Pax Romana Auctions
Lot 393
Ancient Egyptian. Striking restrung necklace comprising red, grey and brown hardstone beads of circular and annular form, arranged around a steatite scarab. The steatite scarab features well-modelled head and a hieroglyphic design on the reverse. Scarabs, from Latin scarabaeus (“beetle”), which in turn comes from Greek karabos (“beetle”; “crayfish”), were artistic depictions of the Egyptian dung beetle. In Egyptian mythology, these insects were linked to the Sun God Ra, who after his death in the Underworld, was reborn as a scarab. Used as amulets, seals and to fulfil commemorative functions, scarabs were an important element of dress. Their undersides frequently feature hieroglyphic or geometric designs to identify their owners or ward off evil spirits. Due to their small, abstract nature, scarabs cannot normally be closely dated generally. See K. M. Kooney (2008). ‘Scarabs,’ in The UCLA Encyclopaedia of Egyptology, available online at https://escholarship.org/uc/item/13v7v5gd Good condition; professionally restrung and wearable. Size: 26mm; 7gr. Provenance: Property of a professional Ancient art and jewelry expert; previously with a London gallery; initially from a private British collection formed in the 1990s.
