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.