For ages, scarab beetles have been employed as symbols of rebirth and resurrection. In ancient Egypt, it became popular practice to place a scarab over the heart of a mummified person. Known as "heart scarabs", these artifacts were meant to be weighed against the feather of truth during the soul's final judgement. Egyptians regarded the heart as the center of emotion, intelligence, and memory, and keeping it in the body of the deceased was of utmost importance. Thus, the beetle served as an emblem for the vital organ, echoing the heart's significance in the afterlife of the deceased. This late Victorian brooch features a carved steatite cross with a scarab at the center mounted in a gold beetle-shaped frame.