Steatite Scarab with Throne Name of Thutmosis III

$410.71

A steatite Egyptian scarab beetle amulet with incised hieroglyphs to the reverse. The reverse details various hieroglyphs including a rounded cartouche with the scarab beetle, sun disk and gaming board signs. These three symbols form the phrase men-kheper-re, the throne name of Thutmosis III. The scarab is pierced at each end to allow for suspension.

Transliterated as they are written, they would read:

Nṭr nfr nb t3wy (Top register)

Rʽ mn ḫpr (Cartouche)

m nb sp sn (Bottom register)

Date: Circa 1479 - 1070 BC
Period: New Kingdom Period
Provenance: Ex Mustaki Collection. The scarab comes from the Mustaki Collection. Mustaki was an avid collector in the early 20th century and his collection came to the UK under Egyptian licence in 1947. Many of his pieces are in major museums worldwide, including the British Museum, the Getty Museum and the Egyptian State Museum. This collection and this item has been catalogued by Carol Andrews (formerly Egyptian Department in the British Museum).
Condition: Very good. Marking to hieroglyph side of the amulet.

SOLD

SKU: AH-683 Category: Tags: ,

The top register of hieroglyphs is a common epithet used frequently and translates as:

The perfect god, Lord of the two lands,

The cartouche depicted on the second register, displays the often seen throne name of Thutmosis III:

Men-Kheper-Re (Lasting is the manifestation of Ra),

The third register is slightly more challenging to translate and depicts the signs of a basket (nb) and an owl (m). They can have various meanings, with ‘nb’ translating as ‘lord’ or ‘all’. The owl hieroglyph general indicates ‘in’, ‘’by means of’ or ‘from’. The middle sign, a circle with two strokes, transliterates as ‘sp sn’ and is usually in indication that a particular phrase or word must be repeated, adding emphasis.

Not all scarabs bearing a royal name are contemporaneous to the ruling pharaoh. Some kings were held in particularly high regard, and thus their name appears on scarabs hundreds of years after their reign. Thutmosis III of Dynasty XVIII was particularly honoured in this way, with his praenomen, Men-Kheper-Re, used on scarabs for a period of circa 1000 years.

Weight 2.31 g
Dimensions L 1.7 cm
Country

Culture

Egyptian Pharaohs

Region

Stone