<em>Bracelet with Scarab</em>, ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E. Gold, amethyst, 1 5/16 x 1 x 7 15/16 in. (3.3 x 2.5 x 20.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 65.46. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.65.46_erg2.jpg)

Bracelet with Scarab, ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E. Gold, amethyst, 1 5/16 x 1 x 7 15/16 in. (3.3 x 2.5 x 20.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 65.46. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.65.46_erg2.jpg)

DOWNLOAD

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Who would have worn this?

That's always in important question to ask! This particular bracelet shows no signs of wear indicating that no one ever wore it. It was more of a symbol of wealth and luxury, used as a funerary offering. This bracelet probably came from a tomb in Byblos which is in modern day Lebanon. There, such a bracelet would have functioned as symbol of Egypt and a testament to the owners ties to their powerful neighbors.

Is there a reason that the bracelet is made from amethyst as a stone? Did it have a meaning in mythology?

That's a good question. Small scarabs are mostly carved in stone. Decorative examples, like those designed to be set in jewelry, were carved from precious and semi-precious gems of many types and colors. Amethyst was primarily chosen for aesthetic reasons. Like many people today, the ancient Egyptians found amethyst beautiful. Also, amethyst is relatively widespread in the Earth and the Ancient Egyptians would have had access to sources in Africa and western Asia.

Bracelet with Scarab

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor

The soft matte finish and pristine condition of its clasp loops indicate that this bracelet was never worn. Rather, it seems to have been deposited as a funerary offering in an official’s tomb in Byblos.

MEDIUM Gold, amethyst

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS

Place made: Egypt
Reportedly from: Byblos, Lebanon

DATES ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E.

DYNASTY Dynasty 12 to early Dynasty 13

PERIOD Middle Kingdom

DIMENSIONS 1 5/16 x 1 x 7 15/16 in. (3.3 x 2.5 x 20.1 cm) (show scale)

COLLECTIONS Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

ACCESSION NUMBER 65.46

CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

EXHIBITIONS

MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Old Kingdom to 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Galleries, 3rd Floor

CAPTION Bracelet with Scarab, ca. 1938–1700 B.C.E. Gold, amethyst, 1 5/16 x 1 x 7 15/16 in. (3.3 x 2.5 x 20.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 65.46. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.65.46_erg2.jpg)

IMAGE overall, CUR.65.46_erg2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 11/26/2007

"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.

RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY

You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.

RECORD COMPLETENESS

Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.

Download our app and ask your own questions during your visit. Here are some that others have asked.

Who would have worn this?

Is there a reason that the bracelet is made from amethyst as a stone? Did it have a meaning in mythology?