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

Bifacial knife with handle

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

Description

Early Dynastic Period, Dynasty 2, reign of Khasekhemui, ca. 2949 B.C. Flint. L: 21.3 cm (8 3/8 in.); diam. 6.4 cm (2 1/2 in.). From: Umm el-Qaab, Tomb of Khasekhemui, Abydos, Northern Upper Egypt, Egypt. Excavation: Egypt Exploration Fund excavations. Credit: Gift of Egypt Exploration Fund, 1901.

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.

The image shows a single flint tool/blank with a broad, leaf-like form and a sharp/working edge on one or more sides, photographed against a plain background.

The artifact appears to be a bifacially worked flint piece with a flattened, elongated shape. The left and right ends taper slightly, and the surface shows knapping scars and subtle edge retouching, suggesting purposeful tool manufacture. No visible handle, hafting, or fitted grip is apparent in this view; the central portion is broader and the sides curve toward the ends. The lighting emphasizes the flint’s natural brown/tan coloration and fracture/knapped texture. There are no clear carved hieroglyphs, cartouches, or any Greek/Coptic/Arabic text visible on the surface.

unclear Early Dynastic Period (per catalogue) fragmentary
Materials flint

Connections

Found at Abydos
Materials Flint

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116276941 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 01.4.30 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 547438 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.