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

Inscribed fragment, Akhenaten and Nefertiti cartouches

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

Description

New Kingdom, Amarna Period, Dynasty 18, reign of Akhenaten, ca. 1353–1336 B.C. Indurated limestone. H. 11.5 x W. 18 x D. 7.5 cm. From: Great Temple of the Aten, pit outside southern wall, Amarna (Akhetaten), Middle Egypt, Egypt. Excavation: Petrie/Carter excavations, 1891–92. Credit: Gift of Edward S. Harkness, 1921.

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 broken inscribed limestone fragment showing parts of incised Egyptian cartouche-like frames and accompanying hieroglyphic signs.

The image shows a roughly rectangular, jagged fragment of stone with dense, incised hieroglyphic carving. Multiple cartouche-shaped bands/frames are visible across the upper surface, with inner signs partially preserved. The central area includes a clear cartouche-style enclosure with a seated/standing-like figure sign and additional strokes, while the right side shows another cartouche/frame with horizontal elements and vertical strokes. The left side also contains hieroglyphic grouping, though much of it is lost due to breakage. No clearly identifiable deities are present in the preserved portion; only royal-name/cartouche frames and hieroglyphic components are visible. No Greek/Coptic/Arabic text is visible. The carved signs are Egyptian hieroglyphs.

hieroglyphic only New Kingdom, Amarna Period (Amarna/18th Dynasty) — consistent with cartouche inscriptions but exact names not fully readable from this image. fragmentary
Royals Akhenaten (cartouche) — presence suggested by cartouche frames but exact inscription not fully legible in the imageNefertiti (cartouche) — presence suggested by cartouche frames but exact inscription not fully legible in the image
Materials indurated limestone (weathered/cream-colored stone)
Signs cartouche-style royal name frame (partial) ×2 additional hieroglyphic signs within/around cartouche frames (partial, unreadable) ×6

Connections

Found at Amarna (Akhetaten)
Royals AkhenatenNefertiti

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116272984 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 21.9.596 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 549856 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.