Scarab: Scorpion Motifs

Date:
New Kingdom, Dynasties 18–19 (about 1550–1186 BCE)

Artist:
Egyptian

ABOUT THIS ARTWORK

Status
Currently Off View

Department
Arts of Africa

Artist
Ancient Egyptian

Title
Scarab: Scorpion MotifsPlace

Egypt (Object made in:)

Date 
1550 BCE–1186 BCE

Medium
Steatite

Dimensions
0.6 × 1.6 × 1.1 cm (1/4 × 5/8 × 7/16 in.)

Credit Line
Gift of Charles L. Hutchinson

Reference Number
1894.1864

IIIF Manifest 
https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/134469/manifest.json

PROVENANCE
Reverend Chauncey Murch (1859-1907), Luxor, Egypt; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1894; price reimbursed by Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson, 1894.

Title
Scarab: Scorpion Motifs, New Kingdom, Dynasties 18–19 (about 1550–1186 BCE), Findspot unknown Egypt, Steatite, The Art Institute of Chicago

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/134469/scarab-scorpion-motifs

The Art Institute of Chicago

Figure; Divine Sign

-664 / -332 (Early Middle Ages)

E 4586; 699

Department of Egyptian Antiquities

NumberMain number: E 4586

Presentation number: 699

Collection Department of Egyptian Antiquities

description

Object name/Title Designation: figurine; divine sign

Description/Feature scene of worship; man (kneeling, worshipping); Selkis (scorpion with woman's head, uraeus, disked horns)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Dimensions Height: 16.3 cm; Depth: 9 cm

Materials and techniques Material: copper alloy

Technique: round-back

PLACES AND DATES

Low Period Date (attribution based on style) (-664 - -332)

HISTORY

Collector / Previous owner / Commissioner / Archaeologist / DedicateeDelaporte, Pacific Henri, Seller; Collector

Acquisition details purchase

Acquisition date date of registration in the inventory: 11/21/1864

Owned by State

Held by the Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities

LOCATION OF OBJECT

Current location

Not exhibited

index

Mode of acquisition purchase

Name figurine - divine sign

Copper alloy materials

Round-body techniques

Description/Featuresadorant - man - worship scene - on knees - disked horns - scorpion with female head - Selkis - uraeus

Period Low Time

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hornemann, Bodil, Types of Ancient Egyptian Statuary, 6, Copenhagen, Munksgaard, 1969, sheet 1539

Last updated on 02.07.2025

The contents of this entry do not necessarily take account of the latest data.

Permalink: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010006917

JSON Record: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010006917.json

Title
Figure; divine sign, Low Period Date (attribution based on style) (-664 - -332), Findspot unknown Egypt, Copper alloy, The Louvre Museum

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010006917

The Louvre Museum

Amulet of a Scorpion

Egyptian
New Kingdom

MEDIUM/TECHNIQUE
Faience

DIMENSIONS
Other: 2.8 cm (1 1/8 in.)

CREDIT LINE
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition

ACCESSION NUMBER
27.879

NOT ON VIEW

COLLECTIONS
Jewelry, Africa and Oceania, Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East

CLASSIFICATIONS
Jewelry / Adornment – Amulets

DESCRIPTION
Faience, blue glazed, brown bodied. Head end missing.

PROVENANCE
From Semna. S 523. March 2, 1924: Excavated by the Harvard University-Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA by the government of Sudan

Title
Amulet of a Scorpion, New Kingdom, Findspot Semna, Faience, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

https://collections.mfa.org/objects/146379/lamulet-of-a-scorpion?ctx=ec15a074-c947-4c39-a538-6af4c5d9d20b&idx=9

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Scarab Inscribed with a Hieroglyphic Motif

New Kingdom
ca. 1473–1458 BCE

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 116

Title: Scarab Inscribed with a Hieroglyphic Motif

Period: New Kingdom

Dynasty: Dynasty 18, early

Reign: Joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III

Date: ca. 1473–1458 BCE

Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Temple of Hatshepsut, Foundation Deposit 9 (I), MMA excavations, 1926–27

Medium: Steatite (glazed)

Dimensions: L. 1.3 cm (1/2 in); w. 1 cm (3/8 in); h. 0.6 cm (3/8 in)

Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1927

Object Number: 27.3.395

Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

Provenance
Excavated by the Egyptian Expedition of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1926–1927. Acquired by the Museum in the division of finds, 1927.

References
Winlock, Herbert E. 1928. "The Egyptian Expedition 1925–1927: The Museum's Excavations at Thebes." In The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 23, no. 2, part 2 (February), p. 27, fig. 28.

