Lost Owl Egyptian Revival Signet Ring
A lapis intaglio signet ring by Lost Owl. The carving is a highly stylised fly amulet, after an ancient Egyptian example (pictured) that's described as "Pair of flies, an honourific award, in gold over core". The ring is an antique example dating from the late Victorian era; crafted in solid yellow gold.
It was long thought that the golden flies were given to soldiers to reward bravery and military valour, a symbol of persistence in the face of opposition. Indeed, the fly hieroglyph was denoted the word "determinator", and flies appeared on bead amulets as early as the Old and Middle Kingdoms (c. 2700 BC onwards). Contemporary scholarship, however, disputes this...
"Receiving fly pendants may seem rather bizarre, but in 1911 Kurt Sethe suggested an interpretation: he assumed that, as flies are extremely persistent, golden flies were given as military awards to symbolise bravery and determination in battle. In fact, he believed that they were part of an honour called the Order of the Golden Fly, and this has subsequently become the standard explanation.
"However, this interpretation does not take into consideration the wider context, in particular the fact that many fly pendants have been found in Egyptian tombs buried with women and children, who are unlikely to have been associated with military activity. Also, even if Ahmose Pennekhbet and Amenemhab Mahu did receive their golden flies as a military award, does that necessarily mean that all fly pendants should be interpreted in this way? Moreover, the perception of flies as annoying and persistent is a modern association, and the Egyptians may not have thought of flies in the same manner. (Consider the Egyptian association of dung beetles with the sun, of grasshoppers with deceased spirits, and of bees with the king.)
"The best-known golden flies are those of Queen Ahhotep, and they have come to represent the archetype, even though they are in fact exceptional in appearance and size. These flies also create a paradox for the interpretation of golden flies as military awards, because they were found with a queen, and queens are not normally associated with military activity in ancient Egypt. A somewhat circular argument is normally given for this:
- Ahhotep is believed to have had golden flies because she was a ‘warrior queen’.
- This reputation for being militarily active is based on her golden flies, and on her having been described as such on a stela CG 34001, originally from Karnak.
The golden flies were originally found with a significant quantity of other objects made of gold and other valuable materials, in a pit at Dra Abu el-Naga on the West Bank of Luxor. The pit also contained a gilded coffin that was inscribed with the name and titles of Queen Ahhotep of the early Eighteenth Dynasty. However, as demonstrated in my previous article (see AE 89), there is nothing in the burial that supports a military reputation for Ahhotep. For example, while there were some weapons made of gold and silver, the appearance of weapons in the burials of the elite is quite normal – especially for royal women (as seen in the Twelfth Dynasty burials of princesses at Dahshur) – and not necessarily indicative of military activity."
[Excerpts from an article on the-past.com. Image Source: Amulets of Ancient Egypt by Carol Andrews (1994). Fly amulet from the British Museum, EA 59416]
Era: Victorian, circa 1890
Ring size: O 1/2 or 7.5 US
Head: 13.2mm by 11.0mm
Stone: Lapis Lazuli
Marks: Stamped 9ct
Condition: Great antique condition
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[Last updated: September 15th, 2025]
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