Scarab with Crucifom Lotus Flower Decoration

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Plants are a popular theme on the underside of ancient Egyptian seal-amulets because they refer to life, renewal, and regeneration. They mainly consist of representations of papyrus plants, and lotus flowers and their buds. This cruciform composition shows four lotus flowers, known from several other scarabs of the late Middle Kingdom (late Dynasty 12–Dynasty 13, ca. 1850–1640 B.C.). For the ancient Egyptians, the lotus is the symbol of Upper Egypt and of rebirth. In the empty spaces between the flowers are petals. The scarab shows details in the shape of its back, more specifically of its head, that indicate it was probably carved in a workshop in the vicinity of Lisht during Dynasty 13, approximatively between 1766 and 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