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Mounted Scarab of Hatshepsut

Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

On View: Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor
Personal Arts

The reigns of Hatshepsut through Thutmose IV represent a transitional phase in Eighteenth Dynasty art.


At first, artists continued to favor simple, elegant forms common earlier in the dynasty, but eventually they developed elaborate, highly detailed designs that dominated the dynasty’s final decades. Under Amunhotep II and Thutmose IV, for example, craftsmen increased the use of a soft, pastel blue pigment that had been invented during the reign of Thutmose III. Potters also molded vessels in human and animal form, and artisans rediscovered the Middle Kingdom fascination for colorful stones such as red carnelian.

Art historians consider the scarabs (beetleshaped amulets) of this era among the finest ever made. Figure Vase of Woman Holding Dog
MEDIUM Gold, steatite, glaze
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS
DATES ca. 1478-1458 B.C.E.
DYNASTY Dynasty 18
PERIOD New Kingdom
DIMENSIONS 9/16 × 7/8 in. (1.4 × 2.2 cm)  (show scale)
ACCESSION NUMBER 35.1118
CREDIT LINE Gift of Theodora Wilbour from the collection of her father, Charles Edwin Wilbour
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Brown steatite scarab, green glazed, inscribed with cartouche of Hatshepsut between feathers. Scarab set in gold mounting originally part of a seal-ring. Pieces longitudinally. Gold mounting slightly dented. Glaze of scarab. Worn. Fine workmanship.
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Egyptian Orientation Gallery, 3rd Floor
CAPTION Mounted Scarab of Hatshepsut, ca. 1478-1458 B.C.E. Gold, steatite, glaze, 9/16 × 7/8 in. (1.4 × 2.2 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of Theodora Wilbour from the collection of her father, Charles Edwin Wilbour, 35.1118. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.35.1118_erg456.jpg)
IMAGE overall, CUR.35.1118_erg456.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 10/15/2010
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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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