A good Egyptian Greenstone Heart Scarab, Late Period, ca. 664 - 332 BCE

The scarab’s association with the daily rebirth of the young sun god, Khepri, gave the beetle a prominent role in funerary contexts. In this example, the body conforms to the usual scarabaeus sacer; the eyes and head are carved on the five-notched shield (clypeus). The first segment of the upper body (prothorax) and wings (elytrae) are separated by incised lines, while the legs (tibiae) to the side, are tucked underneath the body. As is to be expected, this heart scarab has no borehole and is uninscribed on the base. Background: The heart scarab, which first appears in Dynasty XIII, played an important role in the funerary accessories of the deceased. Not only was it the medium for magical text, it was also a symbol of self-generation and rebirth. It provided the deceased wearer with the assurance that at the final judgment, he would be found "true of voice" and accepted into the eternal afterlife under the rule of the god Osiris. Many heart scarabs bear part or all of what is known as