Commonly known as a dung beetle, the scarab is famous for rolling around manure balls as part of an elaborate mating ritual. Although unpleasant in practice, this very act of trundling dung mounds is what earned the beetles their worshipped place in ancient Egyptian culture because of a divine affiliation with the sun god Ra. Along with embodying the concept of existence, development, and growth, the scarab was revered for representing the cycle of life and death: "It was seen as a form of protection ," Love explains. The extraordinary bestial was therefore carved or molded into treasured accessories and amulets throughout centuries. Imported from Egypt to the Mediterranean and parts of the Middle East during the Bronze Age, "the symbol permeated the visual language of many cultures," Love says — seeing periodic artistic revivals throughout France and the U.S. during the 1800s, along with a global resurgence during the Art Deco movement of the 1920s.