Description

This scarab is inscribed with a blessing related to Ptah. The hieroglyphs are hard to read but thanks to comparable scarabs it reads:'Every good thing, [the god] Ptah repays for it in plenty.'

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.

Scarabs were worn as jewelry, carried as talismans, and placed in tombs. They were believed to protect the living from harm and guide the dead safely into the afterlife. Many scarabs were inscribed with names of pharaohs, prayers, or protective spells. Officials used them as personal seals pressed into clay or wax. Some had purely decorative or symbolic inscriptions, while others carried political or diplomatic messages. They were made from a wide range of substances:  steatite (soapstone), faience (glazed ceramic), carnelian, lapis lazuli, and even precious metals.

Comparable scarabs:

The Scarab, A reflection of ancient Egypt, Daphna Ben-Tor, 1993, page 72, #13.

www.imj.org.il/en/collections/604427-0

www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/553400

collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010030277

Culture

Egyptian

Dating

18th-19th dynasty, 1295–1070 B.C.

Size

2,1 cm

Provenance

Dutch private collection, bought via Bonhams Auctions in London. 

Bodo Bless (1940-2022) collection, Berlin, formed from 1960s.

Condition

Good condition, however wear on the hieroglyphs on the base of the scarab.