A Phoenician Carnelian Scarab with Cartouche

Circa Mid to Late 7th Century B.C.

Length 1/2 inch (1.27 cm).

Provenance:

Numismatic & Ancient Art Galley, Zurich, 1990. [Inv. no. 1129.16]

This Phoenician scarab, engraved with a cartouche of Pharaoh Thutmose III, exemplifies the widespread dissemination of Egyptian iconography throughout the Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age. Comparable examples include a scarab discovered at Castellar de Librilla, Spain, dating to the 7th century B.C. (see G. Martínez et al., 2022, The Prestige-Goods Model Applied to the Iberian Southeast during the Early Iron Age, p. 83). Further parallels are found in museum collections, such as a Phoenician faience scarab at the British Museum (Acc. no. 1894,1101.616) and a four-winged scarab with Thutmose III’s cartouche in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem (Acc. no. 76.30.1924).

Inspected under UV light and 10x loupe. Some deposits, scratches, and encrustations typical of age. Overall in fine and stable condition. See additional images.

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Jacob Coley

Senior Vice President, Head of Department, Antiquities and Ancient Art

[email protected]312 280 1212

Mr. Coley joined the Antiquities department in 2021 after working as Managing Director in the Ancient Art department at Colnaghi, the world’s oldest commercial art gallery, where he helped to establish the Ancient Art department and launched Colnaghi New York in 2017. Prior to Colnaghi, Mr. Coley was in the Greek and Roman Art department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mr. Coley holds a B.A. from the University of Miami and an M.A. in Art Market from the Fashion Institute of Technology, and he earned an art-appraisal certificate from New York University.

Jewelry Through the Ages: Ancient to Neoclassical

A Phoenician Carnelian Scarab with Cartouche

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