A steatite scarab with plain body, the top with a central light brown strip, the legs folded to the side of the body; pierced for suspension. The underside is carved with three registers: the outside two with a row of ankh of hieroglyphic signs, the central register with signs for the letters 'a-n-r'. Pierced longitudinally for suspension.
Egyptian Second Intermediate Period to New Kingdom period: Circa 1650-1500 BC.
Condition: Very Fine.
Length 18.4 mms (0.72 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.
For a similar example see page 32: The Scarab A Reflection of Ancient Egypt: Daphna Ben-Tor. The Also, Walters Art Museum, accession number 42.19.
It is not possible to determine the exact meaning of the a-n-r-pattern, and the letters cannot be combined into words, although several options, such as a relation to the name of the god Re, or to a magical formula are the most favoured. In any case, the owners of the scarabs believed in their magical value.