Ancient => no, really, really fricken ancient!! => it's "Scarab Time"!!

Man, I'm sorry, but I'm absolutely lovin' these lil' babies!!


=> okay sure, they're not coins ... oh, and as per usual I'm way outside of my comfort-zone ...


=> BUT OH MY GOD, these things are sooooo fricken cool, yes?!!!

2nd Intermediate Period Steatite scarab
Circa 1650-1550 BC
Diameter: 23 x 16 mm
Obverse: Base engraved with an antelope walking right; palm branches in field. A few minor chips and cracks, otherwise intact, part of greenish-brown glaze remaining, pierced for mounting.
From the David Hendin Collection





2nd Intermediate Period Steatite scarab
Circa 1650-1550 BC
Diameter: 21 x 15 mm
Obverse: Base engraved with two crocodiles back-to-back. Intact, once glazed, pierced for mounting.
From the David Hendin Collection






... yah, I know that they're not coins .... but because we are lovers of really cool, old things, I'm hoping that you think these scarabs are "all that"!!

 

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They are "all that". I want a clay tablet with an IOU on it to really have the first money.

 

Daaaang! Those are phat. Needless to say, they were ancient when my ancient coins were circulated!

 

Batman => I know that you have examples even cooler than mine ... so please feel free to post 'em!!

 

Seriously though => now I actually own something that somebody crafted over "3600" years ago!!

... are you kiddin' me? ... man, I 'love" the internet!!

=> oh, and you guys!!!!

 

Oh .... and yes => man, ya gotta love the animal coins, eh?!!

 

Well, I only have one :soccer:

 

How cool is that, eh?


Yah, I can hardly wait to take a few orthographic photos of my new dawgs!!


... but holy crap, they are super-cool lookin' bugs, eh?


=> Scarabs Rock!!

 

These are awesome!

But when are we ever?

Utterly Amazing Steve!



Yours is a beauty too Dionysos!

 

Bugs !!!!!!!

 

Awesome!!

 

wow....those are very cool. dig that crazy egyptian stuff man...


ancient high five




but what were they? jewelry?

 

Most of them are holed, so it seem that these were worn in some way.

Something written by a member (Russ) on FAC about the things...

"Holes in scarabs. Most scarabs were suspended from string, and wires; or mounted in swivel rings. so they were drilled along their longitudinal axis, very rarely across the longitudinal axis. If a scarab was to be made from faience, a terra cotta (clay) mold was made, in two pieces - the bottom and top halves - and a rod, perhaps a pieces of copper or even wax covered string was laid between the two halves The faience was poured into the mold and when the faience dried, the scarab was removed, glazed and fired. Some scarabs and amulets are referred to as"kiln wasters" - something happened in the kiln and the scarabs were spoiled. Sometimes, the hole was filled with molten glaze and the scarab could not be threaded - thus a scarab or amulet with an incomplete hole. The vast majority of steatite and hard stone scarabs were drilled half way through from both ends and met in the middle. Often times, the drilling was not very precise and you could see how the drills strayed in translucent or clear stones like rock crystal, amethyst, carnelian, etc. The holes at each end tend to be wide in diameter and taper as the drill proceeded into the stone. The drill moved, it drifted a bit until a dimple or hollow was formed in the stone; once the drill bit was seated, drilling could be more accurate. The drill bit was probably a copper or soft bronze rod, tapped into emery or hard quartz sand. As the emery imbedded in the copper was rotated by the bow drill, the harder sand cut into the softer material. There are exceptions to every rule - scarabs made for pharaohs show just how accurate royal artisans could be. Some scarabs have no holes, these were to be inlayed into another material or were to be inserted between mummy bandages. Naturally, the hugh temple scarabs measuring about 3 x 5 feet were not drilled."

 

Very cool! I love scarabs - they seem to usually be pretty small though (based on what I saw at CNG). Does anyone know the size ranges of these and if larger examples come up for sale? I admit I know very little about them.

If only ancient Egypt had coinage with hieroglyphics on them...

 

Ummm, I'm pretty sure that my good ol' "Antelope" at 23mm x 18 mm was the "King-Size" of David Hendrin's collection?!! ...


... and my crocodile-dawg was Queen-sized!!


:sniper: :whistle: :whistle:

 

Don't know much about these either, but I've seen fairly larger ones, the so called "heart scarabs"... I think ? Mine looks more like a ladybug with its 14 mm

 

Sorry => Lot #1971 is apparently 25mm x 18 mm ..... so it is the "King"


Ummm, but the average size seems to be 18 to 19 mm (ummm, but this is merely from this one Dude's collection, right?)

 

What does it say? A woman's name?

 

No name (would have been in a cartouche). The best I could do was with the 2 characters left wich "should" say "Son of Ra". A work still in progress...

 

Yah, my examples are a bit easier to figure out .........


=> ummm, antelope and crocodiles ... end of story