Scarab Incised with Hieroglyphs

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The majority of design scarabs of the late Middle Kingdom (late Dynasty 12–Dynasty 13, ca. 1850 –1640 B.C.) are decorated with symmetric compositions of hieroglyphs and/or scrolls. These signs are not meant to form words but are chosen for their positive, protective meaning. The composition on this scarab shows a sign of life (ankh) flanked by Red Crowns and the sign for good and beautiful (nefer). Below are two papyrus stems, crossing each other. This scarab is, however, likely of Canaanite manufacture and inspired by Egyptian Middle Kingdom symmetric designs.

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