ISAC’s “Khepri” is in the form of a scarab beetle, one of the most important amulets (like a good-luck charm) from ancient Egypt. The scarab (kheper in ancient Egyptian) is the hieroglyph that means “to come into being,” and so it was worn as jewelry by both the living and the dead. Its potent symbolism comes from the observation of the beetle rolling a little ball of dung toward its nest from which its young hatch. The Egyptians equated this ball and rebirth with the orb of the sun that was reborn each day as it travelled across the sky.
ISAC’s Khepri is inspired by a scarab of the God’s Wife Hatshepsut whose name and title are written on the bottom. The scarab was made when she was the wife and queen of Thutmose II, but Hatshepsut later ruled as pharaoh from 1473–1458 BCE after the death of her husband. The scarab (ISAC E25260) was a gift to Harold Nelson, the first Field Director of the University of Chicago’s Epigraphic Survey, from his staff on his 50thbirthday in November 1928.
plushie for all ages 5" diameter
