Scarab with the Representation of a Lion

New Kingdom

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 130

The underside of the scarab shows a recumbent lion facing to the right. On scarabs, the lion is often accompanied by hieroglyphs such as the sign of life, the uraeus or, as is the case on this scarab, a sun disk. The lion appears already on scarabs of the early Middle Kingdom, but is especially popular during the Second Intermediate Period and the New Kingdom. The association with the sun disk does not exclude that it embodies here the lion goddess (Sakhmet) as the Eye of Re.

Scarab with the Representation of a Lion, Steatite

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Scarab with the Representation of a Lion, Steatite
Scarab with the Representation of a Lion, Steatite
Scarab with the Representation of a Lion, Steatite
Scarab with the Representation of a Lion, Steatite

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