Scarab Inscribed with Blessing Related to Amun (Amun-Re)
Third Intermediate Period
Scarabs bearing wishes and blessings related to divinities whose protection individuals wished to summon are particular popular during the late New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period (ca. 1295-664 B.C.). Given the limited surface on scarab bases, seal carvers were often very creative in using as few hieroglyphs and signs as possible in order to convey their message.
This scarab calls for the protection of the sun god Amun or Amun-Re, referred to by the image of the solar barque. The djed-pillar and the circle form Djedw, the city that is known to us by its Greek name, Busiris. This seal-amulet therefore bears a blessing directed to Amun-Re, beloved of the city of Busiris.
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