Image Details

MMA, THEODORE M. DAVIS COLLECTION, BEQUEST OF THEODORE M. DAVIS, 1915

HYKSOS KING KHYAN’S SCARAB. Inserted in a gold mount, this approximately 1-inch-long steatite scarab features the king’s name in a cartouche preceded by the title “Son of Re” and followed by the phrase “given life.” Dating from the height of Hyksos rule during the 17th and 16th centuries B.C.E., the scarab confirms the power and grandeur of this dynasty of foreign rulers that would eventually become one of ancient Egypt’s most reviled.