Scarab

Scarab

The scarab was also used as a piece of jewelry. Stone scarabs in gold or silver ring-mounts are quite common, and scarabs were often used as elements in pectorals, bracelets, and necklaces (Aldred 1971; Wilkinson 1971; Andrews 1990). While scarabs were thus used for decorative purposes, in Egypt they no doubt maintained their basic amuletic character. The horse shoe in America and blue bead in Near Eastern countries are used in the same manner today.

While the scarab was most commonly used as a talisman to achieve eternal life, it had other uses as well, for example, sealing papyrus documents or as in this case, a Middle Kingdom wooden wig box found at Lisht.

Commoners as well as kings inscribed their names and titles on scarabs that were sometimes used as seals. To the left is a scarab naming “The Steward Khnumhotep” of the Middle Kingdom and, to its right, one naming King Amenhotep III and Queen Tiy of the Eighteenth Dynasty. Note the V-shaped markings called the humeral callosity on the wing cases of the Eighteenth Dynasty scarab, a typographical featre that was not used before that time. It does not appear, of course, on the Middle Kingdom scarab. Photographs courtesy of Dr. Daphna Ben-Tor, The Israel Museum, Jerusalem.

Scarab of the Phoenician tradition, ca. 800–700 BCE. Phoenician craftsmen, always influenced by Egyptian art, produced a new type of scarab combining Egyptian motifs with those of other traditions. The result was often a complicated design and a highly decorated representation of the beetle itself. In this example, the decoration on the back is far more elaborate than on Egyptian scarabs and the design on the base is a mixture of many traditions. The central figure wears an Egyptian headdress and a Canaanite cloak, the winged sun-disc is taken from Assyrian art, and the four-winged scarab is a Canaanite adaptation of a common Egyptian motif, probably influenced by Hurrian prototypes. Photos and drawing from Ward 1967; pl. 12:1 and p.69.

Scarabs engraved with royal names were most often amulets, not seals, and were continuously re-issued long after a king had died. In this group, an incorrect spelling of the name of Sesostris (ca. 1943–1898 BCE) runs down the center of the design and two examples add the name of Amenhotep II (ca. 1427–1401 BCE) at the top. These scarabs were therefore made five centuries after the reign of the king they honor. Drawings after Ward 1971:fig. 29.

Manufacture

Scarabs were made of almost any kind of stone, often of glazed composition, or, more rarely of gold, silver, or bronze. The most common material used is universally known as steatite, though it is really a kind of talc (Lucas 1962:155–56; Richards 1992:5–8). In its natural state, this soft stone is easily carved and engraved, which accounts for its very common use in the manufacture of scarabs and other small objects. Once the scarab was fashioned, it was plunged into a hot liquid glaze. This accomplished two things: the glaze coating gave a smooth shiny surface to the object, and the intense heat of the glaze altered the chemical composition of the stone through dehydration so that it became very hard. This hardened form is properly called steatite. The glaze is actually an early form of glass that could be colored by the addition of coloring agents. Scarabs were most often given a deep blue or green glaze, imitating the color of the live insect. The second most common material is glazed composition, often termed faience, frit, or paste; again, this is a form of glass using the same ingredients but in different proportions (Lucas 1962:160; Ward 1993:95; Clerc, et al. 1976:24–28).

Ward, William A. “Beetles in Stone: The Egyptian Scarab.” Biblical Archaeologist: Volume 57 1-4 2001 : 190. Print.