Scarab Inscribed for the God's Wife Hatshepsut, Living

New Kingdom

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 116

This scarab was found in one of the foundation deposits located along the front wall of the lower court of Hatshepsut's funerary temple at Deir el-Bahri. The inscription reads: The Living God's Wife, Hatshepsut. In the late Seventeenth early Eighteenth Dynasties, the title God's Wife was held by the principal queen or the queen mother. Hatshepsut inherited the title while she served as principal queen of her half-brother, Thutmose II. Later, shortly after she took on the titles of king, Hatshepsut passed the title on to her daughter, Neferure (see scarab 27.3.325).Unlike most of the scarabs and amulets found in the foundation deposits, the carving and placement of the hieroglyphs (especially the ankh) on this example are rather clumsy.

Scarab Inscribed for the God's Wife Hatshepsut, Living, Steatite (glazed)

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Scarab Inscribed for the God's Wife Hatshepsut, Living, Steatite (glazed)
Scarab Inscribed for the God's Wife Hatshepsut, Living, Steatite (glazed)
Scarab Inscribed for the God's Wife Hatshepsut, Living, Steatite (glazed)

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