A very fine Ancient Egyptian steatite scarab featuring a hieroglyphic engraving to the reverse. The obverse features incised anatomical details of the scarab beetle, including the head, eyes, clypeus and prothorax. Hatched incisions encircling the sides denote the legs. The flat reverse features a falcon wearing the red crown, known as 'Deshret', facing right atop a shrine with a winged sun-disc in the top register. Inwards facing uraei flank the falcon, and outwards facing red crowns flank the shrine. A spiral motif decorates within the shrine. The scarab has been perforated longitudinally for suspension.
 
Egyptian 2nd Intermediate period: Circa 1650-1550 BC.
 
Very Fine condition: Complete and intact
General wear to the surface consistent with age, alongside earthy encrustations. Minor chipping around the edges of the reverse and near the perforation hole. Some small, hairline cracks to the reverse.
Length 17.3 cms (0.7 ins)
 
Provenance: Acquired in the mid-1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s.
 
The scarab beetle was an exceedingly popular symbol in the art of Ancient Egypt, thought to represent the sun god, Ra. Ancient Egyptians believed that the scarab beetle rolling its ball of dung across the desert mirrored the journey of the sun across the sky from day to night. As the beetle laid its eggs within the dung, it became a symbol of rebirth and regeneration.
 
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