Scarab Inscribed with the Names of Amun-Re and Neith

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This scarab dates to the late New Kingdom’s Ramesside Period (Dynasty 19-20, ca. 1295-1070 B.C.) based on its morphology. The upper part of the scarab’s base is inscribed with the name of the sun god Amun-Re. Below is a narrow, concave line for the hieroglyph meaning lord. Numerous scarabs of the New Kingdom bear the name Amun-Re accompanied by this sign, suggesting a reading ‘the lord Amun-Re’ or 'Amun-Re is (my) lord'. The motif at the bottom is the symbol of the goddess Neith, a warrior and mother goddess whose cult gained importance under the Ramesside dynasties, when she was also closely associated with the sun god.

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