Faience scarab with plain body and just the head area defined, the legs folded to the side of the body; pierced for suspension. To the underside a band of hieroglyphs are framed by two “nub” symbols meaning “lord” or “sovereignty”. Hyksos, Second Intermediate Period, 1648-1539 BC,
18mm long

The central band of hieroglyphs are to grant magical and/or divine support (a-n-r-pattern) and regeneration (lotus). It is not possible to determine the exact meaning of the a-n-r-pattern, although several options, such as a relation to the name of the god Re, or to a magical formula are the most favoured.

For a similar example see The Walters Art Museum, accession number 42.19

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 the Luxor Hotel. 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.