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.
This amulet in the form of a scarab is one of several Egyptian variations on the theme. Its head, plate, and clypeus are well defined, but the separation of the thorax from the elytra, or wing case, is only indicated by a triangular notch on either side of the body.
The bottom of our scarab is decorated with ornamental patterns framed by a guilloche, or braided ornament, which frames the entire composition. Within at the top and bottom are virtually identically designed ornament consisting of intertwined patterns, in between which is a four-circled braid. Such geometric designs characterize Egyptian scarabs created in the period from the Middle Kingdom to the Second Intermediate Period, but the significance of such ornamentation has not yet been convincingly explained.
References:
For contemporary examples and a discussion of the ornament, see, Daphna Ben-Tor, The Scarab. A Reflection of Ancient Egypt (Jerusalem 1993), page 31.
Interpretation kindly provided by Prof. Robert S. Bianchi.
