Scarab Decorated with Papyrus and Winged Beetles

Scarab Decorated with Papyrus and Winged Beetles

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The underside of this New Kingdom scarab shows a pair of beetles with outstretched wings. Flowering papyrus plants are placed between them. While the sacred scarab frequently occurs on Egyptian seal-amulets as a sign (for example in several royal names) or as a symbol, it does not represent the scarab god Khepri. The Egyptian dung beetle symbolizes creation and rebirth, which is emphasized here by the presence of plants as a reference to growth and fecundity. The prominent wings moreover accentuate the protective power of the scarab beetle, because enfolding wings are a common protective motif in Egyptian art.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Scarab Decorated with Papyrus and Winged BeetlesScarab Decorated with Papyrus and Winged BeetlesScarab Decorated with Papyrus and Winged BeetlesScarab Decorated with Papyrus and Winged BeetlesScarab Decorated with Papyrus and Winged Beetles

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.