Faience scarab, with well modelled body displaying the carapace, and legs folded along the side of the body; pierced for suspension. To the lower underside is the god Khepere in the form of a scarab flanked by two feathers symbolizing Maat, or truth. Above is a cartouche bearing the throne name of Tuthmosis III, “Menkhperre,” meaning “Lasting is the manifestation of Ra”. Hieroglyphs above the cartouche are worn but indicate a title such as “Lord of the Heavens”. New kingdom, Eighteenth Dynasty, reign of Tuthmosis III 1479 – 1425 BC,
16mm long.

This scarab functioned as an individualized amulet and was originally mounted or threaded. The amulet would ensure for its owner support by the royal authority of the divine king, Thutmosis III, as well as divine protection.

For similar see The Walters Art Gallery, accession number 42.68

Provenance: Purchased during the Second World War by Major G.A.D Gordon (Royal Army Medical Corps) from Sayad Molattam, a dealer in antiquities based at Luxor Hotel Street. Mr Gordon's personal war diaries, which are now held in the Museum of Military Medicine in Aldershot, date his stay in Luxor from the 21st of February to the 1st of March 1942.