tour 4 of 21
Audio description tour
Giant sculpture of a scarab beetle
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The scarab beetle, or 'dung' beetle, is one of the enduring
symbols of ancient Egypt, representing re-birth and associated with
the rising sun. This giant sculpture of a scarab is made from an
oval block of green stone called diorite. It is so dark it is
almost black: its gleaming surface pitted and scarred. The block
measures just over one and a half metres long and about a metre
wide, and stands a metre high. The beetle is carved from the top
third of the block, as though it is sitting on a plinth.
Except for its colossal size, the scarab is carved
naturalistically. The shell is flat on top but gently curves down
at the sides. The edge of the shell is defined by a double line
incised into the stone all the way round. Another line cuts across
the shell, dividing the front section - the prothorax - from the
beetle's wing cases. Each wing case is decorated with a V-shaped
groove.
The front section of the shell curves down towards the giant
beetle's protruding head, which is topped by a crinkly-edged,
shield-like part known as the 'clypeus'. The front legs of the
scarab curve towards the head, following the rounded edge of the
plinth. The tips of these legs are 'feathered' by notches carved
out of the stone. The middle set of legs emerge from the shell
immediately behind the front legs, but curve the opposite way,
towards the back of the beetle. The rear legs curve around the
back, but a large section of the sculpture is missing, including
the rear right leg and a portion of the plinth.
This sculpture is one of the largest known representations of a
scarab. It is thought to be from the Ptolemaic period - from 305-30
BC - but could be earlier. The sculpture may once have stood in an
Egyptian temple but it was found in Constantinople - modern
Istanbul in Turkey. It might have been taken there after
Constantinople became the capital of the Roman Empire in AD 330.
The sculpture was bought in the nineteenth century by Lord
Elgin.