An Ancient Egyptian turquoise-glazed faience scarab decorated with hieroglyphs to the reverse. The obverse features a stylised head and clypeus. The elytra and prothorax indicated with incised lines. To the reverse is a blessing to the deity Amun. The top three hieroglyphs form his name; the draughtboard 'men' sign, the water ripple 'n' and the feather of Maat, 'a'. Underneath is the 's', folded cloth sign and the 'ankh sign, translated as 'life'. Together the signs combine to transliterate as: 'Imn ankh-s'. They translate as: 'Amun is her life'. The Egyptian god, Amun-Ra, was a highly important deity in the Egyptian pantheon. Originally, he was worshipped as two gods, the creator of the universe, Amun, and the sun-god, Ra. He gained national importance after the defeat of the Hyksos at Thebes in the 16th century, and it is from this date that Amun and Ra were conjoined into one god. As his position grew, Amun-Ra’s worship was almost monotheistic in nature, with the other gods considered manifestations of him. So great was his influence that he was theologically fused with the Greek god Zeus from the Ptolemaic period, to form Zeus Ammon. Alexander the Great claimed divine descent as the son of Amun. Measurements: L 1.5cm x W 1.2cm x H 0.7cm Provenance: Ex Mustaki Collection, early 20th century, UK.