A brown steatite Hyksos scarab. The base has been carved with hieroglyphic signs which represent the nbw, nefer, and deshret crowns, above the neb sign (interpretation below).
Supplied with a modern hard wax impression of the seal.
 
Circa 1650-1550 BC.
 
Very Fine condition
Length 19 mms (0.75 ins)
 
Provenance: D. M. Collection (d. 1993), U.K. A.E Collection, U.K., gifted from the above in 1993. Private Collection, Devon, U.K. gifted from the above in 2018.
 
Compare with item 48244: Raphael Giveon: Egyptian Scarabs From Western Asia From The Collections Of The British Museum.
 
Nbw; (literally 'gold'. Used literally or as an epithet meaning 'golden', 'precious' or associated with wealth and the sun/godly radiance), above a central nefer ('good, beautiful, perfect'), with a red crown (deshret) on either side (the emblem of Lower Egypt; as a crown sign it also carries royal/sovereign connotations. Two crowns may visually reinforce rulership or the idea of crowns/sovereignty), all above the lower neb sign ('lord', 'master', a very common epithet in royal and divine titulary).
 
Hieroglyphic inscriptions can be arranged for visual effect, and Hyksos scarabs often use symbolic groupings rather than strict grammar. So the combination of the signs might convey the meaning as 'The Golden-Perfect Lord of the Red Crown(s)'. This conveys royal splendour, legitimacy, and protective power. Such scarabs do not usually give a specific king's name but employ symbolic hieroglyphs to project authority and confer good fortune upon the owner.
 
See our blog post on scarabs