Scarab of Ramesses II
Unknown Artist
ca. 1295–1070 B.C.
Medium
Glazed steatite
Dimensions
H. 2.1 × W. 1.4 cm (13/16 × 9/16 in.)
Classification
Scarab, Ramesses II
Period
New Kingdom, Ramesside
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Helen Miller Gould, 1910
Accession Number
10.130.113
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the **Scarab of Ramesses**, a tiny yet mighty artifact from ancient Egypt's New Kingdom (ca. 1295–1070 B.C.), the Ramesside period of Dynasties 19–20. Crafted during or evoking the era of Ramesses II, the "Great," one of Egypt's most powerful pharaohs known for his monumental building projects like Abu Simbel and the Battle of Kadesh, this glazed steatite scarab just 2.1 x 1.4 cm. housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Egyptian Art Department—thanks to a 1910 gift from Helen Miller Gould—it exemplifies the era's reverence for eternity and divine kingship. In Egyptian culture, scara...