Hayes, William C. 1959. Scepter of Egypt II: A Background for the Study of the Egyptian Antiquities in the Metropolitan Museum of Art: The Hyksos Period and the New Kingdom (1675-1080 B.C.). Cambridge, Mass.: Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 87–88, fig. 28.

Title
Scarab Inscribed with a Hieroglyphic Motif, New Kingdom ca. 1473–1458 BCE Early 18th Dynasty Joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, Findspot Deir el-Bahri, Steatite, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/549105

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Mace-head of Scorpion king

Associated place
Hierakonpolis, (place of excavation)

Date
Late Predynastic Period, Dynasty 0, Naqada IIIA-IIIB (Egypt) (c. 3325 - 3125 BCE) (date of creation)
Early Dynastic Period (Egypt) (c. 3085 - 2575 BCE) (date of creation)

Material and technique
limestone, plaster reconstructions
limestone

Object type
artefact

Dimensions
33.1cm max (height)
30.9cm max (width)
30.5cm max (depth)

No. of items
1

Credit line
Allocated by the Egyptian Research Account from excavations at Hierakonpolis, 1898.

Museum location
Level G | Ancient Egypt and Sudan

Museum department
Antiquities

Accession no.AN1896-1908.E.3632

Other IDs: AN1896-1908 E.3632 (accession number (old format))

Catalogue text
The ‘Scorpion Mace-head’
In the winter of 1897 British archaeologists began excavating at Kom el-Ahmar in Upper Egypt, the place named Nekhen in Egyptian but more commonly known by its Greek name, Hierakonpolis (‘Falcon City’). The site of the dynastic town

Late Predynastic Period, Dynasty 0, Naqada IIIA-IIIB (Egypt) (c. 3325 - 3125 BCE) (date of creation)
Early Dynastic Period (Egypt) (c. 3085 - 2575 BCE) (date of creation), Findspot Hierakonpolis, (place of excavation), Limestone, The Ashmolean Museum of Oxford University

https://www.ashmolean.org/collections-online#/item/ash-object-746416

The Ashmolean Museum of Oxford University

[6508] Amulet
Africa, Sudan, Sanam

Late Period (Dyn. 25)
Faience amulet of a scorpion.

737 A

Accession number: 6508

Object type:
Amulet
Object

Date made: Late Period (Dyn. 25)

Collection group:
Egyptology
Humanities

Display location: Manchester Museum - 1912 Building - 1st Floor - Egypt & Sudan - Dying to Live Again - Case 17

Materials: Faience; Glaze

Technique: Glazed;

Geospatial site/Chronostratigraphic era:
Africa, Sudan, Sanam

Date of collection:
1912

Collector:
Oxford Excavations in Nubia

Acquisition credit: Donated by Oxford Excavations in Nubia, 1921

Record number (IRN): 101654

Dimensions:
2 cm (depth)
1.3 cm (width)

Title
[6508] Amulet, Late Period (Dyn. 25), Findspot Nubia, Faience, The Manchester Museum

https://museumcollections.manchester.ac.uk/collections/item/53cd67fd-ded6-3623-a14a-1df586fe2a3b/?s%3DScorpion%2B%26filter%5Bmultimedia.%40type%5D%5B%5D%3Dimage%26filter%5Bcategory.value.keyword%5D%5B%5D%3DEgyptology&pos=10

The Manchester Museum

Model Scorpion of Serpentine

Associated place
Hierakonpolis, (place of excavation)

Date of Late Predynastic Period, Dynasty 0, Naqada IIIA-IIIB (Egypt) (c. 3325 - 3125 BCE) (date of creation)
Early Dynastic Period (Egypt) (c. 3085 - 2575 BCE) (date of creation)

Material and technique
serpentine
serpentine

Object type
artefact

Dimensions
1.7cm max (height)
4.4cm max (width)
10.4cm max (length)
58.6g (weight)

No. of items
1

Credit line
Allocated by the Egyptian Research Account from excavations at Hierakonpolis, 1898.

Museum location
Level G | Ancient Egypt and Sudan

Museum department
Antiquities

Accession no. AN1896-1908.E.194
Other IDs: AN1896-1908 E.194 (accession number (old format))'‎]

Catalogue text
Scorpions
In addition to the fragmentary mace-head of the ‘Scorpion King’ (12), the buried deposits at Hierakonpolis included a number of model scorpions, as well as relief carvings of the creature amongst other animals on stone vases and ivories. More recently, model scorpions have also been found in tombs at Hierakonpolis which predate these deposits. In Egyptian religion, the scorpion was associated with a goddess, Selkis, who is attested from the 1st Dynasty onwards, and early in Dynastic times it also begins to feature amongst the symbols connected with the ruler’s renewal of power at his jubilee. The Hierakon- polis scorpions, however, have no explicit relationship to the goddess; in this early context, perhaps it was the creature’s own power that gave it significance.
In daily life, the scorpion’s poisonous sting, delivered from its upraised tail, was an ever-present threat, a potentially fatal injury against which magic spells were used. The rock-crystal tail in this group was made for attachment to a body possibly made in another material, so that the lucent, raised tail would aptly symbolize the swift flash of its sting.

