Necklace, faience, 'winged scarab' pectoral
Production date
747 BCE-30 BCE
Country
Egypt
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Object detail
Description
Egyptian blue faience, winged or flying scarab beetle strung on faience bead necklace. Beads forming the necklace are cylindrical and round. Pectoral is comprised of three pieces, two wings representing the flying scarab and a central oval component with two parallel lines separating the head and thorax are represented on the body. Twelve threadholes are present on the scarab, suggesting it could be sewn onto linen or woven into netting. Here, four holes are used to connect the wings to the body of the scarab. Impression of linen is present on one of the wings.
Classification
ARCHAEOLOGY Egyptian
Production date
747 BCE-30 BCE
Production place
Measurements
L370mm W78.8mm xD5mm
Media/Materials description
Egyptian faience is a ceramic material with a siliceous body and brightly coloured glaze.
Faience (composed of quartz, alkaline salts [natron or plant ash], lime, and metallic mineral-based colorant)
Glaze (formed by alkali and lime reacting with silica to form the glaze)
Faience (composed of quartz, alkaline salts [natron or plant ash], lime, and metallic mineral-based colorant)
Glaze (formed by alkali and lime reacting with silica to form the glaze)
History and use
The large ‘winged scarab’ is a funerary type of scarab, made of blue glazed faience.
The central scarab has a flat, uninscribed underside and coarse indication of scarab beetle markings with no indication of the legs. The attached wings represent those of a falcon, with poorly modelled feathers. Several holes are pierced at irregular intervals around the edge of the central piece, suggesting it was originally stitched on to mummy wrappings over the chest or incorporated into a mummy bead net.
Several indications suggest this piece has been contrived for the tourist market in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Each wing has a different appearance to the other, suggesting that one is from a different object. The piece has been strung on a necklace of blue cylindrical faience beads, to comprise a necklace.
This object was donated to the Museum in 1904, and was collected from Deir el-Bahri, Thebes, Egypt and likely dates to the Late Period to Ptolemaic (c 747-30 BC).
The central scarab has a flat, uninscribed underside and coarse indication of scarab beetle markings with no indication of the legs. The attached wings represent those of a falcon, with poorly modelled feathers. Several holes are pierced at irregular intervals around the edge of the central piece, suggesting it was originally stitched on to mummy wrappings over the chest or incorporated into a mummy bead net.
Several indications suggest this piece has been contrived for the tourist market in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. Each wing has a different appearance to the other, suggesting that one is from a different object. The piece has been strung on a necklace of blue cylindrical faience beads, to comprise a necklace.
This object was donated to the Museum in 1904, and was collected from Deir el-Bahri, Thebes, Egypt and likely dates to the Late Period to Ptolemaic (c 747-30 BC).
Associated person
Registration number
E40049
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