Winged Scarab Amulet

CC0 Public Domain Designation

Arts of Africa

Late Period, Dynasty 26 (664–525 BCE)

Egyptian

A scarab amulet was often placed over the heart of a mummy to act as its protector. The wings allowed the scarab to join the daily rising and setting of the sun, a cycle that was equated with eternal death and rebirth.

Status: Currently Off View
Department: Arts of Africa

Artist: Ancient Egyptian
Title: Winged Scarab Amulet
Place: Egypt (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 664 BCE–525 BCE
Medium: Faience
Dimensions: Scarab: 5.9 × 3.5 × 0.8 cm (2 3/8 × 1 7/16 × 3/8 in.); Proper Right Wing: 3 × 4.6 × 0.3 cm (1 3/16 × 1 13/16 × 1/8 in.); Proper Left Wing: 3 × 4.7 × 0.3 cm (1 3/16 × 1 7/8 × 1/8 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, and Norman W. Harris
Reference Number: 1892.231a-c
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/136093/manifest.json

Roberta Casagrande-Kim, ed., When the Greeks Ruled Egypt: From Alexander the Great to Cleopatra. Exh. cat. (New York: Institute for the Study of the Ancient World; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014), p. 103, cat. 115.

Art Institute of Chicago, When the Greeks Ruled: Egypt After Alexander the Great, October 31, 2013 - July 27, 2014; traveled to New York City, NY, the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, October 8, 2014 - January 4, 2015.

Émile Brugsch (1842-1930), Bulaq Museum and Egyptian Antiquities Service, Cairo; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1892; price reimbursed by Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson, 1892.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.