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

Ointment jar with lid

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

Description

Ointment jar, lid. Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, possibly slightly after the death of of Amenemhat IV, ca. 1805 B.C. Travertine (Egyptian alabaster). H. 8.3 cm (3 1/4 in.); Diam. 5.5 cm (2 3/16 in.). From: pit tomb CC 25, debris, Asasif, Birabi, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Egypt. Excavation: Carnarvon/Carter excavations, 1910. 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.

Photograph shows a pale yellow/cream Egyptian jar with a separate domed lid, shaped like a tapered cup or goblet with a narrow base.

The object is a small stone ointment container photographed against a neutral gray background. The body is a single piece with a smoothly polished surface in a light cream to pale yellow tone, tapering inward toward the top opening. At the top is a fitted, slightly domed lid/cap. The lower portion narrows to a small foot; subtle banding and faint surface wear/scuffs are visible, including a slightly darker line near the junction of lid and body. No carved relief, painted decoration, or legible inscriptions are visible on the exterior in this image. The form is consistent with a Middle Kingdom ointment jar shape, though no textual or royal identifiers are present.

decorative Middle Kingdom (as catalogued; image itself does not allow more specific dating) good
Materials light-colored stone (consistent with travertine/"Egyptian alabaster" as catalogued)

Connections

Found at Asasif

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116252167 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 26.7.1439a, b tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 543969 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.