ClassificationsAncient Near Eastern Art

Scarab

AAT Object Form/Functionscarabs (carvings)

AAT Object Form/Functiongems (worked stones)

AAT Object Form/Functionfigures (representations)

CulturePhoenician

PeriodIron Age II

Date7th Century BCE

MediumSteatite

Credit LineGift in honor of the wedding of Valerie Seefried and Wells Henderson

Dimensions5/8 x 1/2 in. (1.6 x 1.3 cm)

Object number2008.015.001

Label TextThe Phoenicians adopted many Egyptian decorative motifs, and one of their favorites was the sphinx, though in the Near Eastern versions wings are usually added to the creature, as is the case here. The sphinx is carved on the underside of a scarab in an Egyptianizing style. Seated on a neb sign/basket, he wears the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, and in front of his chest is an ankh. This scarab was probably carved by a Phoenician craftsman on the coast of the Levant, but such seals are found widely throughout the Near East and the Mediterranean and are evidence of the vast trading network of the Phoenicians.

ProvenancePurchased by donor from Youspaul Antiquities, Lebanon, December 23, 2007.

Status

Not on view

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