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LOT 0480
Large Egyptian Blue Faience Scarab
750-332 B.C.
2 in. (19.5 grams, 50 mm).
With boldly indicated head, clypeus, prothorax, and elytra; flat underside; holes at the head, back, and sides for attachment.
Provenancewith Beaussant Lefèvre, 17 November 2015, no.48.
Acquired by the present owner from the above.
Cf. Lacovara, P., and Markowitz, Y.J., Jewels of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Treasures from the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester MA, 2020,p.122 no.20, for a similar scarab.
FootnotesScarabs were often used as funerary amulets and were believed to symbolise the rebirth and regeneration of the deceased.
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AUCTIONS:
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Egyptian Multi-Stranded Mummy Bead Necklace
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Multi-stranded designer necklace composed of beads of mainly annular and tubular types. 21 grams, 74 cm
Acquired before 1979. From the private collection of Mr F. A., South Kensington, London, UK; thence by descent 2014.
For thousands of years, artisans in Egypt created vibrant ceramics to echo the beauty of rare jewels. These ornaments were created with almost every material, colour, and texture imaginable and they come from across Egypt and beyond: vibrant blue lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, glossy black obsidian from Turkey, and aqua-green turquoise from the Sinai. They were worn in life and, after death, they served as precious ornamentation for mummies. -
Egyptian Stone Scarab
Late Period, 664-332 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Black hardstone scarab with finely carved head, eyes, clypeus, prothorax, elytra, and legs; plain underside. 38 grams, 48 mm
Ex Irene Newman, Birdham, Chichester, West Sussex, England. with Stride & Son Auctioneers, Chichester, West Sussex, England, 23 April 2015, no.1599 [Part]. Acquired by the present owner at the above sale.
The scarab, representing the dung beetle, was a popular amulet in ancient Egypt for about two thousand years until the Ptolemaic Period. It extended beyond Egypt and was exported to and manufactured in regions like Phoenicia and Israel. The beetle is named khepri and was considered the embodiment of the creator god Khepri. The Egyptians believed that the beetle emerging from the dung ball was an act of self-creation. -
Egyptian Faience Mummy Bead Panel with Four Sons of Horus
Ptolemaic Period, 332-30 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Restrung as an openwork panel with a winged scarab above and the Four Sons of Horus below as two opposing pairs; restrung with some later beads. 34.6 grams, 15 cm
From an early 20th century Home Counties, UK, collection.
These elements would have been placed on the chest and body below a beadwork mummy mask. Winged scarabs were often used as funerary amulets and believed to symbolise the deceased's rebirth and regeneration. The Four Sons of Horus protected the deceased's internal organs. Here, on the left, is the erect-eared jackal-headed Duamutef who protects the stomach, followed by the falcon-headed Qebehsenuef, who protects the intestines, then the human-headed Imsety, protector of the liver and, finally, the baboon-headed Hapy on the right, protector of the lungs.
