Scarab Ring of Ruiu

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The burial the House Mistress Ruiu was found in the tomb of her father, Neferkhawet, which was excavated by the Museum’s Egyptian Expedition in 1935. On the left hand of Ruiu's mummy were three scarab rings. The scarabs were made of glazed steatite and the ring bands were silver. The scarabs had been mounted by passing a silver wire through a hole running from head to tail. The wire was then lashed to the ring with finer silver wire. Silver deteriorates over time when exposed to dampness, and the rings were badly corroded. The scarabs were all originally glazed blue, but the glaze has almost entirely disappeared from wear and from the damp conditions inside the tomb. This scarab is inscribed on the base with a scarab hieroglyph between two ka hieroglyphs over a neb-basket. the hieroglyphs are bordered by an oblong hooked scroll pattern. This design, especially the writing of the ka hieroglyphs, is typical of scarabs dating to the Hyksos period, a century or so before Ruiu's death, sometime in the sole reign of Thutmose III. The other two rings and two scarabs belonging to Ruiu also appear to be Hyksos in origin.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art