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

Die

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

Description

Dice. Roman Period, 30 B.C.–A.D. 330. ivory. dimensions: 0.9 cm square (5/16 in square). From: Oxyrhynchus (Bahnasa), Middle Egypt, Egypt. Excavation: EEF excavations 1896–97. Credit: Gift of Egypt Exploration Fund, 1897.

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 ivory cube (dice-like object) with rounded edges and drilled circular markings on its faces; one face bears red ink/or paint numerals.

The image shows a small, light-colored cube with rounded corners and smooth surfaces, consistent with a carved ivory object. Multiple faces display circular, ring-like depressions (appearing as drilled pips arranged in a dice pattern). On the top-right area, there is a small patch of reddish marking, with numerals that look like “97.4.124” or similar; no Egyptian hieroglyphs, cartouches, or pictorial figures are visible. The object is photographed against a plain light background; no other inscriptions (Greek/Coptic/Arabic) are legible.

unclear Roman Period (as per catalogue; image itself does not provide a secure period marker). good
Materials ivory
Signs Dice pips / drilled circular marks (no identifiable Egyptian sign) ×5
Visible text "Red-painted numerals/registration marks resembling “97.4.124” (exact reading unclear)."

Inscriptions (1)

Inscription #1 AI reading of the photograph

Visible text (machine reading)

Red-painted numerals/registration marks resembling “97.4.124” (exact reading unclear).

Connections

Found at Oxyrhynchus
Materials Ivory

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116276183 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 97.4.124 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 547962 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.