Spoon
Description
Object Label: The late Eighteenth Dynasty was one of the the most flamboyant and excessive periods of design in Egyptian history. This spoon demonstrates the dominant aesthetic of the day: the complementary union of naturalistic elements, formal design, and excessive, stylized detailing. The motif is a pomegranate branch terminating in a huge reddish-yellow fruit that swivels on a tiny pivot to reveal the bowl of the spoon. Tiny pomegranates, brightly painted flowers, and slender leaves project from the stem that serves as the handle. Beneath the lowest leaves the artisan has added an extraordinary embellishment: two lotus flowers, each with a Mimispos fruit emerging from it. Although the individual elements of the spoon are treated with painstaking attention to detail, the design itself is pure fantasy. For example, pomegranate flowers and fruit never appear on a tree at the same time. Caption: Spoon, ca. 1336–1327 B.C.E.. Ivory, pigment, 2 9/16 x 11/16 x 8 3/16 in. (6.5 x 1.8 x 20.8 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 42.411. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
AI image analysis GPT-4o-2024-08-06
Machine-generated from the object's image on May 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
An ancient Egyptian ceremonial scepter or staff with a floral motif.
This artifact is a ceremonial scepter featuring a stylized floral motif typical of ancient Egyptian art. The composition includes a central yellow disk resembling a flower or fruit, possibly symbolizing the sun or life. Surrounding the central element are leaves and blossoms made from various materials, demonstrating intricate craftsmanship. The piece utilizes contrasting colors and textures, with dark stems and lighter floral elements, creating a visually striking item likely used in religious or royal contexts.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 42.411 tier-2
- BKM-Object 3462 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.