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ID number:  ECM 1131
Named collection:  The Eton Myers Collection
Title / Object name:  Heart Scarab
Object type:  Amulet
Culture:  Egyptian
Date made:  New Kingdom to Late Period (ca. 1550-332 BCE)
Collector:  Myers, William Joseph
Materials:  Stone (green jasper?)
Measurements:  overall: 4.87 cm x 3.51 cm x 1.78 cm (H x W x D)
Provenance:  Unknown
ECM1131.i.jpg

Large heart scarab of green stone with traces of gilding and remains of black resin. The elytra (or wing cases) are striated and the base is flat and uncarved. Unlike most scarab amulets, this heart scarab does not have a piercing.

Notes:  This heart scarab contains faint traces of the gilding, which once may have covered the entire scarab. Although the base is uninscribed, its use as a heart scarab can be inferred from its large size as well as its lack of a perforation to hang on a necklace.

Heart scarabs were generally larger in size than other scarab amulets and were made out of a hard, dark stone, such as ECM 1131. Their bases would be inscribed with Chapter 30b from the Book of the Dead, as seen on ECM 1606. When placed in the mummy wrappings over the heart of a deceased person, the spell would cause the heart to be lighter when weighed against the feather of truth (maat) and thus allow the deceased safe passage into the afterlife.

3 Related Media Items

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1 Related People

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Myers, William Joseph
British
1858-08
1899-10-30
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