Scarab Inscribed with a Wish to Have Children

Unknown

ca. 1070–664 B.C. · Green glazed steatite · Egyptian Art

Scarabs bearing wishes and blessings related to divinities whose protection individuals wished to summon are particular popular during the late New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period (ca. 1295-664 B.C.). The hieroglyphs inscribed on the base form a wish for offspring. By having this wish inscribed on a protective amulet such as a scarab seal, the owner expressed the very specific desire to have children.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1070–664 B.C.

Medium

Green glazed steatite

Department

Egyptian Art

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1905