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

Cowrie Shell Girdle, Lion Bracelets, Bracelets with the Name of Amenemhat III, and Anklets of Princess Sithathoryunet

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

Description

Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, reign of Senwosret II–Amenemhat III, ca. 1887–1813 B.C. Gold, carnelian, turquoise, feldspar, pellets of copper-silver alloy. 16.1.5: L. 84.3 cm (33 3/16 in.); L. (cowrie) 4.7 cm (1 7/8 in.); 16.1.8: L. 12.5 cm (4 15/16 in.); W. (clasp) 8 cm (3 1/8 in.); 16.1.9: L. 12.5 cm (4 15/16 in.); W. (clasp) 8 cm (3 1/8 in.); 16.1.10a: L. 15.4 cm (6 1/16 in.); W. 4.4 cm (1 3/4 in.); 16.1.11a: L. 15.4 cm (6 1/16 in.); W. 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in.); 16.1.12: L. 14.5 cm (5 11/16 in); L. of lions 1.6 cm (5/8 in); L. of clasp 1 cm (3/8 in); 16.1.13: L. 14.5 cm (5 11/16 in); L. of lions 1.4 cm (9/16 in); L. of clasp (0.8 cm (5/16 in). From: Tomb of Sithathoryunet (BSA Tomb 8), Chamber E, box 1, Lahun, Fayum Entrance Area, Egypt. Excavation: BSAE excavations 1914. Subject: Sithathoryunet-Jewelry. Credit: Purchase, Rogers Fund and Henry Walters Gift, 1916.

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.

The image shows several gold-and-colored-bead bracelets/anklets with oval metal elements and bands of densely patterned beadwork, presented alongside two rectangular panels bearing painted or arranged colored bands with red, green, turquoise, and gold-toned stripes.

A set of jewelry components is laid out on a dark background. Two separate wrist/anklet-like bands are visible at the top, each with turquoise- and red-toned small beads, interspersed with gold-toned oval elements. In the center there are two longer bracelet/anklet bands arranged horizontally, each featuring repeated oval gold-toned plaques and bead separators (turquoise/greenish and red with yellow/gold accents). On both sides of the central bands are larger elongated greenish-bead elements. Below the central piece are two rectangular inset areas showing tightly packed vertical multicolored stripes and a small red-and-white border motif, consistent with documentation/photography of decorated segments of the jewelry or its inscriptions. No clear legible hieroglyphic text is visible in the jewelry bands themselves; the inset rectangles include patterned bands but individual signs are not sufficiently clear to identify reliably. No deities are directly depicted.

decorative Middle Kingdom (catalogue ground truth); exact dating unclear from image alone good
Materials gold-toned metal (plaques/frames)turquoise- or greenish stone/glass beadsred beadsyellow/gold-colored bead accentscopper-alloy pellets not directly confirmable from image resolution

Connections

Found at Lahun
Royals Amenemhat III
Materials Red Beads

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116304985 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 16.1.5–.13-related tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 698627 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
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.