Scarab from mummy wrappings

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The holes on the sides of this relatively flat, uninscribed scarab indicates that there were once separately molded avian wings attached to the sides (see for a complete example 25.5.1a-c. The holes were also used to sew the amulet to the chest of the wrapped mummy or attach them to a beaded mummy net. Representing the god Khepri, incarnation of the sun god at dawn, this would magically protect the deceased individual and guarantee their rebirth through association with the solar cycle. The type of winged scarab is known from Dynasty 25 onward.

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