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

Pen

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

Description

Roman Period, 30 B.C.–A.D. 364. Reed. L. 14.8 cm (5 13/16 in.). From: Oxyrhynchus (Bahnasa), Middle Egypt, Egypt. Excavation: EEF excavations 1896–97. Credit: Gift of Egypt Exploration Fund, 1897.

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 single reed pen is shown lying horizontally on a light background, with a pointed tip at the left.

The image depicts an uninscribed, brown/tan reed writing implement. One end has a narrow, tapered point (left side), while the other end (right side) is thicker and more blunt. A darker band/marking is visible near the junction of the taper to the shaft, possibly indicating a natural node or a binding/attachment point. No pigments, ink, carved decoration, or text are visible. The object appears intact with only minor discoloration.

decorative Roman Period (as catalogued) good
Materials reed (organic plant stem)

Connections

Found at Oxyrhynchus
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.