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Source Description

This amethyst scarab has a high back with incised designs. The bottom is carved with an adoration scene with a sun barque and baboons. The bottom design is very rough and incised with a few thick lines; the borderline is not consistent and some parts are missing, and the layout is not very well balanced. The piece is simply made.This scarab functioned as a funerary amulet, and was originally mounted or threaded. The amulet should guarantee the renewal of the deceased in the afterlife by the appearance of the sun god. The use of the gemstone material amethyst, with its very light reddish coloration (color of the sun rise) should intensify the magic power of the amulet.There are similar motifs with divine barque and flanking baboons in adoration gesture on finger rings from the tomb of Tutankhamun. Amethyst was a popular material for Egyptian scarabs, but most of them are without bottom designs.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
31402
label
Scarab with Adoration Scene with Sun Barque and Baboons
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
4
Source metadata
id
31402
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Scarab with Adoration Scene with Sun Barque and Baboons
description
This amethyst scarab has a high back with incised designs. The bottom is carved with an adoration scene with a sun barque and baboons. The bottom design is very rough and incised with a few thick lines; the borderline is not consistent and some parts are missing, and the layout is not very well balanced. The piece is simply made.This scarab functioned as a funerary amulet, and was originally mounted or threaded. The amulet should guarantee the renewal of the deceased in the afterlife by the appearance of the sun god. The use of the gemstone material amethyst, with its very light reddish coloration (color of the sun rise) should intensify the magic power of the amulet.There are similar motifs with divine barque and flanking baboons in adoration gesture on finger rings from the tomb of Tutankhamun. Amethyst was a popular material for Egyptian scarabs, but most of them are without bottom designs.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
946-712 BCE (Third Intermediate Period)
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Precious Stones & Gems
scarabs
amulets
imageCount
4
pageCount
4
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
0.9
height
1.4
depth
2
dimensionsRaw
H: 3/8 x W: 9/16 x L: 13/16 in. (0.9 x 1.4 x 2 cm)
Source extras
cul
Egyptian
dynasty
22nd-23rd Dynasty
med
light violet amethyst
creator_ids
6182
collection_ids
EGY
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
23793f24722dd363
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
ef855d39bc134580
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
9993fb83d2e0d993
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
238c099255cababb
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no