Scarab
Date: about 50 BCE-50 CE
Dimensions:
Glass Dimensions: 3 1/4 × 2 in. (8.3 × 5.1 cm)
Medium: glass
Place of Origin: probably from Meir or Tuna el-Jebel, Egypt
Classification: Glass
Credit Line: Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey
Object number: 1970.3A-E
Label Text:Made for a tomb, this large scarab beetle (represented with only four legs instead of six) adorned the headdress of a mummy mask. Craftsmen fashioned it of dark blue glass to imitate the costly stone lapis lazuli; it was probably flanked by gilded or painted wings to represent Khepri—god of the rising sun and potent symbol of life after death.
DescriptionBody and legs cast separately in open, one-piece molds; cut and polished on all upper surfaces; also cut along all side edges to create smooth surfaces that are beveled inward; underside of body left unfinished with visible stress marks and creases
Inlay in the likeness of a large scarab. Opaque medium blue ground.
Upperside of scarab convex, with a well-defined head and body, carefully cut to depict mandibles and protruding eyes, a broad double-lobed thorax, and rounded abdomen covered by two parallel sheath wings. Each wing is defined by straight parallel cut lines with curving lines cut along the outer edges of each wing.
The end of each leg is cut in the shape of the insect's chela. The underside of the body is concave with a uniform thickness throughout; the undersides of the legs are flat and roughly polished.
Inlay in the likeness of a large scarab. Opaque medium blue ground.
Upperside of scarab convex, with a well-defined head and body, carefully cut to depict mandibles and protruding eyes, a broad double-lobed thorax, and rounded abdomen covered by two parallel sheath wings. Each wing is defined by straight parallel cut lines with curving lines cut along the outer edges of each wing.
The end of each leg is cut in the shape of the insect's chela. The underside of the body is concave with a uniform thickness throughout; the undersides of the legs are flat and roughly polished.
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In Collection(s)