Mummy Scarab

Inscriptions

Base, legend stamped: “Menkheperre,” flanked by uraeii

Label

There was an explosion of interest in Ancient Egypt following Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of Egypt from 1798 to 1801. While Napoleon led the campaign to protect and extend French trade interests, his army was accompanied by 167 scientists who surveyed and recorded their discoveries in Egypt. Their published findings fueled popular interest in Ancient Egypt, sometimes called “Egyptomania,” which was revitalized in 1922 when Howard Carter discovered Tutankhamen’s tomb. Wealthy Westerners flocked to Egypt as vacationers or amateur archaeologists, bringing back both antiquities and forgeries.

This case features a selection of scarabs, an insect that featured in Ancient Egyptian art as a symbol of the sun and regeneration. Their simple form allowed for creation in a variety of sizes and materials. It is unclear if any of the original owners of the objects in this case purchased the scarabs knowing that they were modern reproductions or forgeries rather than true antiquities. Can you tell which is which?

From the 2025 exhibition Stone, Sand, and Clay: Connecting Cultures in the Ancient Mediterranean, curated by Ashley B. Offill, Curator of Collections

Course History

ANTH 12.5, Death and the Afterlife in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Virginia Herrmann, Winter 2014

ANTH 12.5, Death and the Afterlife in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Virginia Herrmann, Winter 2014

REL 55, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Susan Ackerman, Spring 2015

REL 55, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Susan Ackerman, Spring 2015

REL 55, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Susan Ackerman, Fall 2019

REL 55, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Susan Ackerman, Fall 2019

REL 55, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Susan Ackerman, Fall 2019

REL 55, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Susan Ackerman - INDEPENDENT VIEWING, Fall 2019

Classical Studies 12.02, Greek and Roman Engineering and Technology, Margaretha Kramer, Spring 2024

Classics 12.02, Greek & Roman Engineering & Technology, Margaretha Kramer, Spring 2025

History 10.02, Archival Research, Julia Rabig, Summer 2025

Anthropology 31.01, Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies 36.01, Gender in Cross Cultural Perspectives, Sabrina Billings, Fall 2025

Theater 15.01, Theatre & Society I, Samantha Lazar, Fall 2025

Exhibition History

Egyptian Antiquities at Dartmouth, Highlights from the Hood Museum of Art, Alvin P. Gutman Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, February 12, 2011-August 13, 2012.

Stone, Sand, and Clay: Connecting Cultures in the Ancient Mediterranean, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 7, 2025 - Ongoing

The Age of the Marvelous, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, September 21-November 24, 1991; North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, North Carolina, January 25-March 22, 1992; The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, May 24-August 25, 1992; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, October 6, 1992-January 3, 1993, naturalia no. n156.

Provenance

Numismatic Fine Arts, Inc. Auction III, Item 14, February 1978; Harmer Rooke Numismatists, Ltd, New York, 1982; Virginia Williamson, 1982-1990; given to present collection, 1990.

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Subjects