A Royal Egyptian Steatite Scarab, 25th Dynasty, ca. 747 - 656 BCE Medium - Iron and is a symbol of

and is a symbol of fruitfulness and prosperity

Carved from translucent calcite alabaster

the flat sides tapering to a smaller flat base

acquired prior to 1909

A Royal Egyptian Steatite Scarab, 25th Dynasty, ca. 747 - 656 BCE Medium - Iron and is a symbol ofcarved from steatite, with naturalistically rendered legs, pierced horizontally for suspension. Functioning as an amulet, the base is finely inscribed Men Kheper Ra Khmeny. Men Kheper Ra Khmeny was a vassal king of the 25th Dynasty, and all evidence indicates that he ruled in Upper Egypt at Hermopolis. He appears with full royal titles on a plaque in the British Museum. For a related example, see Petrie, Scarabs and Cylinders, pl. LIII, no. 25c 7.