Common type of amulet, seal or ring bezel found in Egypt. Inscribed
Scarabs were issued to commemorate important events or buried with
mummies. The Scarab is so called because
it was made in the shape of the sacred Scarab beetle (Scarabaeus sacer), which
was personified by KHEPRI, a sun God associated with resurrection. The flat underside of the scarab, carved in
stone or molded in faience or glass, was usually decorated with designs or
inscriptions, sometimes incorporating a royal name.
The earliest were
purely amuletic and uninscribed; it was only during the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650
BC) that they were used as seals. The
term scaraboid is used to describe a seal or amulet, which has the same ovoid
shape as a scarab, but may have its back carved in the form of some creature
other than the scarab beetle. This
appears to have developed out of the practice of carving two-dimensional animal
forms on the flat underside of the scarab, which is known as early as the First
Intermediate Period (2181-2055 BC).
During the reign of Amenhotep III (1390-1352 BC), a series
of unusually large scarabs were produced to celebrate certain events or aspects
of Amenhotep’s reign, from the hunting of bulls and lions to the listing of the
titles of Queen Tiy. There were also a
number of funerary types of scarabs such as the large “winged scarab”, virtually
always made of blue faience and incorporated into the bead nets covering
mummies, and the “heart Scarab", usually inscribed with Chapter 30B of the
Book of the Dead which was included in burials from at least the 13th Dynasty
(1795-1650 BC) onward.
An extensive collection of scarabs, ranging from tiny
(½"-¾") faience scarabs to heart scarabs made of limestone, are
available at Sadigh Gallery. While heart scarabs show beautiful inscriptions
and symbols, simpler amulet scarabs are available at more affordable prices and
are able to be redesigned on modern jewelry settings. In fact, we have lapis lazuli, carnelian, and
turquoise scarab amulets set on modern earrings, rings, or necklace settings,
which are popular among Sadigh Gallery customers as gifts.
Lapis lazuli scarabs pictured here are especially popular
with our customers and are available in
quantity. Lapis is metamorphosed form of limestone, rich in the blue mineral
lazulite, a complex feldspathoid that is dark blue in color and often flecked
with impurities of calcite, iron pyrites or gold. The Egyptians considered that ‘its appearance
imitated that of the heavens’ and considered it to be superior to all materials
other than gold and silver. They used it
extensively in jewelry until the Late Period (747-332 BC) when it was
particularly popular for amulets.
Visit http://www.sadighgallery.com
to see variety of scarabs available at our gallery!
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