the young beetle emerging from the dung ball was the result of an act of self-creation.
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