Art Masterpiece: 6th Grade, Lesson 1 (September)
Egyptian Scarab Amulet
Pronounced: Skare-ub
Art Terms: Hieroglyphics, Symbols
Activity: Personal Scarab Amulet
Medium: Scratch Board
About the Art History
 The Ancient Egyptians wrote using a system of pictures called
hieroglyphics. The pictures represented everyday objects.
 One object that used hieroglyphics was the scarab amulet.
 In ancient Egypt, the scarab beetle was a very common beetle that
represented hope and the restoration of life.
 Among the kinds of amulet scarabs are: ornamental scarabs, heart
scarabs, winged scarabs, scarabs with the name of a king or queen,
marriage scarabs, lion hunt scarabs, commemorative scarabs, scarabs
with good wishes and mottos, scarabs with symbols of unknown meaning,
and scarabs decorated with figures and animals.
 Scarabs were used by both rich and poor, and were initially only used by
the living. Eventually heart scarabs were used to protect the dead and
were placed over the hearts of loved ones at burial time.
 The scarab amulet was a “charm”, often given for good luck. The top of
the amulet was in the shape of the scarab beetle, while the bottom was
inscribed with a message or name in hieroglyphics.
 For the average Egyptian a simple message was provided on the scarab.
1. A concise simple good wish, such as: "May Amun grant a
good new year"
2. A name, such as: "The Lady Y-ab,"
3. A motto, such as: "Firm of heart"
4. A summary of their personal religious feelings in a magical
prayer, such as: "Amun is strength."
5. The king, noble, or official might even have a lengthy
inscription, such as: "Beloved of Re, Prince of Truth, Beloved
by Amun, Horemhab."
 Scarab amulets were worn on rings, necklaces, bracelets, carried in a
bag, or simply stored in a basket at home.
Art Terms
Hieroglyphics
 The ancient Egyptians wrote using a system of pictures called
hieroglyphics (hahy-ruh-glif-ik). The pictures in early hieroglyphics
represented everyday objects. Later, they came to represent spoken
sounds of up to five letters, with words being made up from groups of
pictures.
Symbol
 A symbol is something that stands for something else, especially a letter,
figure or sign that represents a real object or idea.
Activity
Personal Scarab Amulet – Scratch Board
Supplies
Gold and black scratch boards ovals – 4” x 5”
Scrap paper – 4” x 5”
Scratch knives for etching
Hieroglyphic alphabet sheets
Pencils
Rulers
*Additional support material – photo printouts (There is NO ART PRINT
AVAILABLE for this lesson so you can use the 8 1/2” x 11” printouts in the
supply bin.)
Directions
1. Hand out the hieroglyphic alphabet sheets to students (one for every two
students) for them to review.
2. Explain that they will be designing their own personal scarab amulet.
They may wish to simply spell out their own name using the hieroglyphic
alphabet. They may also wish to spell out a good luck phrase, or
commemorate a special time in their lives with just a few symbols.
3. Remind the students that they are not drawing a picture – they are telling
a story using symbols.
4. The students should be encouraged to use the actual Egyptian alphabet.
They may create their own hieroglyph if necessary, always keeping in
mind that the symbols were simplistic, flat (not 3D images), and easily
recognizable (picture of an eagle = eagle, waves = water).
5. They will need to place their symbols inside an oval that represents the
back of the scarab.
6. Once they have an idea of how they want their amulet to be designed,
have the students quickly draw the symbols on scrap paper to see how
small or large they need to be to fit on the scratch board. Have the
students leave enough space around each symbol so they are legible.
7. Pass out the scratch boards, scratch knives and rulers. (It might be helpful
if the students use rulers to make any straight lines needed.
8. Have students write their name and room # on the back of the scratch
board.
9. Explain that they will etch (scratch off) the black revealing the gold color
underneath.
10. Remind them not to place their symbols to close together so there is
enough black between them allowing each symbol to stand out. (see
photo 3)
*Additional Support Material
8 ½” x 11” printouts of these images will be available in the supply bin.
You can project the images on the pull down screen using the overhead projector and
printouts in the supply bin.
*Scarab Amulet Inscribed, Back View
*Scarab Amulet, Top View
Hieroglyphic Alphabet
Copies will be in the supply bin for the students to use.