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

Cosmetic Spoon in the Shape of a Tilapia with Water Lilies

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

Description

New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, ca. 1550–1295 B.C. Travertine (Egyptian alabaster). L. 18 cm (7 1/16 in); W. 8.5 cm (3 3/8 in). Said to be from: Amarna (Akhetaten), Middle Egypt. Subject: Fish, Lilies. Credit: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917.

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 small carved cosmetic spoon made from light-colored stone, formed in the shape of a tilapia with a fish body and water-lily-like elements attached at one end.

The object is shown in a straight, side-on view against a neutral background. One end forms a broad, flat element with an angular, leaf-like shape, from which a central rounded cavity and curved forms rise toward the opposite end. The opposite end is carved as a tilapia: a distinct fish body with a tail fin that fans outward, including a visible line pattern suggesting scales and the tail’s fin rays. The middle includes a rounded bowl or receptacle consistent with a spoon function, integrated with the carved fish and plant-like motifs. No readable hieroglyphic, Greek, or other text is visible in the provided image. There are no clear royal cartouches or names visible.

decorative New Kingdom (Amarna) — consistent with catalogue; exact dating cannot be confirmed from the image alone. good
Materials stone (travertine/egyptian alabaster per catalogue; exact identification not independently confirmable from image)

Connections

Found at Amarna (Akhetaten)

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116251942 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 17.190.1966 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 544047 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.