Late Dynastic Period, Ca. 664-332 BC.A finely modelled carnelian scarab with its oval body gently rounded, upper side detailing the clypeus, prothorax and wings. Mounted in a later, Victorian gold ring with a decorative bezel cell and a smooth, round hoop. The scarab was an amulet of life and power in the form of a dung beetle, an animal associated with Khepri, the self-created, Ra as the rising sun. In ancient times it was believed that the beetle was only of the male sex and that it reproduced itself using a dung ball as the ovum. The supposed self-reproduction of the beetle was similar to that of Khepri, who created himself out of nothing. At the same time, the dung ball which was rolled by the beetle was identified with the sun in its cycle across the heavens. The scarab was, therefore, a symbol of resurrection in Egyptian mythology. In one's lifetime it provided protection against evil, visible or invisible, supplying strength and power every day. In death, he who wore this amulet had the possibility of resurrection and being granted eternal afterlife.Size: D: 16.71mm / US: 6 1/4 / UK: M1/2; 3.62gProvenance: Property of a West London gentleman; previously in a collection formed on the UK/International art market in the 1980s.