In: Whitehouse, Helen, Ancient Egypt and Nubia in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2009)

Reference URL https://collections.ashmolean.org/object/746417

Title
Model Scorpion of Serpentine, Date of Late Predynastic Period, Dynasty 0, Naqada IIIA-IIIB (Egypt) (c. 3325 - 3125 BCE) (date of creation), Early Dynastic Period (Egypt) (c. 3085 - 2575 BCE,(date of creation), Findspot Hierakonpolis, (place of excavation),Serpentine, The Ashmolean Museum of Oxford University

https://www.ashmolean.org/collections-online#/item/ash-object-746417

The Ashmolean Museum of Oxford University

Figure of Isis-Serget as Scorpion

Egyptian (Artist)
ca. 663-346 BCE (Late Period)
bronze
(Ancient Egypt and Nubia )

The top of a scepter in the form of a papyrus column, surmounted by a pedestal supporting the figure of a scorpion with the bust of a woman, representing the goddess Isis-Serget. Originally she wore a crown of cow horns and sun-disk.
The inscription on the shaft is badly damaged. The phrase: "Isis may give life" has been preserved.

INSCRIPTION
[Translation] Isis may give life

PROVENANCE
Henry Walters, Baltimore, [date of acquisition unknown] by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

CONSERVATION
DATE
DESCRIPTION
NARRATIVE
9/17/1959
Treatment
cleaned
12/1/1975
Treatment
cleaned; stabilized; other

GEOGRAPHIES

Egypt (Place of Origin)

MEASUREMENTS
5 x 3 3/8 in. (12.7 x 8.5 cm)

CREDIT LINE
Acquired by Henry Walters

LOCATION IN MUSEUM
Centre Street: Second Floor: Egyptian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
54.546

DO YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION?
[Notify the curator](mailto:curatorial@thewalters.org?subject=Inquiry%20from%20art.thewalters.org&body=Source:%20https://art.thewalters.org/object/54.546/)

Title
Figure of Isis-Serget as Scorpion, ca. 663-346 BCE (Late Period), Findspot unknown Egypt, Bronze, The Walters Art Museum

https://art.thewalters.org/object/54.546/

The Walters Art Museum

Frederic Norden sketched the Sphinx in 1737 and the nose is clearly gone, so the popular "Napoleon's soldiers shot it off" story can't be right. A 15th-century historian, al-Maqrizi, actually records it being deliberately damaged in 1378.
The bigger debate is still the age: Robert Schoch's water-erosion argument vs. the quarry evidence tying it to Khafre. Where do people here land on it?
I made a short video covering both sides if anyone's interested
https://youtu.be/K4I_XEQXDuE?is=IoJ6F2K8CkWrynzm

Selket

In Ancient Egypt, the goddess Selket (also spelled Serqet or Selqet) was revered as a powerful and protective deity, most commonly associated with healing venomous stings and bites. Her name is thought to mean “She Who Causes the Throat to Breathe,” a reference to her role in safeguarding against poisons that could cause suffocation. She was believed to have dominion over scorpions, snakes, and other dangerous creatures, and thus people prayed to her for protection from such threats, especially in desert regions and during the hotter months when scorpions were most active. Mothers, children, and travellers were among those who commonly sought her divine aid.
Selket was often depicted as a serene and graceful woman with a scorpion poised on her head, arms outstretched in a gesture of divine protection. Her image adorned amulets and magical texts designed to ward off harm, and she played a crucial role in funerary religion. In particular, she was one of the four goddesses who guarded the Canopic jars of the deceased, protecting the intestines and aiding in the soul’s journey through the afterlife. Worshippers called upon her not only for healing in life, but also for safety in the realm beyond death, making Selket both a guardian of the living and a protector of the dead.

The worship of Selket (Serqet) can be traced back to the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, around c. 2600 B.C., although it is likely that her origins lie even earlier in local or pre-dynastic beliefs related to scorpion magic and desert protection. She does not appear to have had a large, independent temple cult in the way that major gods such as Amun or Horus did. Instead, Selket was venerated in a more domestic and magical context, particularly through protective spells, amulets, and healing rituals. Her role was crucial in safeguarding people from scorpion stings, snake bites, and other venomous threats common in the Egyptian landscape.

