Scarab of Khonsu

Culture

Egyptian, Third Intermediate Period – Late Period (1100 – 332 B.C.)

Size

1,7 cm

Provenance

Dutch private collection, Ex Bonhams.

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

Description

This scarab is inscribed with hnsw-m-sa: ‘Khonsu offers protection’ or ‘The God Khonsu as protector’. Khonsu is the Egyptian god of the moon. 

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.

Translation available by Dutch Egyptologist Huub Pragt.

Condition

Excellent condition

Parallels

The Scarab, A reflection of ancient Egypt, Daphna Ben-Tor, 1993, page 72, #11.

https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010030276

www.imj.org.il/en/collections/593554-0

www.imj.org.il/en/collections/598232-0 

Price

€ 660