The Sacred Beetle

The Sacred Beetle
A popular treatise on Egyptian scarabs in Art and history. A popular Treatise on Egyptian Scarabs. By John Ward, F.S.A.Five Hundred Examples of Scarabs and Cylinders, F. Llewellyn Griffith M.A. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street, 1902. Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to his Majesty, St. Matin's Lane, Londan.

THE SACRED BEETLE.

The Sacred Beetle. By John Ward, F.S.A. 500 Examples of Scarabs and Cylinders. The Translations by F. Llewellyn Griffi. h. (J. Murray. 10s. Ca. net.)—To most people who have travelled in Egypt the scarab has proved an agreeable snare. It is the most portable and tempting of antiquities, and it is almost sure to be forged. Matters, however, have advanced since Mr. Loftie wrote his suggestive "Essay of Scarabs" seventeen years ago, and if purchasers of these inviting little antikas are still taken in, it is their own fault. Professor Petrie's accurate draw- ings of a large number of historical scarabs provide sure tests of genuineness, and quite recently Mr. George Fraser, another very competent scholar, has published an elaborate catalogue of his own collection. Finally, Mr. Ward, whose "Pyramids and Progress," published in 1900, contain° 1 a good plate of scarabs, has now issued a complete description of his fine cabinet, with full photographic illustration, and every assistance necessary in the way of commentary and explanation. The name of Mr. Griffith is suffi. lent warranty for the acsuraey of the transliterations and translations of the hieroglyphics, and Mr. Ward himself has spared no pains to make the work as complete as possible. Considering very naturally that a catalogue of scarabs—even if they included some of the "gold bugs" which were manufactured from the time of the Twelfth Dynasty—would not prove generally interesting to the public whom he wishes to attract to his favourite study, Mr. Ward has endeavoured to bring his scarabs into close relation with Egyptian history. When describing a stone bearing a King's name, he does not confine himself to the bare record of the inscription, but names the salient events and monuments of the reign, and supplements these with, if possible, a portrait of the King from some temple statue, or with an illustration of the chief building of the period. Thus we find a brief sketch of Egyptian history linked in an attractive and stimulating manner to the scarabs of the different Puaraohs, together with allusions to the very latest discoveries, such as Petrie's at Abydos. In a useful though discursive intro_ duction Mr. Ward treats of the origin and history of scarabs; but neither he nor any one else has discovered why these odd little beetle-backed documents should have been made in such quantities by the ancient Egyptians. True, they were un- doubtedly emblems of immortality, and might be fittingly used as amulets; but their small and fairly uniform size and shape seem to suggest some more practical use. Mr. Ward throws out, a hint of their possible employment as money ; but in that case, as he admits, Herodotus would hardly have failed to mention them, yet the Greek traveller apparently never so much as heard of scarabs. The gem of the collection, to our mind, is the unique scarab of Taharqa—the Tirhakah of 2 Kings xix.—and it is particularly interesting that Mr Ward is able to give illustra- tions of the statue of the Aethiopian King's wife, from Gebel Barkal, now preserved in the Museum of the University of. Sydney, The photograph is supplied by the veteran Sir Charles "N cholson, who was Chancellor of the New South Wales University something like sixty years ago, and who still keeps up his consistent interest in Egyptology despite his ninety-three years. A specially curious branch of scarabs is well illustrated in tale collection ; we mean those engraved with peculiar symbols and scroll ornaments. Something has been done to elucidate the history of ornament by means of these very valuable examples, but much may yet be discovered. Comparisons between them and the " Aegean " decoration are instructive, but it is possible that the symbols may turn out to be something even more re- markable than mere parents of decorative art. As usual we look to the explorations of the ingenious Dr. Arthur Evans for new lights on an obscure subject. Meanwhile Mr. Ward's admir- able photographs of five hundred scarabs and inscribed cylinders provide ample food for speculation. Not only every student of Egyptology, but all who are interested in antiquities, will be charmed with this beautiful and instructive, yet never preten- tious. volume