Hairpin Decorated with a Cobra
Description
Middle Kingdom–Second Intermediate Period, Dynasty 13–17, ca. 1783–1640 B.C. Ivory. l. 14 cm (5 1/2 in). From: Tomb CC 47 in Courtyard CC 41, Asasif, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Egypt. Excavation: Carnarvon/Carter excavations, 1912. Subject: Snakes. 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.
The image shows a slender carved ivory hairpin with a molded/stacked decorative element and a hooded cobra-like head at the top.
A vertically oriented, slender ivory object with a pointed lower end appears intact. The top terminates in a rounded, hood-like form resembling a cobra’s raised hood, above a narrow neck. Beneath the head is a short section with stepped/segmented bands that may depict or stylize scales. The middle and upper body are smooth, with faintly carved horizontal banding that reads as decorative rather than inscriptions. No legible hieroglyphic, Greek, Coptic, or Arabic text is visible. No clear royal cartouches or names are present.
Cross-references (4)
- Wikidata-Q Q116280158 tier-1
- Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- Inventory-Number 26.7.1297 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- MET-Object 547024 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.