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

Canopic chest of Ukhhotep

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

Description

Canopic chest, Ukhhotep. Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, ca. 1981–1802 B.C. Wood, paint, copper hook. Box: h. 56 x l. 57.5 x w. 56.8 cm (22 1/16 x 22 5/8 x 22 3/8 in.); Lid: h. 5.4 x l. 57.5 x w. 56.8 cm (2 1/8 x 22 5/8 x 22 3/8 in.). Probably from: Tomb of Ukhhotep, Meir. Subject: Hieroglyphs. Credit: Rogers Fund, 1912.

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.

Open-topped wooden canopic chest with painted decoration and hieroglyphic-style panels on the sides and interior compartments divided for jars.

The image shows a rectangular, box-like canopic chest with an open lid. The lid interior and the front/top surfaces are covered in layered painted bands and cartouche-like or column-like hieroglyphic arrangements, though the exact signs are not fully legible at this resolution. Inside the open chest, multiple internal compartments are visible, separated by dividers, suggesting places for canopic jars. The exterior has painted scenes/patterns and a prominent vertical panel on the front-right face. No Greek/Coptic/Arabic script is visible. A copper hook is not clearly discernible in the photo; the catalogued copper hardware cannot be confirmed from the provided image. The painted decoration appears to use dark and light pigments against the light ground of the wood.

funerary Middle Kingdom (consistent with catalogue) good
Materials woodpaint
Signs hieroglyphic-style bands/columns (exact signs unclear) ×30

Connections

Found at Meir
Materials WoodPaint

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116281645 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 12.182.133a, b tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 546312 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.