Scarab inscribed with Plant Motifs
Description
Scarab; papyrus/lotus; notched back. New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, early, Joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, ca. 1479–1458 B.C. Steatite (glazed). L. 1.6 cm (5/8 in.); w. 1.2 cm (1/2 in.); h. 0.7 cm (1/4 in.). From: Temple of Hatshepsut, Foundation Deposit 7 (G), Deir el-Bahri, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Egypt. Excavation: MMA excavations, 1926–27. Subject: Scarabs, Plants. Credit: Rogers Fund, 1927.
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 glazed steatite scarab-shaped amulet with a mirrored design on the back showing a central motif and surrounding plant-like/laddered elements, likely forming an inscription or decorative pattern.
The image shows the back of an oval scarab amulet in dark green glaze. The surface is evenly domed, with a darker outline framing the design. In the center is a vertical, ribbed column topped by a small block-like element, flanked by two symmetrical vertical lobes. Beneath the central element is a curved, shallow ‘U’/basin-shaped form that connects to short vertical strokes on either side, giving an overall mirrored composition. The surrounding borders and internal lines resemble incised/painted decoration; however, the individual signs are not clear enough to confidently identify specific hieroglyphs. No legible Greek, Coptic, or Arabic text is visible. No royal cartouche is clearly discernible, and no deities can be identified with certainty from the available detail.
Cross-references (4)
- Wikidata-Q Q116273206 tier-1
- Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- Inventory-Number 27.3.364 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- MET-Object 549750 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.