Scarab Decorated with Loops

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Designs with twirling continuous lines and coils, sometimes forming complicated woven patterns, appear on scarabs in the early Middle Kingdom and become particularly popular from the later part of Dynasty 12 onward, during the late Middle Kingdom (late Dynasty 12–Dynasty 13, ca. 1850–1640 B.C.). In some cases they are accompanied by hieroglyphs with protective meaning. Soon afterwards, these often complex linear designs were imitated on Canaanite scarabs of the Middle Bronze Age (contemporary with the Second Intermediate Period in Egypt, ca. 1640-1550 B.C.). This scarab shows morphologic details that are characteristic for the late Middle Kingdom. The manner in which its back and sides are carved indicate that it was probably made in a scarab workshop near Lisht, where the Middle Kingdom capital was located. The scarab dates to the middle of Dynasty 13 (ca. 1766–1677 B.C.).

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