Scarab Seals
Reproductions
The large scarab seal in the collection commemorates the Kushite Victory of the Pharaoh Shabaka (also known as Shabako). Shabaka (716-702 BC) was king of Egypt during the 25th ancient Egyptian Nubian dynasty (745-656 BC).
This Egyptian scarab is a seal made of stone, carved in the shape of a dung beetle. The dung beetle (Scarabaeus sacer), which lays its eggs in dung balls fashioned through rolling, was carved on the back side of the seal, perhaps because the beetle represented a symbol of resurrection and long life. The scarab beetles deposited their eggs in balls of dung and pushed them in front of them. This reminded the ancient Egyptians of the creator god Kheper-Re, who allegedly rolled the sun across the sky causing it to be reborn each morning. Because the life of the young emerged from the ball, the dung beetle was a symbol of eternal life with the god, Kheper-Re.
It was in the 12th Egyptian dynasty that scarab seals became common, used as identification stamps on official documents, similar to the manner in which the Chinese use identification “chops” to this day. The great majority of the thousands of scarab seals were quite small, as evidenced by the various scarab seals used by Egyptian leaders during different periods of biblical history. The large Shabako Scarab Seal from the 8th century B.C. is a rather rare representation of Egyptian scarab seals.
This Egyptian scarab is a seal made of stone, carved in the shape of a dung beetle. The dung beetle (Scarabaeus sacer), which lays its eggs in dung balls fashioned through rolling, was carved on the back side of the seal, perhaps because the beetle represented a symbol of resurrection and long life. The scarab beetles deposited their eggs in balls of dung and pushed them in front of them. This reminded the ancient Egyptians of the creator god Kheper-Re, who allegedly rolled the sun across the sky causing it to be reborn each morning. Because the life of the young emerged from the ball, the dung beetle was a symbol of eternal life with the god, Kheper-Re.
It was in the 12th Egyptian dynasty that scarab seals became common, used as identification stamps on official documents, similar to the manner in which the Chinese use identification “chops” to this day. The great majority of the thousands of scarab seals were quite small, as evidenced by the various scarab seals used by Egyptian leaders during different periods of biblical history. The large Shabako Scarab Seal from the 8th century B.C. is a rather rare representation of Egyptian scarab seals.
