Ancient Egypt, Third Intermediate Period, 21st to 25th Dynasty, ca. 1070 to 664 BCE. A stunning scarab pendant formed from a fragment of blue-green amazonite that exhibits incredibly lustrous surfaces as well as integral crystalline structures. The topside of the pendant displays characteristic insectile features such as a folded wing carapace, sinuous legs tucked beneath the bulky body, and a narrow head with a smooth frontal clypeus, all atop an integral ovoid plinth. Incised along the bottom face is a right-facing image of an Apis bull laying recumbent with one foreleg extended in front of its bovine body. The bull presents with a slender tail coiled around its rump as well as a raised head presenting a grand pair of horns. Size: 0.5" L x 0.375" W (1.3 cm x 1 cm)

Apis was originally worshipped by Narmer, the ruler who unified Upper and Lower Egypt around 3000 BCE - the sacred bull is shown trampling the pharaoh's enemies on the Narmer palette that commemorates the unification. Three thousand years later, by the time of Roman control of Egypt, the worship continued. Though centered around the city of Memphis, the cult of Apis was so extensive in Egypt that the Greeks and Romans wrote about it repeatedly. The famous French archaeologist Mariette, excavating at the Serapeum of Saqqara, found the mummified remains of more than sixty bulls, some buried in their own separate tombs.

Provenance: private Colorado, USA collection, acquired April 28, 2021; ex-private Orange, California, USA collection; ex-Phillip Mitry collection, noted antiquities dealer in Cairo, Egypt before emigrating to the United States in 1951

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#164487

Very small nicks around lower periphery, with softening to some insectile features on topside and Apis bull imagery on bottom, and light encrustations within some recessed areas, otherwise intact and excellent. Beautiful stone coloration throughout, and fantastic preservation to Apis bull image.