Heart Scarab with Scene of the Goddess Ma`at and a Phoenix
Description
Object Label: Living persons wore only one or a few amulets at a time, but mummies usually bear many amulets. The Ma’at amulet (no. 2) and heart scarabs (nos. 1, 3, 11), which occurred in many forms, guaranteed a successful judgment of the dead. The amulets of a hand (no. 8), lungs and a windpipe (no. 12), and wadjet-eyes (i.e., “healthy” eyes; no. 4) protected those parts of the body and also had connotations of resurrection and the unity or integrity of the mummy. The enigmatic aper amulet (no. 13) takes the form of the hieroglyph meaning “to be equipped,” perhaps in reference to the mummy’s preparation. The two crowns (nos. 5, 6) were symbols of power. The Heh insignia (no. 7), like the popular ankh-sign, denoted eternal life. Among the living, the frog (no. 9) and possibly also the hare (no. 10) suggested fertility. The amulets of the Four Sons of Horus (no. 15) perhaps served, as they did with canopic jars, to protect various organs of the body. Caption: Heart Scarab with Scene of the Goddess Ma`at and a Phoenix, ca. 893–868 B.C.E.. Egyptian blue (frit), traces of gold, 6 × 1 3/4 × 1 5/8 in. (15.2 × 4.4 × 4.1 cm) Weight: 0.1 lb. (41.95 g). Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Ernest Erickson Foundation, Inc., 86.226.22. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
AI image analysis GPT-4o-2024-08-06
Machine-generated from the object's image on May 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
An ancient Egyptian scarab seal with hieroglyphic inscriptions.
The artifact depicted is a scarab seal, which features well-defined hieroglyphic inscriptions carved into its surface. The scarab, symbolizing transformation and protection, is detailed with precision. The inscriptions are likely of royal or administrative significance, characteristic of seals used for official documents in ancient Egypt.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 86.226.22 tier-2
- BKM-Object 4246 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.