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

Amphora

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

Description

Indurated limestone

AI image analysis claude-haiku-4-5

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.

A limestone amphora with a bulbous body, two squared handles, and a pedestal base, showing signs of age and weathering typical of New Kingdom pottery vessels.

This is a freestanding storage amphora of New Kingdom date, crafted from indurated limestone. The vessel displays the classic form of a utilitarian storage container: an ovoid body that narrows toward the neck, two sturdy squared-off handles positioned on the shoulders, and a flared pedestal base. The surface shows uneven patination and weathering, with darker discoloration visible in areas suggesting age and long burial. The piece appears undecorated, relying entirely on its functional form for aesthetic appeal. The workmanship is competent but relatively simple, consistent with a practical storage vessel rather than a luxury object. The construction demonstrates careful attention to symmetry and balance, with the pedestal base providing stable support for a large capacity container likely used for storing liquids or dry goods in an institutional or domestic context.

daily life New Kingdom good
Materials indurated limestone

Connections

Found at Saqqara

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116252052 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 26.2.31 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 544019 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.