Two Halves of a Knife Handle
Description
Object Label: These two halves of a knife handle inscribed with the names of Seti I reflect Asiatic designs introduced to Egypt by the Hyksos sometime before Dynasty XVIII (circa 1539–1295 B.C.). The shape is characteristic of the grips of sickle-shaped Hyksos blades, and the spiral motif is found or. countless Hyksos scarabs. The intricate craftsmanship and the use of gold, which is not a durable metal, suggest that the knife had a ceremonial, not a practical, function. In fact, the knife may have been given to Seti I at his coronation. Two wall reliefs at his temple at Abydos depict the gods Amun-Re and Horus presenting him with an identically shaped knife as a divine guarantee of unending sovereignty. The decoration of the ends of the handle with lotus and papyrus blossoms, the heraldic plants of southern and northern Egypt respectively, further indicates that the knife was connected with a kingship ritual. Caption: Two Halves of a Knife Handle, ca. 1294–1279 B.C.E.. Bronze, copper, gold, 2 1/16 x 4 13/16 in. (5.3 x 12.3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 49.167a-b. (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.
Two matching halves of a metal knife handle end are shown side-by-side, each with decorative banding and incised/embossed pseudo-hieroglyphic bands.
The image depicts two separate, symmetrical fragments that appear to be the left and right ends of a single ornate object, catalogued as halves of a knife handle. Each piece has a flared top element with radial/vertical ribbing, small circular rivet-like dots, and a central raised geometric motif (a triangular/arrow-like form). Beneath the flared top is a narrow band with decorative lines, followed by a rectangular central register covered in dense engraved/embossed characters arranged in rows. The lower end is also flared, with repeating circular/oval dot insets and engraved curving lines. No full cartouche or securely readable hieroglyph sequence is clearly legible at this resolution; the marks resemble ornamental glyph-like decoration rather than confirmed text. No deity figures are identifiable; the design is primarily decorative metalwork. No Greek/Coptic/Arabic text is visible.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 49.167a-b tier-2
- BKM-Object 3542 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.