Heart Scarab of Nefer
Unknown Artist
1540–1296 BCE
Medium
graywacke
Dimensions
2.9 × 5.7 × 7.6 cm
Classification
Scarabs
Department
Egyptian and Ancient Near Eastern Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Charles W. Harkness Endowment Fund
Accession Number
1921.1030
About this artwork
The design features in these objects borrow various ancient Egyptian funerary elements. The scale illustrated on top of the Cartier vanity case refers to the scale used in Osiris’s final judgment of the deceased. Amulets like the heart scarab were essential to the mummification process. They were placed throughout the mummy’s wrappings to protect the deceased during their journey in the afterlife. These inspired the Dior brooch seen on the model here. The ancient Egyptians believed amulets carri...