The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun was propelled across the heavens by means of a scarab, or sacred beetle. With the passing of time, the Egyptians created a series of amulets in the form of this beetle in a great variety of materials, and these were routinely provided with inscriptions in hieroglyphs conveniently accommodated to their stylized flat bottoms.
Our scarab is just such a variation. Its top is designed in the classic manner in which the component elements of its head, plate, and clypeus are carefully articulated, although the thorax and elytra, or wing case, are treated as a single unit.
The bottom of our scarab exhibits finely cut hieroglyphs, the contours of each being both crisply and clearly executed. The top and bottom features identical, stylized versions of a pool with lotus flowers (Gardiner, Sign List M8) which frame the central zone. This is framed to the left and right by a uraeus, or sacred cobra, flanking two hieroglyphs in the center representing the sun disc itself and the sacred beetle or cobra. These two signs may be read as Re-kheper. It is preferable, perhaps, to interpret these two signs as the prenomen of Pharaoh Osorkon II who ruled during Dynasty XXII. Osorkon II was an aggressive builder of temples, of which the best known is undoubtedly his great festival hall at Bubastis, home of the cat goddess in Egypt’s Eastern Delta.
References:
For numerous examples of scarabs with the name of Osorkon II in the form encountered on our scarab, see, W. M. Flinders Petrie, Scarabs and Cylinders with Names (London 1917), pages li with plate li numbers 3-10.
Translation and interpretation kindly provided by Dr. Robert S. Bianchi.