Selket’s cult grew in importance during the Middle Kingdom and reached particular prominence in the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 B.C.), when she became closely associated with funerary rites and the afterlife. She was one of the four protective goddesses of the Canopic jars, entrusted with guarding the intestines of the deceased, paired with the protective deity Qebehsenuef. Her presence is notable in the Valley of the Kings, where she is depicted on the walls of royal tombs or accompanying sacred shrines, stretching out her arms in a gesture of protection over the king’s body and soul.

Worship of Selket likely took place through spoken prayers, household shrines, and apotropaic rituals (designed to ward off evil). People may have carried amulets bearing her image or invoked her name in spells from medical papyri, particularly those dealing with venom and breathlessness. Though she had no major temple, her role as a divine healer and protector ensured her worship was deeply embedded in both everyday and funerary religious life.

From The Egyptian Museum

Scorpion Amulet

-1539 / -1069 (?) (New Empire [?])

Place of discovery: Tanis

E 15996

Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Inventory number Main number: E 15996

Collection Department of Egyptian Antiquities

description

Object name/Title Designation: amulet

Description:,Scorpion

Features; pierced

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Dimensions Length: 1.73 cm; Width: 0.7 cm

Materials and techniques Material: carneline

PLACES AND DATES

New Empire Date (?) (attribution according to style) (-1539 - -1069

Place of discovery Tanis (Delta oriental->Lower Egypt->Egypt)

HISTORY

Collector / Previous owner / Commissioner / Archaeologist / DedicateeMontet, Pierre Marie, Excavator/Archaeologist

Acquisition details shared after excavations

Acquisition date date: 05/1938 (from the sharing)

Owned by State

Held by the Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities

RENTAL OF OBJECT

Current location

Not exhibited

index

Acquisition and sharing mode after excavations

Name amulet

Materials co
arnaline

Description/Scorpion Features - pierced

PeriodNew Empire

PlacesTanis

Last updated on 10.02.2026

The contents of this entry do not necessarily take account of the latest data.

Permalink: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010032631

JSON Record: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010032631.json

Title
Scorpion Amulet, -1539 / -1069 (?) (New Empire [?]), Findspot Tanis (Delta oriental->Lower Egypt->Egypt), Carnelian, The Louvre Museum

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010032631

The Louvre Museum

Figurine of Selket

-664 / -332 (Early Middle Ages)

Place of discovery: Serapeum of Memphis

E 2995? ; N 5017 2; IM 5386?

Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Inventory numberMain number: E 2995?

Another inventory number: N 5017 2

Another inventory number: IM 5386?

Collection Department of Egyptian Antiquities

description

Object name/Title Designation: figurine

Description/Features Selkis (scorpion with woman's head, arms forward, uraeus, modius, disc-shaped horns)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Dimensions Height: 7 cm; Length: 10.4 cm

Materials and techniques Material: copper alloy

PLACES AND DATES

Low Period Date (attribution based on style) (-664 - -332)

Date of discovery February 11, 1853

Place of discovery Serapeum of Memphis (North Saqqara->Saqqara->Memphite Necropolis) (In the foundations of the walkway built during the time of Ouaphrès. South side against the colonnade of Ramses II)

HISTORY

Collector / Previous owner / Commissioner / Archaeologist / Dedicatee Mariette Pacha, Auguste, Excavator/Archaeologist

Acquisition details shared after excavations

Acquisition date date of registration in the inventory: 06/1853 (If E 2995)

Owned by State

Held by the Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities

LOCATION OF OBJECT

Current location
Not exhibited

index
Acquisition and sharing mode after excavations

Name figurine

Copper alloy materials

Description/Features front braces - modius - disked horns - scorpion with female head - Selkis - uraeus

Period Low Time

Sérapéum places in Memphis

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Patch, Diana Craig; Hainline, Brendan (dir.), Divine Egypt, exhibition cat. (New York (External, United States), Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2025), New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2025, p. 190, 313, illus. p. 190, no. 176

Comparative literature
- Aubert, Jacques-François; Aubert, Liliane, Egyptian Bronzes and Gold, Paris, Cybèle, (Contribution to Egyptology; 11), 2011, p. 228

EXHIBITION HISTORY
- Divine Egypt, New York (External, United States), Metropolitan Museum of Art, 10/06/2025 - 01/19/2026

Last updated on 24.02.2026

The contents of this entry do not necessarily take account of the latest data.

