Egyptian Faience Scarab Dedicated to Bastet

$176.81

A turquoise blue faience Egyptian scarab amulet with incised features such as clypeus, prothorax and elytra marked by single lines. The reverse is inscribed with four clear hieroglyphs, including: A sun-disk, a large seated cat and a basket sign. The cat hieroglyph, sitting on top of the basket, represents the goddess Bastet. The sun-disk represents the god Ra.

Date: Circa 733–664 BC
Period: Third Intermediate Period
Provenance: from the Gustave Mustaki collection, a collector of antiquities who amassed a large collection in Alexandria (Egypt).
Condition: Excellent. With very fine and clearly defined hieroglyphs.

SOLD

SKU: AH-777 Category: Tags: , ,

Bastet was worshipped in Egypt from the Second Dynastic period, appearing as a cat-headed female, hence the large feline hieroglyph represented here. She was closely linked to the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet, the two frequently misidentified. Eventually Bastet and Sekhmet were identified as the same goddess, with each figure representing different aspects of her divine personality. Sekhmet was the ferocious, lion-headed goddess of warfare and protector. Bastet was the gentler feline, goddess of children, pregnancy, fertility and the arts. As a cat goddess, Bastet was known as the daughter of Ra and Isis and a patron of lower Egypt. She was associated with the Eye of Ra, a separate entity of Ra’s power, female in nature and thus associated with certain female goddesses. The sun-disk on this scarab would reiterate Bastet’s connection with Ra, and call upon the god’s power and protection also.

To find out more about Ancient Egyptian amulets please see our relevant blog post: Egyptian Amulets and their Meanings.

Weight 0.2 g
Dimensions L 0.9 cm
Country

Culture

Egyptian Mythology

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Faience

Region

Reference: For Similar: The Isreal Museum, Jerusalem, item 76.031.4092