January 24 Through February 4—TUCSON, ARIZONA: Annual show
Welcome to the GemologyOnline.com Forum
A non-profit Forum for the exchange of gemological ideas
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 10:45 am

All times are UTC - 4 hours




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 17 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next
Author Message
 Post subject: Sacred Beetles of Ancient Egypt used in jewelry
PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2009 5:43 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Übergoddess

Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:16 am
Posts: 3170
"Scarab beetles were venerated, embalmed and sculpted by the ancient Egyptians, and also symbolised in their hierogyphic writing.

It is generally accepted that the sacred scarab beetle of egyptian mythology originated from the species Scarabaeus sacer, although the ancient worship of this beetle was eventually extended to all members of the scarab or dung beetle family.

Image
Scarabaeus sacer "rolling dung"

The sacred 'sun' scarab, giving light and warmth, became a popular symbol in everyday life and small amulets (or seals) in the form of scarab beetles were produced in large quantities, either carved in stone or moulded in glass or faience (a ceramic material made from crushed quartz). The flat underside of such scarab amulets was often decorated with geometric patterns or hieroglyphic inscriptions. Scarab amulets were sometimes set into elaborate pieces of jewelry, but more often they were pierced for threading on a simple cord necklace. There were also special unpierced funerial-type scarab amulets, like the so called 'heart scarab.' These were placed with the mummified bodies of deceased people in their coffins and tombs as a symbol of resurrection and new life." http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk

Image
Peridot Scarab hand-cut by Chinese
http://www.jewelrytelevision.com/

Image
"An original Egyptian Revival winged pendant with a large central carved turquoise scarab measuring approximately 1" (25.4mm) north to south x 7/8" (22.2mm) east to west. Set in 14K gold, the scarab is surrounded by champleve and basse-taille enamel accents in cobalt blue, turquoise, and red; rose cut diamond eyes."
http://www.rwwise.com/products/id|749


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2009 6:01 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Übergoddess

Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:16 am
Posts: 3170
"Scarabs were not the only beetles to capture the imagination of the ancient egyptians. The buprestid or jewel beetle is another type frequently found in tombs and modelled as amulets for hanging on necklaces. The name 'jewel beetle' comes from the vivid metallic colouring of many species, displayed in subtle shades of bright irridescent greens, golds and purple-reds.

Bupestrid amulets were made of several substances, including gold, calcite and faience (glazed pottery). A spectacular necklace trimmed with many golden buprestid beetle amulets, dating from the 6th Dynasty (2345-2181 BC), is on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston USA. An unusual use of the buprestid beetle motif can be seen on the bed-canopy of Queen Hetepheres in the Egyptian Museum Cairo, where golden buprestids decorate the pin-heads holding together the corner posts of the bed-canopy. Queen Hetepheres was the wife of the 4th Dynasty pharaoh Sneferu (2613-2589 BC)."
http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk/

Image
Jewel Beetle from Mexico
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0 ... zoom5.html

Image
"This pendant was manufactured by Charlie Hines using a jewel scarab--plusiotis gloriosa, which is the only jewel scarab native to North America (Arizona)."
http://www.iamanangelchaser.com


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 24, 2009 6:19 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Übergoddess

Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:16 am
Posts: 3170
"Of mythological significance to the ancient egyptians was the elaterid beetle, commonly called the click beetle. Of the elaterid beetles known from Egypt, Keimer (1938) considered Agrypnus notodonta as the most likely species represented in ancient carvings.

Ancient artifacts that appear to depict elaterid beetles include two carved reliefs from the 1st Dynasty (3100-2890 BC) and a necklace of golden click beetle amulets dating from the 4th Dynasty (2613-2494 BC). Of the three artifacts, Kritsky (1991) considered the carved reliefs best indicate the symbolic importance of the click beetle."
http://www.kendall-bioresearch.co.uk/sa ... .htm#click

Image
Elaterid notodonta beetle (Agrypnus)


*reason for edit: dang image "disappeared" into the internets?!


Last edited by gingerkid on Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:41 am, edited 2 times in total.

Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 4:42 am 
Offline
Platinum Member

Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2005 12:47 pm
Posts: 2505
Location: Eastern Europe
What's up with all the bugs!

Not sure when the respective roaches lost their rather fantastic popularity - it has been a while since seen any sign of them in a new jewelry collection (Leighton had Favrille ones reinvented for a stunted attempt at an 'entry' line a few years ago - odd?; Tiffany stopped them mid '80s), but when they were 'in' they sure were so - some serious stones were carved with 'lil legs and dimpled elitrae... I would think some original piecs are still being made into rings every now and then, but you need to get into some museum club dinner to see any.

Barbra, have you come across anything like THIS? I always wondered whether at their time these 'organic' jewelry was a fringe oddity (as it might appear now) or allot more mainstream...

_________________
Vorba multa - saracia omului.[RO]


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:11 am 
Offline
Gemology Online Übergod
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 3:24 am
Posts: 4997
Location: McDonough GA
wow valeria, that's a cool set! I love it!

_________________
http://www.selectgem.com


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:29 am 
Offline
Valued Contributor
User avatar

Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2007 2:28 pm
Posts: 186
Location: Belgium
The Mirror Room in the Belgian Royal Palace has a ceiling decoration made of wing cases of Thai Jewel beetles. An original art work by Jan Fabre. Apparently it's quite spectacular :)

I only found one decent picture...

