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.
Scarabs, such as this piece, designed with symmetric compositions of hieroglyphs and scrolls were exceedingly popular in the Second Intermediate Period, produced from 1700 – 1500 BC. This period is marked by Hyksos rule in Egypt and such scarabs show a definite Canaanite aesthetic Scrolls and spirals, in combination with hieroglyphs or other decorative motifs. This imagery embellished the earliest scarab types, and became particularly popular during the Middle Kingdom Period, a period which Canaanite artists took much inspiration from. Whilst scarabs from this period had a limited specific meaning, the hieroglyphs depicted suggest artists were very much aware of their apotropaic values.