Ritual tool for the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony
Description
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, Joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, ca. 1479–1458 B.C. Wood. l. 26.8 cm (10 9/16 in). From: Temple of Hatshepsut, Foundation Deposit 3 (C), Deir el-Bahri, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Egypt. Excavation: MMA excavations, 1923–24. Credit: Rogers Fund, 1925.
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.
An elongated, curved wooden ritual implement with a hooked/pointed end and a squared handle end is shown in profile against a plain background.
The image depicts a single carved wood artifact resembling a curved spatula or hook-like tool. One end is pointed and slightly upturned, while the opposite end forms a squared block/handle with a recess or opening at the end. The object is uniformly light brown wood with visible grain and no painted decoration or metal inlays are apparent. No hieroglyphs or inscriptions are visible on the photographed surfaces. No cartouches or royal names are present. No clear iconography of deities is visible. The form could be consistent with a ritual implement, but the specific “Opening of the Mouth” function cannot be confirmed from imagery alone because the diagnostic features (e.g., attached blades/heads, inscriptions, or regalia) are not shown in detail.
Cross-references (4)
- Wikidata-Q Q116247828 tier-1
- Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- Inventory-Number 25.3.41 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- MET-Object 544459 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.