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Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access) · other

Sistrum Inscribed with the Names of King Teti

Source of record: Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access) — catalogued by the holding institution. View the original record →

Description

Old Kingdom, Dynasty 6, reign of Teti, ca. 2323–2291 B.C. Travertine (Egyptian alabaster), pigment, resin. H. 26.5 cm (10 7/8 in.); W. 7 cm (2 3/4 in.); D. 2.7 cm (1 1/16 in.). Possibly from: Memphis (Mit Rahina), Memphite Region. Subject: Birds, Hieroglyphs. Credit: Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926.

AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano

Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.

A small Egyptian sistrum-like object standing upright, with a rectangular shrine-like frame on top and a central rod.

The image shows a single inscribed sistrum-shaped artifact photographed against a plain light background. The top element resembles a small shrine or housing with a rounded opening and a small loop/arch-like cutout at the center. Beneath it is a cylindrical/rod-like section that appears to be fitted into or attached to the lower base. The lower portion has a thicker element resembling a base plate. The object is largely monochrome off-white with visible light surface wear and small chips; any colored pigment details are not clearly legible at this resolution. No clear hieroglyphs, cartouches, or readable inscriptions are visible on the photographed surfaces. No deities can be identified from iconographic details in this view. The material types listed in the catalogue (travertine/egyptian alabaster, pigment, resin) are consistent with the general stone-like appearance, but the presence of specific pigment/resin cannot be confirmed from the image.

decorative Old Kingdom (per catalogue) poor
Royals Teti (likely, per catalogue; not legible in image)
Materials stone (travertine/egyptian alabaster not verifiable directly)pigment (not clearly visible)resin (not clearly visible)

Connections

Found at Memphis
Royals Teti

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116252313 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 26.7.1450 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 543897 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
About this record's data
  • From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access).
  • AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
  • Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
  • Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.