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

Scarab Inscribed with a Decorative Motif

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

Description

Scarab; red crowns, papyrus; simple back. New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, early, Joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, ca. 1479–1458 B.C. Steatite (glazed). L. 1.6 ×W. 1.2 cm (5/8 × 1/2 in.). From: Temple of Hatshepsut, Foundation Deposit 9 (I), Deir el-Bahri, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Egypt. Excavation: MMA excavations, 1926–27. Subject: Scarabs. 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 small green glazed steatite scarab with a decorative/inscribed motif on the back, rendered in dark incised lines filled with greenish glaze.

The object appears as an oval scarab/seal with a flat reverse filled with concentric decorative borders. The central field contains symmetrical, vertically oriented motifs that resemble stylized hieroglyphic forms or column-like panels, surrounded by arched, rectangular, and strip-like elements. Incised lines are visible in dark/black pigment against the green glaze, creating a framed pattern. No readable modern text (Greek/Coptic/Arabic) is visible, and individual hieroglyphs can’t be securely assigned from this image alone. The surface shows glaze cracking and minor chips along the edges, with some red specks or discoloration on the left side.

decorative New Kingdom (catalogue-supplied; exact dynasty unknown from image) good
Materials steatite (green glazed)
Signs unidentified vertically oriented hieroglyphic/ornamental forms (likely part of an inscription or decorative scarab motif) ×4

Connections

Found at Deir el-Bahri
Materials Steatite

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116273195 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 27.3.371 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 549754 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.