Egyptian
Scarab, 1340 BCE - 1200 BCE
Stone, 1.3 x 1 cm (1/2 x 3/8 in.)
This Egyptian scarab is approximately thumbnail size and made of a green and white stone. It is oval with a flat bottom and a domed upper surface carved into a beetle form. The beetle’s body is divided by two perpendicular incised lines to form a large pair of closed wings and a smaller upper region. A tiny central head flanked by short thick antennae has been simplistically carved adjacent to the torso. The scarab is unevenly covered with translucent blue-green glaze. On the upper surface, the blue-green coloring is thicker and more pronounced along its lower edge, the mid-line separating the two wings, and where the body body parts are delineated. There is a network of irregular cracks covering the upper surface and it is stained with irregular, dark brown areas. Incised deeply into the bottom are a series of marks.
Macknight Room
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.