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Source Description

The ancient Egyptians believed that the dung beetle, the Scarabaeus sacer, was one of the manifestations of the sun god. Representations of these beetles were used as amulets, and for ritual or administrative purposes. This scarab has a bottom inscription, which is framed by an oval line. It is contains a wish formula, which focuses on the young recruits in the army group under the name of the god Seth. The Seth-hieroglyph is the most dominant sign in the whole inscription. The hieroglyphs are executed in sunk relief; the layout is not very well organized, and some hieroglyphs collide with the borderline, which is inconsistent and overlaps twice in the upper part. The Seth-animal has an unusual, elongated shape and a very long snout; the ears are not Seth-like, but canine. Nevertheless, the typical tail identifies the animal as Seth. The highest point of the flat back is the partition between pronotum (dorsal plate of the prothorax) and elytron (wingcases). Pronotum and elytron have incised borderlines, single separation lines, and V-shaped marks for humeral callosities (shoulder thickenings). The semicircular head is flanked by quarter oval eyes; the side plates are irregularly trapezoidal, and clypeus has four frontal serrations. The proportions of the top are well balanced. The raised, somewhat stocky extremities have natural form, and three vertical hatch notches for the tibial teeth. The background between the legs is hollowed out. The shape of the base is symmetrically round-oval. The scarab is longitudinally pierced, was originally mounted or threaded, and served as an amulet with a special blessing for young soldiers. The scarab should secure the support and protection of the powerful god Seth for the young recruits of the army. It is also possible that the phrase was used as a name for a military group of recruits. Seth and his powerful protection became popular during the Ramesside Period, and it is understandable that especially the young recruits of the army needed his special protection.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
23044
label
Scarab with Wish Formula
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
6
Source metadata
id
23044
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Scarab with Wish Formula
description
The ancient Egyptians believed that the dung beetle, the Scarabaeus sacer, was one of the manifestations of the sun god. Representations of these beetles were used as amulets, and for ritual or administrative purposes. This scarab has a bottom inscription, which is framed by an oval line. It is contains a wish formula, which focuses on the young recruits in the army group under the name of the god Seth. The Seth-hieroglyph is the most dominant sign in the whole inscription. The hieroglyphs are executed in sunk relief; the layout is not very well organized, and some hieroglyphs collide with the borderline, which is inconsistent and overlaps twice in the upper part. The Seth-animal has an unusual, elongated shape and a very long snout; the ears are not Seth-like, but canine. Nevertheless, the typical tail identifies the animal as Seth. The highest point of the flat back is the partition between pronotum (dorsal plate of the prothorax) and elytron (wingcases). Pronotum and elytron have incised borderlines, single separation lines, and V-shaped marks for humeral callosities (shoulder thickenings). The semicircular head is flanked by quarter oval eyes; the side plates are irregularly trapezoidal, and clypeus has four frontal serrations. The proportions of the top are well balanced. The raised, somewhat stocky extremities have natural form, and three vertical hatch notches for the tibial teeth. The background between the legs is hollowed out. The shape of the base is symmetrically round-oval. The scarab is longitudinally pierced, was originally mounted or threaded, and served as an amulet with a special blessing for young soldiers. The scarab should secure the support and protection of the powerful god Seth for the young recruits of the army. It is also possible that the phrase was used as a name for a military group of recruits. Seth and his powerful protection became popular during the Ramesside Period, and it is understandable that especially the young recruits of the army needed his special protection.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1911 (?) [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1186-736 BCE (Late New Kingdom-Third Intermediate Period)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Precious Stones & Gems
scarabs
amulets
imageCount
6
pageCount
6
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
0.8
height
1.2
depth
1.6
dimensionsRaw
H: 5/16 x W: 1/2 x L: 5/8 in. (0.8 x 1.2 x 1.6 cm)
Source extras
cul
Egyptian
inscriptions
[Translation] May the recruits of Seth be satisfied.
dynasty
20th-22nd Dynasty
med
light beige steatite
creator_ids
6182
collection_ids
EGY
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
eb57c5a488779205
hasOcr
no
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no
seq
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type
photo
mediaId
a5da9955bd10f50a
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
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type
photo
mediaId
2beeb102ecab5246
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
5eaab3b1457faf20
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
5
type
photo
mediaId
2ceb6b73f7f769c3
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no
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no
seq
6
type
photo
mediaId
e597ceb4bd3afc4b
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no