CNG 93, Lot: 1970. Estimate $300. Sold for $850. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

New Kingdom. 19th Dynasty. Seti I (circa 1290-1279 BC). Steatite scarab (21x16mm). Base engraved with the cartouche of Seti I and possibly the epithet “Loved by Monthu”. Cf. Matouk I, 600 for a similar piece. Intact, once glazed, pierced for mounting.

From the David Hendin Collection.

Under Seti’s relatively brief reign Egypt saw a period of rebirth both militarily and in the artistic and cultural field. He undertook a series of impressive building projects including the Hypostyle Hall in the temple of Amun at Karnak and the Temple of Seti, the Temple of Ramesses I, and the Osireion at Abydos.

Married with Tuya they gave birth to the mightiest of all the Egyptian pharaohs, Ramesses II.