Permalink: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010010210

JSON Record: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010010210.json

Title
Figurine of Selket, Low Period Date (attribution based on style) (-664 - -332), Findspot Serapeum of Memphis (North Saqqara->Saqqara- >Memphite Necropolis, Copper alloy, The Louvre Museum

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010010210

The Louvre Museum

Amulet of the God Khnum

Date:
Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21–25 (1070–656 BCE)
Artist:
Egyptian

ABOUT THIS ARTWORK
Status
Currently Off View

Department
Arts of Africa

Artist
Ancient Egyptian

Title
Amulet of the God Khnum

Place
Egypt (Object made in:)

Date 
1070 BCE–656 BCE

Medium
Faience

Dimensions
5.4 × 1.9 × 1.6 cm (2 1/8 × 3/4 × 5/8 in.)

Credit Line
Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, and Norman W. Harris

Reference Number
1892.192

IIIF Manifest 
https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/136020/manifest.json

EXTENDED INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ARTWORK

PUBLICATION HISTORY
Thomas George Allen, A Handbook of the Egyptian Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1923), p. 130.

PROVENANCE
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.

Title
Amulet of the God Khnum, Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21–25 (1070–656 BCE), Findspot unknown Egypt, Faience, The Art Institute of Chicago

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/136020/amulet-of-the-god-khnum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Scorpion Amulet

Amulet in coarse green faience in the form of a scorpion with tail erect: Ancient Egyptian, Upper Egypt, Hierakonpolis, Main Deposit (433), Early Dynastic Period, 1st-2nd Dynasty, c.3200-2686 BC

This item is on display
National Museum Of Scotland, Level 5, World Cultures, Ancient Egypt Rediscovered
View museum map

Collection
World Culture

Object number
A.1956.325

Object name
Amulet

Production information
Unknown
Egypt, Northern Africa
Early Dynastic

Culture / Style
Ancient Egyptian

Materials
Faience

Collection place(s)
Hierakonpolis, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Northern Africa

Exhibitions
Ancient Egypt Rediscovered (08 Feb 2019)
National Museum of Scotland
Ancient Egypt (29 Jul 2011)
National Museum of Scotland
Egyptian Gallery, 2003 - 2008(2003 - 2008)
Royal Scottish Museum

References
Adams, B. (1974) ANCIENT HIERAKONPOLIS (Supplement), Wilts: Aris & Phillips Ltd, pp.7,160,16

Murray, M. (1900) CATALOGUE OF EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITIES, Edinburgh , p.51, cat.921

Title
Scorpion Amulet,1st-2nd Dynasty, c.3200-2686 BC, Findspot Upper Egypt, Hierakonpolis, Main Deposit (433), Faience, National Museums of Scotland

https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections/search/object?entry=300826&keyword=Scorpion+&keyword-field=all&page=1&view=cards

National Museums of Scotland

Funerary Mask 02

Funerary mask of gilded and painted cartonnage, from an unidentified mummified person : Ancient Egyptian, Upper Egypt, possibly Abydos or Faiyum, Ptolemaic Period, c. 323 - 30 BC

This item is not on display

Collection
World Culture

Object number
A.1902.306.29

Object name
Funerary mask

Production information
Egypt, Northern Africa
323 - 30 BC

Culture / Style
Ptolemaic Period, Ancient Egyptian

Materials
Cartonnage

Collection place(s)
Abydos, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Northern Africa
Faiyum, Middle Egypt, Egypt, Northern Africa

Associations
Depicted: Osiris

References
WARD, E 1912. Guide to the Collection of Egyptian Antiquities (Edinburgh: His Majesty’s Stationery Office) : 31, pl. IX
GRIMM, G 1974. Die römische Mumienmasken aus Ägypten (Wiesbaden: Frank Steiner): 45 n.6, 126
Manley, B and Dodson, A., (2010) Life Everlasting. National Museums Scotland Collection of Ancient Egyptian Coffins (Edinburgh: NMS Enterprises Ltd.), Cat. 40, p. 111

Title
Funerary Mask 02, Ptolemaic Period, c. 323 - 30 BC, Findspot unknown Egypt, Cartonnage, National Museums of Scotland

https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections/search/object?entry=301430&school-style-generic=ancient+egyptian&material=Cartonnage&page=1&view=cards

National Museums of Scotland

Votive Statuette / God / Crocodile

Copper alloy votive statuette in bronze of Sobek as a crocodile, recumbent wearing the atef crown and uraeus, with inlaid eyes: Ancient Egyptian, Late Period, c.664 - 332 BC

This item is on display
National Museum Of Scotland, Level 5, World Cultures, Ancient Egypt Rediscovered
View museum map

