Very nice inscribed ancient Egyptian heart scarab. It is a very charming and rare piece. The scribe has shortened many things, probably due to lack of space. The text reads: 1 The Osiris (a) 2 born of the singer / songstress of the tempel of Mut 3 Ibsa (b) justified (true of voice), he says: Heart of my mother, (c) 4 heart of my mother (d), heart of my being (e) ... do not stand up 5 against me in the presence of the great god, the keeper (f) 6 of the balance ... (g) (a) Normally we have "The Osiris [name], born of [name]", but on this the first name is left out. We have "The Osiris, born of the singer" etc. (b) The name of the parent is a bit difficult; it depends on what animal is depicted. It looks like a calf, then the text seems to read "Ibsa" or "Behessa", but there might be another sign (1st one on the 3rd line), which is crudely carved and therefore not easy to recognise; it might be the heart (ib), and then it and the following animal should be read "ib" together; but it might also be something else. But the animal could also be a bull (unlikely, because the horns are missing), which could lead to „Kasa". (c) "Heart of my mother" ("my" is omitted, as more often in this text) is usually explained as "heart that I received from my mother"; this is the "ib"-heart. (d) Instead of repeating these words, the scribe wrote "twice", indicating that the words should be spoken twice. (e) "Heart of my being": is about the HAty-heart; "being" is usually explained as either "actual being" or as "different ages". (f) Usually the great god and the keeper of the balance are two different gods. It is likely that before "keeper" some words were left out again; other scarabs have "Do not be hostile against me before the keeper of the balance". (g) The last few signs are too damaged and too fragmentary to translate. Date: Egypt, New Kingdom - Third Intermediate Period, ca 1293 - 664 B.C. Material: Stone Size: ca. 4,35 cm Condition: intact Provenance: private German collection. Prior to that US estate, formed before 1960 and thence by descent. The authenticity of the item is unconditionally guaranteed. This item is accompanied with an illustrated Certificate of Authenticity.