Harpist and Singer
Description
Object Label: Scenes of daily life, many of which may actually have had religious significance, were a basic element of private-tomb decoration until the first part of Dynasty XVIII. Their renewed popularity in tombs of Dynasties XXV and XXVI reflects that era's penchant for the past. It is uncertain whether the unusual frontal depiction of the scribe shown here is an archaism or an innovation of the relief's own time. Catalogue description: Culture Egyptian Caption: Egyptian. Harpist and Singer, ca. 670–650 B.C.E.. Limestone, pigment, 5 5/8 x 7 1/2 in. (14.3 x 19.1 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 49.17. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
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 limestone relief fragment shows two figures in profile, one playing what appears to be a harp/similar instrument and the other singing with hands raised near the chest.
The image is a photograph of a curved/irregular relief panel in light-colored limestone with remnants of pigment. Two standing human figures face inward toward the center. The left figure holds and plays a harp- or lyre-like instrument, indicated by curved vertical elements and a horizontal bar-like form across the torso area; the instrument aligns with the figure’s hands. The right figure has an upright posture and raised forearms/hands near the chest, consistent with a singer performing. Both figures have stylized facial features and wear Egyptian-style wigs/headdresses and long garments. The central register contains partial hieroglyphic signs: on the left side there are a few vertical and curved sign forms, while on the right side additional fragmentary signs appear near the upper arm/shoulder area. However, most of the inscription is damaged and cannot be reliably read. No cartouche or royal name is clearly visible in this image.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 49.17 tier-2
- BKM-Object 3527 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
- 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.