"The scarabs in these rings are all inscribed with the name of Thutmose III:
(Detail showing Thutmose III's cartouche with his throne name "Menkheperre")
"Lasting is the manifestation of Re", "Eternal is the coming-into-being of Re"
I have another example of carefully arranged items, also at the Met museum and also featuring scarabs: |
Why so many scarabs?
It is the hieroglyph for 'kheper' = "come into being", Oriental Museum
"Scarabs of stone or faience ranged from the stylized to the highly naturalistic and were made in millions in ancient Egypt
as stamp seals and as amulets." Although several species of beetles are found in Egypt, it is "the large sacred scarab
(Scarabaeus sacer)" that is most commonly represented in ancient Egyptian art. "Because the young beetles seemed to emerge spontaneously" from the tunnels in which they stored their food, the scarabs were sacred to the Egyptians as "Khepri: "he who came forth' or "he who came into being."
(Information in quotes from _Reading Egyptian Art_, by Richard Wilkinson, page 113
Photos from Metropolitan Museum - Egyptian Galleries Photo index Home
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