Inlay in the Form of a Scarab Beetle

Artist Ptolemaic Period (Ancient Egyptian, 304–30 BCE)

Artist Roman Period (Ancient Egyptian, 30 BCE - 330 CE)

Place of OriginEgypt, probably from Meir or Tuna el-Jebel

DateRoman Period, about 50 BCE-50 CE

DimensionsGlass Dimensions: 4 × 2 3/8 × 5/8 in. (10.2 × 6 × 1.6 cm)

Mediumglass

ClassificationGlass

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1970.3A-E

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionThis large, opaque deep blue glass inlay is molded and cut in the form of a scarab beetle (Scarabaeus sacer). The object consists of a central body and separately cast legs (originally six, four currently remain). The upper surface of the body is convex, featuring a carefully cut head with a serrated clypeus (shield), distinct eyes, and a broad, double-lobed thorax. The rounded abdomen is covered by two wing cases (elytra), defined by a central vertical division and incised with parallel vertical striations; the outer edges of the wings are contoured with curving cut lines. The legs are cast separately; the surviving front and rear legs terminate in the shape of the insect's claws. The underside of the body is concave, suggesting it was slumped or molded over a form, while the undersides of the legs are flat and roughly polished. The glass is a consistent deep blue, intended to imitate lapis lazuli.

Label TextThis large, dark blue beetle represents the Scarabaeus sacer, or dung beetle. To the ancient Egyptians, the beetle’s habit of rolling a ball of dung across the ground mimicked the sun god Khepri rolling the sun across the sky. Consequently, the scarab became a potent symbol of resurrection, transformation, and the rising sun. Created from glass to imitate the precious stone lapis lazuli, this scarab was not designed as a standalone object. It was originally crafted as an inlay, likely set into a gilded mummy mask, a wooden coffin, or a pectoral (chest ornament) to protect the deceased in the afterlife. The striations on the wings were created using a cutting wheel, a technique that became popular in Egypt during the Greek (Ptolemaic) and Roman periods. A nearly identical scarab is found in the Cairo Museum (inv. 10062).Published ReferencesCollection de feu Omar Pasha Sultan Le Caire, Paris, 1929, pl. LXXI, no. 575 (possibly no. 604).

Luckner, Kurt, "The Art of Egypt," Toledo Museum of Art Museum News 14, 1971, pp. 71 and 73, fig. 13.

Grose, David F., Early Ancient Glass: Core-formed, Rod-Formed, and Cast Vessels and Objects from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Empire, 1600 B.C. to A.D. 50, New York, Hudson Hills Press in association with the Toledo Museum of Art, 1989, cat. no. 63, p. 92, repr. (col.) p. 72.

Dolez, Albane, Glass Animals: 3,500 Years of Artistry and Design, New York, 1988, p. 16, repr.

Peck, William H., Sandra E. Knudsen and Paula Reich, Egypt in Toledo: The Ancient Egyptian Collection at the Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Toledo Museum of Art, 2011, p. 97, repr. (col.).

Exhibition HistoryToledo Museum of Art, The Egypt Experience: Secrets of the Tomb, 2010-2012.