This steatite scarab has a flat underside with a vertically and horizontally arranged design of spiral scrolls. The design on the back of the scarab is detailed, with incised lines and regular flow. The proportions of the top are unbalanced, the piece is carefully made, and the workmanship is good.
<p>This scarab would have functioned as an amulet with renewal connotations, and should provide extensive and all-inclusive renewal. The piece would originally have been mounted or threaded.
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Spiral scrolls on scarabs were very popular in the Middle Kingdom and in the Hyksos Period. The meaning of the pattern is not clear, but it seems most likely that it expresses renewal and general support.
<div class="fn value">
<p>Egyptian (?)<br></p>
Canaanite (?)</div>
between 1794 and 1648 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Ante_Christum_Natum" class="extiw" title="w:en:Ante Christum Natum">BC</a> <div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,-1500-00-00T00:00:00Z/6,P1319,-1794-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1326,-1648-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div> (late Middle Kingdom; MB IIB)
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