The scarab beetle was an exceedingly popular symbol in the art of Ancient Egypt, thought to represent the sun god, Ra. The Ancient Egyptians believed that the scarab beetle rolling its ball of dung across the desert mirrored the journey of the sun across the sky from day to night. As the beetle laid its eggs within the dung, it became a symbol of rebirth and regeneration. These scarab beetle amulets were made in various forms, such as heart scarabs, commemorative scarabs, and scarab amulets, thus catering to different functions. Scarab amulets were believed to have magical rejuvenating properties, used by both the living and the dead.
As was popular in the Middle Kingdom, this scarab is similarly attributed to a private individual, Har. From the material culture he held the positions of Seal-bearer to the king and companion to the King. Har was most likely of Canaanite origin and lived during the a Second Intermediate Period, under the rule of the pharaoh Seshi. This scarab is comparable to a number of scarabs attributed to the pharaoh, thus the stylistic dating. Har holds the largest number of scarab seals found and due to the large number we can ascertain that he was of great importance and held both power and influence. In much the same way that royal name scarabs were used by the pharaoh’s subjects, scarabs of Har were distributed widely to his staff beneath him.
To find out more about Ancient Egyptian amulets please see our relevant blog post: Egyptian Amulets and their Meanings.
