In the heart of ancient Egypt, a remarkable artifact was unearthed in the 1930s from the tomb of Hatnefer, a noblewoman of significant influence, and her husband Ramose. This exquisite object, now displayed at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, is a scarab-shaped amulet crafted from serpentinite, a greenish-gray metamorphic rock. Measuring approximately 2.6 inches (6.6 centimeters) in length, the scarab is elegantly set in gold and suspended on a 30.5-inch-long (77.5 cm) plaited gold chain, creating a stunning necklace that belies its profound spiritual purpose.
Hatnefer, who lived to around 60 years old, was a woman of considerable status, as evidenced by her tomb’s contents. Buried with bronze and silver mirrors, cosmetics, and wooden chests filled with high-quality linen, she wielded power within her domain. Yet, the most intriguing item among her burial goods is the scarab necklace, which served not as mere adornment but as a vital “ticket” to the afterlife.
This heart scarab, as it is known, bears an inscription from the Book of the Dead, specifically a passage concerning the weighing of the heart—a critical ritual in ancient Egyptian beliefs. In their cosmology, the heart was the seat of intelligence and memory, and after death, it was weighed by Ma’at, the goddess of truth and justice, to determine if the deceased was worthy of entering the Duat, the underworld. The heart scarab’s purpose was to silence the heart, preventing it from betraying its owner by speaking falsehoods during this divine judgment.
Curiously, the scarab was not originally made for Hatnefer. The Met notes that her name was inserted over previously erased text, indicating the amulet was repurposed for her burial. The inscription, translated by Peter Dornan, former curator of Egyptian art at The Met, reads:
The Mistress of the House, Hatnefer, says: “Heart of my mother, heart of my mother, heart of my (actual) being, do not rise up against me as a witness; do not contend against me in the court of judgment; do not make opposition against me in the presence of the keeper of the balance. You are my bodily ka, a Khnum who has invigorated my limbs. When you ascend to the perfection from which we have come, do not cause our names to stink to the entourage who create mankind in their proper stations, but rather may it go well with us and with the listener, so that the judge may rejoice. Do not devise lies against me in the presence of the god, for your reckoning is at hand.”
This incantation, engraved on the scarab’s underside, was a plea for the heart to remain silent and true, ensuring Hatnefer’s safe passage to the afterlife.
The amulet’s beauty, with its gleaming gold setting and intricate craftsmanship, masks its solemn role as a safeguard against divine judgment. Far more than a piece of jewelry, Hatnefer’s heart scarab was a powerful talisman, embodying her hope for eternal life in the Duat.