Paddle Doll
Description
Object Label: The term paddle doll dates to archaeologists’ first discovery of such objects in the early twentieth century. Today, Egyptologists understand these objects not as dolls, but as representations of musicians who doubled as midwives. The necklaces they wear represent a musical instrument called a menat in Egyptian. The Egyptians considered music to be a therapeutic or even magical element aiding childbirth. When these images were included in the tomb, they could help ease the pain of rebirth into the next life. Caption: Paddle Doll, ca. 2008–1630 B.C.E.. Wood, pigment, 8 7/8 x 2 7/16 x 1/4 in. (22.6 x 6.2 x 0.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.103E. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
AI image analysis GPT-4o-2024-08-06
Machine-generated from the object's image on May 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
An ancient Egyptian artifact shaped like a ceremonial spoon with painted geometric designs.
This artifact is a wooden ceremonial spoon or cosmetic palette featuring intricate geometric designs painted on its surface. The spoon display bands of zigzag and checkerboard patterns in earthy tones. The shape includes a handle with a stylized human or animal head, indicative of Egyptian artistic stylization. The craftsmanship and painted motifs suggest a decorative function.
Cross-references (2)
- BKM-Accession 37.103E tier-2
- BKM-Object 116826 tier-2
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Brooklyn Museum — Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art.
- 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.