Egyptian
Fragment of a Scarab Ring, 2000 BCE - 1340 BCE
Steatite with gold hardware , 1.7 x 1.9 cm (11/16 x 3/4 in.)
This fragment of an Egyptian ring is made of green steatite with gold hardware. The scarab is turquoise in color with some gold coloring on the top, probably from age. 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. On the flat underside there are indecipherable hieroglyphs. A gold metal rod runs through the body of the scarab and attaches to a remnant of the ring’s shaft.
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.