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The Heart Scarab of Hatnefer is a piece of
As noted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hatnefer's name was inscribed on the piece over another name, indicating that the scarab was originally not meant for her.
funerary
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture ...
jewelry
Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...
dating to the 15th century BC. Done in gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
and serpentinite
Serpentinite is a rock composed predominantly of one or more serpentine group minerals, the name originating from the similarity of the texture of the rock to that of the skin of a snake. Serpentinite has been called ''serpentine'' or ''ser ...
, the Heart scarab
The heart scarab is an oval, scarab artifact dating from ancient Egypt. Mostly an amulet, it was also used as jewelry, a memorializing artifact, or a grave good. The heart scarab was used by referring to Chapter 30 from the Book of the Dead a ...
was intended to be interred
Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
with a person of importance. The piece is currently in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
.
Description
The work, dating to the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, is intricately detailed; the scarab (a common symbol associated with the godKhepri
Khepri (Egyptian: ''ḫprj,'' also transliterated Khepera, Kheper, Khepra, Chepri) is a scarab-faced god in ancient Egyptian religion who represents the rising or morning sun. By extension, he can also represent creation and the renewal of life. ...
) at the center of the work is carved from a single mottled grey-green serpentinite
Serpentinite is a rock composed predominantly of one or more serpentine group minerals, the name originating from the similarity of the texture of the rock to that of the skin of a snake. Serpentinite has been called ''serpentine'' or ''ser ...
stone. This figure is mounted on a gold base, and is fastened to said base by more gold. A chapter from the Book of the Dead
The ''Book of the Dead'' ( egy, 𓂋𓏤𓈒𓈒𓈒𓏌𓏤𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓅱𓇳𓏤, ''rw n(y)w prt m hrw(w)'') is an ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom ...
is inscribed on the object, indicating that the work was intended to be buried with Egyptian noblewoman Hatnefer. Specificity, the inscription invokes Spell 30 from Chapter A of the Book of the Dead, entreating the gods to not judge Hatnefer's heart in the afterlife.
As noted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hatnefer's name was inscribed on the piece over another name, indicating that the scarab was originally not meant for her.
References
15th century BC in Egypt 15th-century BC works Jewellery of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Scarabs (artifacts) Gold objects {{art-stub