Dear Friends.
I have no where to go and know of no one to ask at this time, so here goes... I
hope this does not sound too weird...
Long ago, when I was in the sunshine of my
youth, I saw a hugh fragmented
lapis lazuli
scarab on display in a museum. It was about the size of my fist and showed signs that it was once inlayed with another material. Unfortunately, I forgot whether I saw it in the British Museum or in the Cairo Museum. I sent e-mails to both of these museums but never received a reply. It is sad to learn that museums of today are no longer interested in what they are supposedly protecting.
If any
members find themselves in the
Egyptian Section of the British Museum, could you check the cases to see if it is there and provide me with any identifying number that may accompany it. I would make the same request of
members living in Cairo, but I don't know if there are any.
This information is very important to me because it may lead to an archaeological discovery in one of these museums. I would like to determine if this
lapis scarab, once inlayed with another material, is the one mentioned in the Harris Papyrus, written for Ramses III, under the heading "The King's Gifts to Re" and described as "
Lapis lazuli and malachite, a great
scarab - 36 kidet".
Kindly note,
James H.
Breasted, who translated the Harris Papyrus, (see:
Breasted,
James H. Ancient Records of
Egypt, 5 vols,
New York: Russell and Russell, 1906; re-issued 1962; Volume IV, page 152, ยง 285) translated the word "mafkat" as meaning "malachite; it should have been translated as meaning "green
stone" which would include the more common stones such as green felspar (amazon
stone), turquoise, etc. (See:
Lucas, A. Ancient
Egyptian Materials and Industries, Second Edition, Revised.
London: Arnold & Co., 1934: pages 349 to 351.) A kidet equals about 9.1 grams; 36 kidet x 9.1 = 327.6 grams x .035273 ounces = 11.5557 ounces = .7222 pounds. The
scarab on display should weigh less than this amount due to its loss of inlayed material and the chips it suffered over the passing millennia. Also, the kidet fluctuated over time, so these
weights are approximate.
Any
help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Russ
