Blue-Painted Ibex Amphora from Malqata
Description
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, reign of Amenhotep III, ca. 1390–1352 B.C. pottery, white cream slip, paint. H. 39.5 × Dia. 12.7 cm (15 9/16 × 5 in.); Largest Dia: 21 cm (8 1/4 in.). From: Palace of Amenhotep III, Atitu's (rubbish) hole, Malqata, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Egypt. Excavation: MMA excavations, 1910–11. Subject: Ibex. Credit: Rogers Fund, 1911.
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 painted ceramic amphora with blue/black linear decoration and a central motif resembling an ibex figure between stylized columns or plumes.
The image shows a standing amphora-shaped vessel with two loop handles and a rounded body. The surface appears to have a light (white/cream) ground with areas of blue-painted bands, thin linework, and a central vertical composition featuring a stylized animal-like figure (legs and curved horns/ears suggested) flanked by wing- or plume-like elements. A wide register of geometric/linear patterns wraps the lower body, including repeated trapezoid/diagonal markings and horizontal bands. Faint traces of red/orange pigment are visible near the rim and/or top zone. No clearly legible hieroglyphs, cartouches, or alphabetic text are visible at this resolution; the central motif looks pictorial rather than inscribed. The piece is mounted on a modern stand. Overall condition appears fair with age wear, chips, and pigment loss in places.
Cross-references (4)
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.