<em>Winged Scarab</em>, 664–332 B.C.E. Faience, 1/2 x 1 1/16 x 1 5/16 in. (1.2 x 2.7 x 3.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 15.523. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.x249.42_wwgA-3.jpg)

Winged Scarab, 664–332 B.C.E. Faience, 1/2 x 1 1/16 x 1 5/16 in. (1.2 x 2.7 x 3.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 15.523. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.x249.42_wwgA-3.jpg)

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What did scarabs and hippos represent to ancient Egyptians?

This kind of beetle was highly symbolic to ancient Egyptians, it represented rebirth and renewal. They believed that the sun was pushed across the sky every day by a giant scarab, the god Khepri. In real life, the scarab beetle lays its eggs in a ball of dung and rolls the ball ahead of it wherever it goes. When the young beetles hatch they pop out through the dung which seemed like a miracle to the Egyptians!

As for hippos -- they were a common sight along the Nile river, for one thing. They are powerful animals and dangerous ones, they were hazards to boats and to humans.

Some sculptures of hippos are decorated with designs of plants that were common to the Nile region. Do you see any like this?

We did!

Was it a blue hippo?

Yeah! Is that color special for Egyptians?

Yes, incredibly special!

For the Egyptians the lighter shade of blue was almost interchangeable with green, the color of the sea, plants, vegetation, and thus health and life. Turquoise, a popular stone, mined primarily in the Sinai was closely linked to the goddess Hathor, the Lady of Turquoise.

The darker shade of blue was associated with the dark primordial waters out of which creation first appeared, as well as the night sky through which the sun-god travelled to be reborn every morning. The close links between dark blue and black also evoke the black mineral-rich soil of the Nile valley which was great for agriculture. All of the above hold the significance of creation and resurrection. In sculpture this color usually appears as lapis-lazuli, an imported stone often used to represent dark hair.

What are amulets? What were they used for?

Amulets usually had protective functions. Some were worn on necklaces and others were wrapped into the linen bandages of mummies.

What was the significance of the scarab to the Egyptians?

Scarabs represented the cycle of the sun and rebirth. The actions of the scarab beetle, who rolled balls of dung across the desert, were linked to the sun moving across the sky. The sun was central to ancient Egyptian life and religion, and many gods were associated with the sun. Also, the word for scarab beetle in ancient Egyptian can also mean "to transform," and transformation was key to successfully transitioning into the afterlife.

What did it mean when the scarab was worn?

The scarab beetle of kheper was a symbol linked to the sun. The sun, which returned each morning, came to be associated with the idea of being reborn into the afterlife. The amulets in that particular case were all placed in the bandages of a mummy. The amulets were intended to help and protect the deceased on their journey into the afterlife.

Thank you for the amazing and informative answers!

Winged Scarab

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Funerary Gallery 2, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

Living persons wore only one or a few amulets at a time, but mummies usually bear many amulets. The Ma’at amulet (no. 2) and heart scarabs (nos. 1, 3, 11), which occurred in many forms, guaranteed a successful judgment of the dead. The amulets of a hand (no. 8), lungs and a windpipe (no. 12), and wadjet-eyes (i.e., “healthy” eyes; no. 4) protected those parts of the body and also had connotations of resurrection and the unity or integrity of the mummy. The enigmatic aper amulet (no. 13) takes the form of the hieroglyph meaning “to be equipped,” perhaps in reference to the mummy’s preparation. The two crowns (nos. 5, 6) were symbols of power. The Heh insignia (no. 7), like the popular ankh-sign, denoted eternal life. Among the living, the frog (no. 9) and possibly also the hare (no. 10) suggested fertility. The amulets of the Four Sons of Horus (no. 15) perhaps served, as they did with canopic jars, to protect various organs of the body.

MEDIUM Faience

Possible Place Collected: Balabish, Egypt

DATES 664–332 B.C.E.

DYNASTY Dynasty 18 to Dynasty 20

PERIOD Late Period

DIMENSIONS 1/2 x 1 1/16 x 1 5/16 in. (1.2 x 2.7 x 3.3 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 15.523

CREDIT LINE Gift of the Egypt Exploration Fund

PROVENANCE Balabish, Egypt; 1915, excavated by Gerald Avery Wainwright and Thomas Whittemore for the Egypt Exploration Society; 1915, gift of the Egypt Exploration Society to the Brooklyn Museum.

Provenance FAQ

CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Blue. With separate wings. Scarab in blue glazed faience, with separate wings, the details of the latter carefully marked with primary and secondary feathering, and attached with modern string. The scarab is pierced top and bottom and on both sides for the attachment of the wings. Back: clypeus notched, plate (hatched), head and eyes marked. A single line between the elytra, descending to the base, a single line between the prothorax and elytra. The elytra are striated. Side: legs molded in bold relief, all feathered. The tip of each of the wings is pierced.

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Funerary Gallery 2, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Winged Scarab, 664–332 B.C.E. Faience, 1/2 x 1 1/16 x 1 5/16 in. (1.2 x 2.7 x 3.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Fund, 15.523. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.x249.42_wwgA-3.jpg)

IMAGE installation, West Wing gallery A-3 installation, CUR.x249.42_wwgA-3.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2009

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