A fine steatite scarab with plain body; pierced for suspension. The underside is carved with a band of ankh signs around the perimeter, and a several central signs which include a bee (a sign of royal power) towards the top.
Egyptian Second Intermediate Period to New Kingdom period: Circa 1650-1500 BC.
Condition: Very Fine; the head of the scarab a little flattened through erosion; with well-defined hieroglyphic signs.
Length 16.3 mms (0.64 ins).
Provenance: From the Gustave Mustaki collection, a collector of antiquities who amassed large collection in Alexandria (Egypt) in the early 20th century and his collection came to the UK under Egyptian licence in 1947.
The scarab does not name a specific king, and was likely fairly mass-produced, intended for personal protection, status, or burial use. The meaning of the hieroglyphs was quite common on scarabs, made for protective or status purposes, with a general protective meaning along the lines of 'Eternal life and protection through royal power'.