Scarab
The scarab was shaped like a dung beetle, "scarabaeus sacer," which is also the source of its modern name. The dung beetle was "kheperer" in ancient Egyptian. Having watched the small creatures push huge balls of dung, the ancient Egyptians compared the sun being pushed into the sky at dawn to the beetle, and they referred to the rising sun as "Kheperi." The word for "to become" or "come into being" was "kheper," and the beetle hieroglyph was used to spell all of these words. As such, the scarab became a powerful amulet for rejuvenation in this life and reincarnation in the next. This scarab depicts the seated figures of Re and Amun to write the nomen of Ramesses II and later kings.
Artwork Details
- Title: Scarab
- Period: New Kingdom, Ramesside
- Date: ca. 1200–1085 B.C.
- Geography: From Egypt
- Medium: Faience
- Dimensions: L. 2 × W. 1.5 × H. 0.9 cm (13/16 × 9/16 × 3/8 in.)
- Credit Line: Gift of John L. Cadwalader, 1903
- Object Number: 03.5.31
- Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
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