Large Steatite Scarab with the Cartouche of Pharaoh Thutmose III

Culture: Egyptian

Period: New Kingdom, 19th-20th dynasty, 1292-1070 B.C.

Material: Steatite

Dimensions: 4.6 cm long

Price: 6 000 Euro

Ref: 1556

Provenance: Collection Erika Krautkrämer (1932-2022), acquired 1999 from the Galerie Roswitha Eberwein in Göttingen, Germany. With an expertise by the Egyptologist Dr. Matthias Seidel.

Condition: Intact with few minor cracks. The once blue-green glaze is almost completely lost.

Description: Large and finely worked out scarab of light steatite, which once was covered with blue glaze, where minimal traces are still preserved on the legs. The bottom is deeply engraved. In the center of the top is a cartouche with the throne name “Men-cheper-Re”, which Thutmosis III bore. Here the great pharaoh of the 18th dynasty is posthumously mentioned during the late Ramesside period. Below the cartouche the dwarf like god Bes stands with legs apart and with a high feather crown. On the outside four sun baboons in adoration gesture with raised arms flank these central elements. The scarab itself is very detailly and naturalistically worked out. The clypeus (head shield) in the front with square eyes, behind finely accentuated elytra (cover wings). The front pair of legs is placed forward below the head, whereby the upper sides are decorated with grooves. The two rear pairs of legs are also along the body in opposite directions and have groove decoration. The large scarab is pierced lengthwise for suspension.