_________________
Can we become, or must we be?


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:31 am 
Offline
Gemology Online Übergoddess
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 6:13 pm
Posts: 5077
Location: Australia
WOW.
Looks like the chandelier had a makeover too.

_________________
Keep em comin!!! :)


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:48 am 
Offline
Gemology Online Übergoddess

Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:16 am
Posts: 3170
lol! "what's up with all the bugs!"

:shock: i love the scarab jewelry set-exquisite! thanks for showing it to us, valeria!

and i really like the mirror room, keirkof! very cool!


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:53 am 
Offline
Gemology Online Übergoddess

Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:16 am
Posts: 3170
here's an article i found yesterday on the jewel beetle, which apparently has (as the article states), has quite a "bounty on its head."

bright red jewel beetles may sell for $200.00, while the gold specimens may sell for $500.00.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0 ... index.html


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:27 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm
Posts: 21602
Location: San Francisco
Great report Ms. Ginger.
The dung beetle, in ancient Egypt, symbolized rebirth.
Original faience scarabs, were manufactured in ancient Egypt by the 100,000s perhaps millions! It is not clear, precisely, what they were used for.
The faience scarabs have been incorporated into jewels in a revival motif from the early 1900s. They are extremely old and indeed original, but reasonably priced because of their relative abundance.
Revival jewelry has been manufactured throughout history EVERY time ancient sites were excavated.
After Tutankhamen was discovered, in the 20s, Egyptian revival jewels became fashionable:
Image
The Italian archaeological jewelry, specifically "Etruscan Style granulation" by the Giuliano and Castellani Familiy in the 19th Century was inspired by the precious Etruscan, Roman, Greek, Egyptian and Byzantine antiquities being excavated at the time.
Image

The style became popular for the general public and countless "commercial" jewels were also made at the time to fill the demand.
Micromosaics, depicting ancient scenes were the height of fashion for a time in the 1800s. Many survive to this day! Some are exceptional, others distinctly commercial.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 11:32 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm
Posts: 21602
Location: San Francisco
valeria102 wrote:
Barbra, have you come across anything like THIS? I always wondered whether at their time these 'organic' jewelry was a fringe oddity (as it might appear now) or allot more mainstream...


Not specifically...the items appear to be made in the LATE Victorian period as the screw-back mechanism depicted in the photo was not patented until 1894.


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 4:54 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Übergoddess

Joined: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:16 am
Posts: 3170
:D thanks, ms. barbra!!

and more thanks for sharing more history and pictures on the scarabs!!

i've noticed that the scarab gemstone pieces are making a slow comeback.

my mother gave me a scarab gemstone bracelet years ago. the gemstone scarabs were bezel set in gold and were probably 9x7mm each. unfortunately, the bracelet was taken away from me by mother and given to my first cousin. i was glad to give the bracelet to my cousin, just surprised my mother took it from me. :cry:


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 5:36 pm 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Sun Oct 16, 2005 12:22 pm
Posts: 21602
Location: San Francisco
Egyptian inspired pieces will be big again this season, King Tut is on tour:
His gear is in San Francisco right now:
http://www.tutsanfrancisco.org/


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 10:30 pm 
Offline
Gemology Online Übergoddess
User avatar

Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 6:13 pm
Posts: 5077
Location: Australia
Barbra those pieces are magnificent. I'm going back for another peek.

_________________
Keep em comin!!! :)


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 5:25 am 
Offline
Platinum Member

Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2005 12:47 pm
Posts: 2505
Location: Eastern Europe
Barbra Voltaire wrote:
Egyptian inspired pieces will be big again this season...


Someone might be disappointed by the original after a doze - literary even - of Castellani revivals. Wouldn't be for the right reasons, but...


Barbra Voltaire wrote:
valeria102 wrote:
Barbra, have you come across anything like THIS? I always wondered whether at their time these 'organic' jewelry was a fringe oddity (as it might appear now) or allot more mainstream...


Not specifically...the items appear to be made in the LATE Victorian period as the screw-back mechanism depicted in the photo was not patented until 1894.


You are right, of course: that didn't have anything more to do with Egyptian revivals then a live dung beetle.

Come to think of it, there always were two reasons to sympathise with the scarab things: the Egyptian story, and the endearing representatives of the same genus. Not necessarily a rational connection, but perhaps not a very quirky personal one either: perhaps it was an unexpected effect of the revival jewelry to make the motif culturally acceptable beyond any historic meaning.

Sure thing, there was no sapphire scarab in Egypt to revive and the wonderful revival pieces above pay little attention to whatever was known about the related mythology when they were made. Even with them, the imagery was reinvented, re-packaged. If that was then, all that more easy to make an excuse for wild interpretation a century on! [fingers crossed]

For Jan Fabre beetles meant "passage to death", the memory implicit to evolution and such. It may not be a technically legitimate* thing to put him and the presumed reading of New Kingdom mythology [the winged thing spells out royal attributes connecting resurrection to some mechanics of a cyclical universe - what were they thinking?] in the same paragraph, but - it is darn tempting to do so and where better? Wonderful to have latitude with jewelry. Of course, I could not agree more that one has to keep history straight before bending the hell out of it. It's all terribly dull otherwise**.

____
*
**

_________________
Vorba multa - saracia omului.[RO]


Top
 Profile  
Reply with quote  
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 17 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2  Next

All times are UTC - 4 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 11 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
Gemology Style ported to phpBB3 by Christian Bullock