Three Strand Necklace with Scarab
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Object Label
Most Egyptians wore scarabs on simple rings, bracelets, or necklaces. Egyptians wishing to emphasize their wealth and status incorporated scarabs into elaborate pieces of jewelry, like this impressive necklace.
Caption
Three Strand Necklace with Scarab, ca. 1630–1539 B.C.E.. Steatite, glaze, Scarab: 1/4 × 1/2 × 5/8 in. (0.7 × 1.2 × 1.6 cm) As strung, length: 19 13/16 in. (50.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society, 26.162. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.26.162_view01.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Gallery
Not on view
Title
Three Strand Necklace with Scarab
Date
ca. 1630–1539 B.C.E.
Dynasty
late Dynasty 13 to Dynasty 17
Period
Second Intermediate Period
Geography
Place excavated: Abydos, Egypt
Medium
Steatite, glaze
Classification
Dimensions
Scarab: 1/4 × 1/2 × 5/8 in. (0.7 × 1.2 × 1.6 cm) As strung, length: 19 13/16 in. (50.3 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Egypt Exploration Society
Accession Number
26.162
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
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Frequent Art Questions
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.
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