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Art Institute of Chicago (Egyptian) · scarab

Scarab: Wish Formula

Source of record: Art Institute of Chicago (Egyptian) — catalogued by the holding institution. View the original record →

AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano

Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.

Two views of a small Egyptian scarab-shaped amulet engraved with an incised “wish formula” style inscription or symbolic text on the flat underside.

The image shows the artifact photographed from two angles. The left view presents an oval, rounded form with a worn, brown-gray surface consistent with a carved stone object; individual fine incisions are not clearly legible at this angle. The right view shows the underside/face with a shallow, incised linear design and multiple stacked elements resembling hieroglyphic strokes and a cartouche-like or wish-formula layout. A small recessed area or chip/mark is visible near the top of the incised field. No Greek, Coptic, or Arabic text is visible. The catalogued identification as a “Scarab: Wish Formula” is broadly consistent with the scarab form and engraved symbolic text, though specific sign names cannot be securely determined from the image resolution.

hieroglyphic only unclear (likely Late Period to Ptolemaic Egyptian scarab/amulet context, but not determinable from image alone) good
Materials stone (appears consistent with steatite in color/texture)
Signs incised linear symbols resembling hieroglyphic/wish-formula elements ×5
Visible text "incised wish-formula-like symbols; specific readable sign sequence is unclear from the provided image"

Inscriptions (1)

Inscription #1

English description

"Amun-Re, excellent of counsel"

Cross-references (1)

  • ARTIC-id 134291 tier-2

Similar inscriptions · by content embedding

About this record's data
  • From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Art Institute of Chicago (Egyptian).
  • AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
  • Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
  • Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.