Scarab

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The underside of the scarab shows two Red Crowns of Lower Egypt flanking a pair of sa hieroglyphs, meaning protection. Symmetric compositions of hieroglyphs with a positive meaning are very popular on scarab amulets during the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030–1640 B.C.). Red Crowns, either facing each other or away from each other, are often combined with other royal symbols or with signs of protection, of health, or of life and renewal. The manner in which the back and sides of the scarab are carved are characteristic for scarabs of mid to late Dynasty 13 (ca. 1750–1640 B.C.), assigned to a workshop that was active in Avaris (present-day Tell el-Dab’a).

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