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

Intaglio with head of Serapis

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

Description

Intaglio, Serapis. Ptolemaic Period, 332–30 B.C. Carnelian. Diam. 1 cm. From: Egypt. Credit: Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926.

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 circular intaglio showing a head in relief/intaglio carving, with a surrounding field worn to a reddish-orange color.

The image depicts a small, lens-shaped round scarab/intaglio-like object photographed against a light background. The central motif appears as a human/juvenile head rendered in worn recessed/engraved details, with darker marks indicating hair or facial features. There is no clear, legible inscription; no Egyptian hieroglyphs are distinguishable at this resolution. The surface shows abrasion and mottling consistent with a carved gem. No cartouches are visible. A thin, curved mark near the right edge could be incidental wear or an incomplete trace of a figure/lettering, but it is not readable.

royal Ptolemaic Period (per catalogue) poor
Deities Serapis
Materials carnelian

Connections

Deities Serapis
Materials Carnelian

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116252442 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 26.7.1362 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 551341 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.