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. 11.6 cm (4 9/16 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.

Photograph of a single reed writing implement (“pen”), shown horizontally on a light background with a pointed tip.

The image depicts a small, tapered object resembling a reed pen. One end is sharply pointed, with the body narrowing slightly toward the tip, and the opposite end cut/trimmed to form a blunt end. The material appears smooth and light brown/orange, consistent with dried plant material. No markings, inscriptions, cartouches, or decorative elements are visible on the object’s surface. No separate components (e.g., ink reservoir, container) are shown.

daily life Roman Period (per catalogue) good
Materials reed

Connections

Found at Oxyrhynchus
Materials Reed
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.