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

Ax head inscribed for Khumeh with two baboons and a papyrus column

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

Description

Ax head with 2 cynocephali apes and papyrus column. Middle Kingdom–Early New Kingdom, Dynasty 12–18, ca. 1981–1550 B.C. Bronze or copper alloy. H. 8.5 cm (3 3/8 in); W. 8.5 cm (3 3/8 in). From: Sheikh Abd el-Qurna, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Egypt. Subject: Animals, Hieroglyphs. Credit: Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926.

The same text in other collections

Linked by shared inventory number (MET-Object 544816). Each record below describes this same artifact or text from a different angle.

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.

Bronze/copper-alloy ax head with an incised rectangular register showing two baboons and a central papyrus-like column, plus surrounding hieroglyphic inscription.

The object appears to be a flat-edged, shield-like axe head. In the center is a recessed rectangular field containing two seated baboons facing inward toward a central vertical element that resembles a papyrus column. Small surface modeling details and incised outlining define the figures, including upright forelimbs and seated lower bodies. Beneath the central scene, additional hieroglyphs are incised across the face, and a few short incised strokes/marks are visible near the lower corners of the central register. A black patina/grime layer is present in recesses and at the edges, suggesting an aged metal surface rather than modern tooling. No Greek/Coptic/Arabic text is visible.

religious Middle Kingdom–Early New Kingdom (as catalogued; exact dating uncertain from image alone) good
Deities unknown (baboons are animal symbols associated with Egyptian funerary/religious contexts; deity not explicitly identifiable from image)
Royals Khumeh (not clearly readable as a cartouche from the image resolution; catalogue title indicates this)
Materials bronze or copper alloy (patinated metal)
Signs baboons (depicted figures, not a single hieroglyph sign) ×2 papyrus column / papyrus stalk motif (incised vertical column)
Visible text "Unable to reliably transcribe; hieroglyphic lines are visible but individual signs are not clear enough for confident identification/exact excerpt."

Inscriptions (1)

Inscription #1 AI reading of the photograph

Visible text (machine reading)

Unable to reliably transcribe; hieroglyphic lines are visible but individual signs are not clear enough for confident identification/exact excerpt.

Connections

Found at Sheikh Abd el-Qurna

Cross-references (5)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116246384 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 26.7.834 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 544816 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • PNM-Object pnm:83894537 tier-2 (inventory-match)
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.