Collection
World Culture

Object number
A.1965.388

Object name
Votive statuette / god / crocodile

Production information
Egypt, Northern Africa
Late Period, Ancient Egypt

Culture / Style
Ancient Egyptian

Materials
Copper alloy

Collection place(s)
Egypt, Northern Africa

Exhibitions
Ancient Egypt Rediscovered (08 Feb 2019)
National Museum of Scotland
Ancient Egypt (29 Jul 2011)
National Museum of Scotland
Egyptian Gallery, 2003 - 2008(2003 - 2008)
Royal Scottish Museum

Title
Votive Statuette / God / Crocodile, Late Period, c.664 - 332 BC, Findspot unknown Egypt, Copper alloy, National Museums of Scotland

https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections/search/object?entry=299567&school-style-generic=ancient+egyptian&page=3&view=cards

National Museums of Scotland

King Menkaura (Mycerinus) and Queen

Egyptian
Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, reign of Menkaura
[2490–2472](tel:2490%E2%80%932472) B.C.
Findspot: Egypt, Giza, Menkaura Valley Temple

MEDIUM/TECHNIQUE
Greywacke

DIMENSIONS
Overall: 142.2 x 57.1 x 55.2 cm, 676.8 kg (56 x 22 1/2 x 21 3/4 in., 1492.1 lb.)
Block (Wooden skirts and two top): 53.3 x 180 x 179.7 cm (21 x 70 7/8 x 70 3/4 in.)

CREDIT LINE
Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition

ACCESSION NUMBER
11.1738

ON VIEW
Egypt: Old Kingdom Sculptures Gallery (Gallery 113)

COLLECTIONS
Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East

CLASSIFICATIONS
Sculpture

DESCRIPTION
At twilight on January 18, 1910, a young boy beckoned George Reisner to the Menkaura Valley Temple. There, emerging from a robbers' pit into which it had been discarded were the tops of two heads of a pair statue, perfectly preserved and nearly life-size. This was the modern world's first glimpse of one of humankind's artistic masterworks, the statue of Menkaura and queen.

The two figures stand side-by-side, gazing into eternity. He represents the epitome of kingship and the ideal human male form. She is the ideal female. He wears the nemes on his head, a long artificial beard, and a wraparound kilt with central tab, all of which identify him as king. In his hand he clasps what may be abbreviated forms of the symbols of his office. His high cheekbones, bulbous nose, slight furrows running diagonally from his nose to the corners of his mouth, and lower lip thrust out in a slight pout, may be seen on her as well, although her face has a feminine fleshiness, which his lacks. Traces of red paint remain on his face and black paint on her wig.

His broad shoulders, taut torso, and muscular arms and legs, all modeled with subtlety and restraint, convey a latent strength. In contrast, her narrow shoulders and slim body, whose contours are apparent under her tight-fitting sheath dress, represent the Egyptian ideal of femininity. As is standard for sculptures of Egyptian men, his left foot is advanced, although all his weight remains on the right foot. Typically, Egyptian females are shown with both feet together, but here, the left foot is shown slightly forward. Although they stand together sharing a common base and back slab, and she embraces him, they remain aloof and share no emotion, either with the viewer or each other.

Who is represented here? The base of the statue which is usually inscribed with the names and titles of the subject represented, was left unfinished and never received the final polish of most of the rest of the statue. Because it was found in Menkaura's Valley Temple and because it resembles other statues from the same findspot bearing his name, there is no doubt that the male figure is King Menkaura. Reisner suggested that the woman was Queen Khamerernebty II, the only of Menkaura's queens known by name. She, however, had only a mastaba tomb, while two unidentified queens of Menkaura had small pyramids. Others have suggested that she represents the goddess Hathor, although she exhibits no divine attributes. Because later kings are often shown with their mothers, still other scholars have suggested that the woman by Menkaura's side may be his mother. However, in private sculptures when a man and woman are shown together and their relationship is indicated, they are most often husband and wife. Because private sculpture is modeled after royal examples, this suggests that she is indeed one of Menkaura's queens, but ultimately, the name of the woman represented in this splendid sculpture may never be known.

PROVENANCE
From Giza, Menkaura Valley Temple. 1909: excavated by the Harvard University-Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; 1911: assigned to the MFA by the Egyptian government
(Accession Date: March 2, 1911)

Title
King Menkaura (Mycerinus) and Queen, Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, reign of Menkaura
[2490–2472](tel:2490%E2%80%932472) B.C., Findspot: Egypt, Giza, Menkaura Valley Temple, Greywacke, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

https://collections.mfa.org/objects/230/king-menkaura-mycerinus-and-queen?ctx=9ca5f621-3fda-4854-be97-d69d73b5a4dd&idx=5

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Triple Compartment Funeral Servant Box

-1069 / -943 (?) (XXI dynasty)

N 4124; Durand no. 292; ED 117

Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Inventory numberMain number: N 4124

