Scarab with Wish Formula

Description This steatite scarab is inscribed on the flat underside in sunk relief. The vertically arranged column writing is a request to ensure the social status of a member of an elite group. The design of the back of the scarab is very detailed, with deeply incised lines and slightly irregular line flow. The piece is simply made and its workmanship is slightly rough. This scarab functioned as a status specific amulet with a blessing for a member of the elite. The amulet should express/secure that the owner is notable, prestigious, and well equipped in the royal court/palace. The piece would have originally been mounted or threaded. The term "Golden Horus" as the name of a god does not appear before the Ptolemaic period, and it is very unlikely that this scarab dates from that period or that this deity would have been mentioned so early.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1911 (?) [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Translation] May the noble be in the palace of the Golden Horus.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1911 (?)