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

Mirror of the Chief of the Southern Tens Reniseneb

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

Description

Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12–13, ca. 1810–1700 B.C. Unalloyed copper, gold, ebony. H. 22.3 cm (8 3/4 in.); W. 11.3 cm (4 7/16 in.); D. 2.5 cm (1 in.). From: pit tomb CC 25, burial of Reniseneb, on chest of mummy, Asasif, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Egypt. Excavation: Carnarvon/Carter excavations, 1910. Subject: Hieroglyphs. Credit: Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926.

The same text in other collections

Linked by shared inventory number (MET-Object 544234). Each record below describes this same artifact or text from a different angle.

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 circular metal mirror head attached to a gold-inlaid handle-like piece decorated with hieroglyphic signs.

A round, tarnished greenish metal disc forms the mirror face. Below it is a vertically oriented handle or backing element with dark (likely ebony) surface and gold ornamentation. The gold decoration includes raised geometric/feather-like bands at the top and bottom edges and a central vertical register containing several gold-painted or inlaid hieroglyph-like signs. No cartouche or royal titulary is clearly identifiable from the provided view. The catalogue’s stated materials (unalloyed copper, gold, ebony) are broadly consistent with the visible green patina on the disc and the contrast between a dark handle and gold ornamentation, though the exact mirror-reflective surface material cannot be confirmed photographically.

decorative Middle Kingdom (as given by catalogue; image alone not sufficient for independent dating) good
Materials metal disc with green patina (likely copper alloy)gold (inlay/raised ornamentation)dark wood/resin surface (likely ebony handle/backing)
Signs unknown hieroglyphic sign (part of a vertical inscription) ×4

Connections

Found at Asasif

Cross-references (5)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116248189 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 26.7.1351 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 544234 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • PNM-Object pnm:83903333 tier-2 (inventory-match)
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.