Intricately designed Scarab Beetle ring, cast in sterling silver. Scarab measures just under 1" and the band is tapered, widest at center measuring 1/2". Scarab Beetles were very popular amulets and talismans in Ancient Egypt. (Living ones would also be kept as pets and used for personal adornment!). Also known as dung beetles, they roll dirt into oversized balls and lay their eggs in them, which supplies them with their food. Later these eggs become transformed into larvae, and this was seen as an earthly metaphorical symbol for this heavenly cycle of renewal. The Egyptian god, Khepri, who represented Ra as the rising sun, was often depicted as a scarab beetle or as a scarab beetle-headed man. The ancient Egyptians believed that Khepri renewed the sun every day before rolling it above the horizon, then carried it through the other world after sunset, only to renew it again the next day. This winged scarab is based on traditional ancient Egyptian designs.