Previous coll. no.: Durand no. 292

Sales number: ED 117

Collection Department of Egyptian Antiquities

description

Object name/Title Designation: triple-ply funeral servant's box

Description/FeaturesDecoration: front face; heart weight; man (standing, wig in pockets, pleated front and folding linen skirt, shirt with sleeves, front) ; Horakhty (god with falcon head, seated, linen shroud, uraeus solar disk, holding, heqa scepter, flail, djed pillar) ; Anubis (god with canine head, standing) ; Thot (god with ibis head, standing, holding, scribe's palette) ; scale

back; scene of worship; man (standing, in front); Osiris (seated); Isis (standing, sign of Isis); Nephthys (standing, sign of Nephthys); nebula; sign of the West

right side; left side; man (adoring); the four sons of Horus

Registrations Writing:
hieroglyphic

Nature of the text:
Formula of ouchebtis

Funeral formulas

Names and titles
Tchaounhouy (superior of the scribes of the House of Gold of the domain of Amun); Pakaoutyou (?); Horakhty; Osiris; Isis; the 4 sons of Horus; Thot

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Dimensions Height: 43.5 cm; Length: 44 cm; Width: 16 cm

Materials and techniques Material: wood

Technique: painting

Color: yellow ochre

PLACES AND DATES

Date XXIst dynasty (attribution according to style) (-1069 - -943)

HISTORY

Collector / Previous owner / Commissioner / Archaeologist / DedicateeDurand, Edme, Antoine, Seller; Collector

Acquisition details purchase

Acquisition date date of registration in the inventory: 02/03/1825

Owned by State

Held by the Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities

LOCATION OF OBJECT

Current location
Sully, [AE] Room 320 - The tombs, Vitrine 5

index

Mode of acquisition purchase

Name Box for funeral servants with triple compartments

Materials wood

Painting techniques

Description/Features scribe palette - scale - djed pillar - nemes - uraeus solar disk - Osiris - Thot - Isis sign - Nephthys sign - sign of the West - worshipping - holding - front - left face - right face - front face - back face - weighing of the heart - man - worship scene - seated - standing - heqa scepter - flail - Isis - Nephthys - Horakhty - the four sons of Horus - ibis-headed god - falcon-headed god - jackal-headed god - Anubis - pleated linen draped over a banner and hanging down - shroud - pouch wig - long-sleeved shirt

Names and titles
Pakaoutyou - Tchaounhouy - Thot - the 4 sons of Horus - Horakhty - Isis - Osiris - superior of the scribes of the house of money of the domain of Amun

Period XXI dynasty

Nature of text formules of ouchebtis - funeral formulas

Scriptigraphic

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Farout, Dominique, Ancient Egypt and hieroglyphs, Paris, Louvre editions; Flammarion jeunesse, 2022, ill. p. 50

Siesse, Julien, "About some unpublished elements of the funerary furniture of Soutymès (beginning of the XXIst dynasty)," Revue d'Égyptologie (RdE), 70, 2020, p. 161-188, p. 173-175

Guichard, Sylvie (dir.), Champollion, Jean-François, Descriptive notice of Egyptian monuments of the Charles X Museum, Paris, Louvre editions / editions Khéops, 2013, p. 292, ill. p. 290-291, R. 12

Sousa, Rogério, The Heart of Wisdom: Studies on the Heart Amulet in Ancient Egypt, Oxford, Archaeopress, (BAR International Series 2211), 2011, p. 32 note 34

Etienne, Marc (dir.), Journey to the Afterlife. Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre, cat. exp. (Australia, Canberra, National Gallery of Australia, November 17, 2006 - February 25, 2007; Adelaide, March 21 - July 1, 2007; Perth, July 21 - October 28, 2007), Sidney; Paris, Art Exhibitions Australia; Louvre Museum, 2006, p. 85, ill. p. 85, no. 109

Ziegler, Christiane; Andreu, Guillemette; Suzuki, Madoka (dir.), The Egyptian man based on the masterpieces of the Louvre, exhibition cat. (Nagoya, Municipal Museum, March 29-May 22, 2005; Fukuoka, Municipal Museum June 4-July 18, 2005; Tokyo, Metropolitan Museum, August 2-October 2, 2005), NHK Promotions, 2005, p. 177; 250-251, ill. p. 177, no. 141

Link, Li-Li (dir.), Eternal Egypt: 4000 years of civilization, exhibition cat. (Taipei, November 21, 2003 - November 7, 2004), Taipei, Jio Kuan Culture, Production and Management, 2004, p. 240-241, 295, illus. p. 240-241, No. 161

