A fine Egyptian Faience Winged Scarab, Late Period, ca. 664 - 332 BCE

This fine-winged scarab amulet, made of blue glazed faience, comprises three elements individually molded and detailed. Two delicately detailed feathered wings are pierced for attachment to either side of a central, naturistically carved scarab. The scarab is molded with a flat underside and pierced by a hole at the top so that it could be stitched onto the mummy wrappings over the chest or incorporated into the bead net that enveloped contemporary mummies.

The winged scarab was highly symbolic to the ancient Egyptians as it represented rebirth and was associated with the sun god, Ra. It was thought that the sun was pushed across the sky by a giant scarab, the god Khepri, an image that came from observations of the scarab hatching from dung and using its back legs to emerge. They seemed to hatch from the ball of dung in an act of self-creation, reaffirming their association with life and renewal. These objects were a mystic symbol throughout ancient Egyptian history. The earliest scarab amulets appeared in the First Intermediate Period (ca. 2124 BCE) and were still in use in Greek and Roman times (ca. 332 BCE – 364 CE).

References: Andrews, Carol, Amulets of Ancient Egypt, chapter 4: Scarabs for the living and funerary scarabs, (University of Texas Press, 1994) pp 50-59. Chappaz, J. L., Chamay, J., Reflets du Divin, Muse d’Art et d’Histoire Geneve (Geneva, 2001) p. 97 no. 83 c. 

Medium: Faience

Dimensions: Length: 5 1/2 inches (14 cm)

Condition: Loss to the proper right wing that has been professionally restored. Otherwise, the scarab is intact and in very good condition overall. A lovely example.

Provenance: Bodo Bleß (1940-2022) collection, Berlin, assembled from ca. 1960 onwards.