A nice, early Egyptian steatite scarab, dating to the 2nd Intermediate Period, Dynasties 13 through 17, Ca 1786 - 1567 BC. Scarab depicting a standing woman holding a palm frond. 14x10mm. Levantine and pleasing example. Ex Negus collection, UK, early 20th century.
The scarab held special significance for the Egyptians as a representation of the the creator and solar deity, Khepri. The scarab beetle rolls its eggs in a ball of dung along the ground, which the Egyptians held as symbolic of Khepri pushing the sun across the sky. As baby beetles were seen to emerge from the dung, scarabs were thought capable of spontaneous creation, further linking them to Khepri through his function as a creator god. From the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055-1650 BC) onward, the scar... Click for details
Small figures of women rendered in clay, wood, faience, or stone were common additions to the burials of Egyptian men, a practice that first became widespread during the 11th Dynasty. These figures have been variously described as toys, goddesses, and "dancing girls," but they most likely served as a means to symbolically perpetuate the reproductive abilities of the deceased.
This group of twelve individually priced ancient Egyptian scarabs and cowroids (96.240HD, 96.256HD, 96.326HD, 96.451HD, 96.457HD, 96.462HD, 96.499HD, 96.673HD, 96.681HD, 96.803HD, 96.900HD and 96.903HD) is from the well-known Philip Mitry collection. All in this group are dated from the 12th through the 18th Dynasties, c.1991-1307BC. The selection is from his huge collection that once numbered over 1200 individual pieces. Mitry was a registered antiquities dealer who owned a shop in Cairo. In th... Click for details