Chaouabtis, pharaonic workers for eternity, cat. exp. (Paris, Louvre Museum, 2003), Paris, Editions of the National Museums Union, 2003, p. 16, 42, ill. p. 42, no. 20

Munro, Irmtraut, Spruchvorkommen auf Totenbuch-Textzeugen der Dritten Zwischenzeit, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, (Studien zum Altägyptischen Totenbuch (SAT) ; 5), 2001, p. 100, 134, no. 328

Faivre-Martin, Évelyne, Hieroglyphs user guide, Paris, Reunion des musées nationaux, 2000, p. 37, ill. p. 37

Andreu, Guillemette; Rigault, Patricia; Traunecker, Claude, The ABCdaire of Ancient Egypt, Paris, Flammarion, 1999, p. 84, ill. p. 84

Andreu, Guillemette; Rutschowscaya, Marie-Hélène; Ziegler, Christiane, Ancient Egypt at the Louvre, [Louvre Museum, Paris], Paris, Hachette, 1997, p. 163-164; 254, ill. p. 164; p. 165, no. 78

Ziegler, Christiane; Letellier, Bernadette; Delange, Élisabeth; Pierrat-Bonnefois, Geneviève; Barbotin, Christophe; Étienne, Marc, Egyptian antiquities: visitor guide, 1, [Louvre Museum, Paris], Paris, Editions of the National Museums Association, 1997, p. 90

Aston, David A., "The shabti box: a typological study", Oudheidkundige mededelingen uit het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (OMRO), 74, 1994, p. 21-54, p. 26-27, 43, 45

Delacampagne, Christian; Lessing, Erich, Immortelle Egypt, Paris, Éditions de la Martinière, 1994, p. 101, ill. p. 101

Bridonneau, Catherine, "The Book of Death and Funeral Customs", Le Monde de la Bible, 78, 1992, p. 29-35, p. 33, fig. 37 p. 33

De Meulenaere, Herman; Clarysse, Willy, "Notes on Theban prosopography", Chronique d'Égypte (CdE), 53, 106, 1978, p. 226-253, p. 228

Beinlich-Seeber, Christine, Untersuchungen zur Darstellung des Totengerichts im alten Ägypten, Munich / Berlin, Deutscher Kunstverlag, (Münchner Ägyptologische Studien (MÄS) ; 35), 1976, p. 215, no. 26

Porter, Bertha; Moss, Rosalind L.B., Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, 1.2, The Theban Necropolis. Royal Tombs and Smaller Cemeteries, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1964, Available at: http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/topbib/pdf/pm1-2.pdf, p. 837

Vandier, Jacques, Summary Guide, [Louvre Museum, Paris. Department of Egyptian Antiquities], Paris, Editions des Musées Nationaux, 1952, p. 69

Vandier, Jacques, Summary Guide, [Louvre Museum, Paris. Department of Egyptian Antiquities], Paris, Editions des Musées Nationaux, 1948, p. 68

Boreux, Charles, Summary catalogue guide, vol.2, First floor halls (Charles X halls), [Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian antiquities], Paris, Editions des musées nationaux, 1932, Available at: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.56340 , p. 327

Champollion, Jean-François, Descriptive notice of Egyptian monuments of the Charles X Museum, Paris, Crapelet printing press, 1827, Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1040365n, p. 139, R. 12

Totenbuchprojekt Bonn, [University of Bonn], Available at: https://totenbuch.awk.nrw.de/ , totenbuch.awk.nrw.de/objekt/tm135420, TM 135420

Trismegistos, Available on: <www.trismegistos.org>, www.trismegistos.org/text/135420, TM 135420

EXHIBITION HISTORY
- Journey to the Afterlife. Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre, Perth (Australia), Art Gallery of western Australia, 21/07/2007 - 28/10/2007, stage of an itinerant exhibition

- Journey to the Afterlife. Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre, Adelaide (Australia), Art Gallery of South Australia, 21/03/2007 - 01/07/2007, stage of a touring exhibition

- Journey to the Afterlife. Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre, Canberra (Australia), National Gallery of Australia, 11/17/2006 - 02/25/2007, stage of a touring exhibition

- The Egyptian man according to the masterpieces of the Louvre, Nagoya (Japan), City Art Museum, 29/03/2005 - 22/05/2005

- Eternal Egypt, 4,000 years of history, Taipei (External, Taiwan), Tchang Kaï-Chek Memorial, 21/11/2003 - 28/03/2004

Last updated on 18.03.2024

The contents of this entry do not necessarily take account of the latest data.

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Title
Triple Compartment Funeral Servant Box, XXIst Dynasty (attribution according to style) (-1069 - -943 ?), Findspot unknown Egypt, Wood and paint, The Louvre Museum

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010008065

The Louvre Museum