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

Jerboa figurine

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

Description

Figurine, Jerboa. Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12–13, ca. 1850–1640 B.C. Faience. L. 4.8 cm (1 7/8 in.); W. 2.7 cm (1 1/16 in.); H. 3.6 cm (1 7/16 in.). Possibly from: Heliopolis (Iunu; On), Memphite Region. Subject: Animals. Credit: Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926.

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.

Two small animal-shaped faience figurines, each modeled in the form of a jerboa with a rounded body and long ears/head shape, shown against a plain grey background.

The image shows two separate, white/light cream-colored ceramic/“faience”-like figurines photographed on a neutral grey studio backdrop. Each figure is low-slung with a compact torso and short legs; the left figurine has a painted dark marking on the head and a small tail/hip contour, while the right figurine shows a more distinct neck-to-head profile and faint incised/painted spots along the back or flank. Both have bulbous, rounded forms and exaggerated head/ear areas consistent with a jerboa-type model. No clear hieroglyphs, cartouches, or alphabetic text are visible on the surface in the provided image. No identifiable deity iconography is apparent beyond the generic animal form. Condition appears good for such small objects, though surface discoloration, speckling, and minor wear are visible.

decorative Middle Kingdom (per catalogue ground truth) good
Materials faience-like ceramic (light cream/white body)dark paint/inlay markings (black/brown)

Connections

Found at Heliopolis

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116251852 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 26.7.899 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 545723 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.