Winged Naturalistic Scarab
(Ancient Egypt and Nubia )
This faience winged scarab has a flat underside without a bottom design or drill-holes. The design on the scarab's back is very simple. It has a rough and uneven surface, balanced proportions, no evidence of extremities or partition lines, and rough workmanship. The piece is poorly made.
The scarab functioned as a funerary amulet, and would have been attached to mummy bandages. Winged scarabs should assure the renewal of the deceased by meeting the sun god in the afterlife.
Winged scarabs were the central part of the amulet set of a mummy.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
William Shirley [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1963, by gift.
Conservation
Date | Description | Narrative |
---|---|---|
9/11/1963 | Treatment | cleaned; repaired |
Geographies
Egypt (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Scarab H: 7/16 x W: 1 1/4 x D: 1 11/16 in. (1.18 x 3.1 x 4.3 cm); Wing H: 7/16 x W: 1 1/8 x D: 1 9/16 in. (1.1 x 2.8 x 4 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of William Shirley, 1963
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
42.1448