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Scarabs?????
my friend's old stepfather who was into the occult gave her an egyptian scarab amulet made of ivory from elephants tusk. she lost it 3 times. he was able to bring it back twice but the third time he couldnt, so now she dont have it. i was just wondering about how much its worth.
Well it is irreplaceable, for ivory is now banned from being used for any purpose as you know it is usually obtained from the tusk of the African or Indian elephant.
As to its actual value only an expert in ivory carving and antiques could really determine that.It would depend in the intricacy of the carving and the quality of the ivory.
It would have most defiantly been associated with positive energies rather than dark, for the scarab is always worn or given with good intent.
The symbology of the scarab dates back to the early dynastic period of Egypt's history, and the use of scarabs is and was very uniquely Egyptian.
It symbolises the regeneration of life more than just fertility. for the ancient Egyptians saw the bung beetle or scarab creating r a ball of mud by rolling it before them and assumed that its was from this ball that the scarab miraculously regenerated itself.
When in fact it laid its eggs in the ball and it was the hatching of a fully developed beetle that made them assume that the process was one of self regeneration.
They also associated the scarab and its ball of dung and mud( its not very glamorous, but very practical) with kepher the term or name given to the sun that "rolls" through the heavens each day, and so the scarab is also linked to solar worship.
The use of the scarab as an amulet or talisman is still carried out in many rural areas of Egypt today, especially in Upper Egypt. The symbology is found throughout the entire history if Egypt and it was particularly popular in the new Kingdom.
At the Karnak temple complex there is a large scarab mounted in a plinth and it is thought by locals that to circumambulate the scarab will bring fertility to women trying to conceive a child.
Scarabs as amulets usually have a "message" or saying referring to its intended use written on the base.Although the scarabs you will find in the markets such as Khan el Khalili in Cairo only have a few random hieroglyphs that mean nothing at all,however the seller will often spin a wonderful story of what he thinks you want the 'glyphs to say.
But he would most likely not be able to read them even if they did make any sense.
This is unfortunately true with the hieroglyphic writings on all modern souvenirs.It is only in pieces bought earlier than WW2 or the late 1940's you will find that the souvenirs have hieroglyphs that do actually have meaning.
I would venture to say that your friends scarab may have been around the right age to have carried a message with meaning which would actually add to its value to a collector of Egyptian souvenirs of this era and earlier.
There is a growing number of people who do collect this sort of thing,myself included, for it is a very expensive "hobby" to purchase pieces that truly date for antiquity. This means the scarab most certainly would have had value,but sight unseen it is too difficult to determine how much.
But most likely anywhere from $20-$200, depending on the ivory,the craftsmanship and the message.
It is a shame that your friends step father never copied down what would have been carved on the base of the ivory scarab and had it deciphered,or maybe he did!
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