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Heart Scarab

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

The Egyptians worked with gold and semiprecious stones from earliest times. They mined both types of material in the desert east of the Nile and in present-day Sudan, called “Nubia” in ancient times after the ancient Egyptian word for gold (nub). Clearly, objects made from these high-value materials were available only to the highest ranks of society.
MEDIUM Steatite, gold
  • Reportedly From: Saqqara, Egypt
  • DATES 664-525 B.C.E.
    DYNASTY Dynasty 26
    PERIOD Late Period
    DIMENSIONS 7/8 x 1 7/16 x 2 1/16 in. (2.3 x 3.6 x 5.3 cm)  (show scale)
    ACCESSION NUMBER 37.717E
    CREDIT LINE Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION One steatite heart scarab with sheet gold over the base inscribed with 9 lines of hieroglyphs. Not pierced. Condition: Excellent, some denting of gold sheet.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION Heart Scarab, 664-525 B.C.E. Steatite, gold, 7/8 x 1 7/16 x 2 1/16 in. (2.3 x 3.6 x 5.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.717E. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 37.717E_front_PS2.jpg)
    IMAGE front, 37.717E_front_PS2.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2007
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    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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