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

Model ax

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, ca. 1981–1802 B.C. Copper, wood, animal hide. l. 4.5 cm (1 3/4 in). From: Tomb of Ankhef (Tomb 9), Asyut (Lykopolis), Middle Egypt, Egypt. Excavation: Khashaba excavations. Credit: Gift of Edward S. Harkness, 1917.

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 wooden-handled axe or model axe with a rounded, dark metal blade head, with a bundled binding around the junction of handle and head.

The image shows a single object laid horizontally against a plain background. A long, light-brown wooden handle extends leftward. At the right end is a rounded, bowl-like dark blade/head with a broad edge; the surface appears mottled and dark, consistent with oxidized metal. Around the top of the head/neck area is a tightly wrapped, fabric or leather-like binding in tan to brown tones. Faint markings are visible on/near the binding but are not clearly legible as hieroglyphs. No clearly identifiable Egyptian hieroglyphs, cartouches, or modern text are visible on the object itself. The overall appearance matches a small workshop/ritual model of an axe rather than a full functional tool.

unclear Middle Kingdom (per catalogue) good
Materials wood (handle)metal (dark oxidized blade/head)animal hide or leather-like binding (uncertain but consistent with catalogue)fabric/twine-like wrap (uncertain)
Signs unknown faint marks (not legible)

Connections

Materials Wood

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116248084 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 17.9.18 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 544289 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.