Public Domain ‘Scaraboid Molds’ Shaped as ‘African Heads’ from the Greek Settlement at Naukratis, Egypt
Back to Public Domain Pots, Vases, etc.
Back to Public Domain Jewelry, Gemstones, etc.
Scholars debate when (& by which Pharaoh) the Greeks were granted the right to settle at Naukratis, Egypt (for trade/contact with Egypt/Africa, the Levant, etc.). Though some east-Greeks, e.g., the Milesians, lived, worked, & traded with the locals and Phoenicians at Naukratis in the late 7th c. BCE, scholars now date the Greek settlement’s foundation to the early 6th c. BCE. As for the ‘African head’ scaraboid molds below: we suspect that such scaraboid seals were not as popular in the local, Egyptian market. Apparently, the Greeks at Naukratis produced them for export throughout the Mediterranean region (& even as far as southern Russia). Greek consumers loved Egyptian/Egyptianized items — amulets/ scarabs carved with magical symbols for protection, in particular. Hence, the molds below target a broader Mediterranean — especially Greek — audience. Presumably, their ‘exotic African’ faces lent them an air of ‘Egyptian authenticity.’ (Remember: Greek art often portrayed ‘Egyptians’ as ‘black’ people!)
- Webb, V. 2019. “Faience Finds from Naukratis and Their Implications for the Chronology of the Site”. British Museum Studies in Ancient Egypt and Sudan 24.41-70;
- James, P. 2003. “Naukratis Revisited”. Hyperboreus: Studia Classica 9(2).235-64;
- Masson, A. 2018. “Scarabs, Scaraboids, and Amulets”, in Naukratis: Greeks in Egypt, A. Villing et al., eds. The British Museum.3-94.
Faience scarab mold with African head. Greek; the museum site dates it to ca. 668 BCE – 332 BCE, but recent scholarship suggests that 600 BCE – 332 BCE is more likely. From the ‘Scarab House’ (a workshop) at the Greek settlement of Naukratis, in Egypt. Image courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Egypt Exploration Fund (#RES.87.175). www.mfa.org. Public Domain.
Faience scarab mold with African head. Greek; the museum site dates it to ca. 668 BCE – 332 BCE, but recent scholarship suggests that 600 BCE – 332 BCE is more likely. From the ‘Scarab House’ (workshop) at the Greek settlement of Naukratis in Egypt. Image courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Egypt Exploration Fund (#RES.87.182). www.mfa.org. Public Domain.
Faience scarab mold with African head. Greek; the museum site dates it to ca. 668 BCE – 332 BCE, but recent scholarship suggests that 600 BCE – 332 BCE is more likely. From the ‘Scarab House’ (workshop) at the Greek settlement of Naukratis in Egypt. Image courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Egypt Exploration Fund (#RES.87.190). www.mfa.org. Public Domain.
Faience scarab mold with African head. Greek; the museum site dates it to ca. 668 BCE – 332 BCE, but recent scholarship suggests that 600 BCE – 332 BCE is more likely. From the ‘Scarab House’ (workshop) at the Greek settlement of Naukratis in Egypt. Image courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Egypt Exploration Fund (#RES.87.192). www.mfa.org. Public Domain.
Faience scarab mold with African head. Greek; the museum site dates it to ca. 668 BCE – 332 BCE, but recent scholarship suggests that 600 BCE – 332 BCE is more likely. From the ‘Scarab House’ (workshop) at the Greek settlement of Naukratis in Egypt. Image courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Egypt Exploration Fund (#88.1064). www.mfa.org. Public Domain.
Faience scarab mold with African head. Greek; the museum site dates it to ca. 668 BCE – 332 BCE, but recent scholarship suggests that 600 BCE – 332 BCE is more likely. From the ‘Scarab House’ (workshop) at the Greek settlement of Naukratis in Egypt. Image courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, the Egypt Exploration Fund (#88.1065). www.mfa.org. Public Domain.
