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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 simple wooden-handled implement with a dark, curved blade head wrapped with bound material at the junction, consistent with a small axe/axe-head model.

The image shows a single object photographed against a plain background. A long, straight wooden handle extends horizontally to the left. At the right end, a dark rounded/oval head is attached; the head surface appears metal-like with patina or corrosion. Near the top of the joint between handle and head there is visible wrapping/tied binding in a lighter, fibrous/tan color. No clear hieroglyphs, cartouches, or inscriptions are visible on the object. No deities or royal names can be confidently identified from the image. The visible materials are a wood handle and a dark metal (possibly copper alloy) axe-head; the wrapping could be animal hide or cord, though the exact material cannot be proven from the photograph.

decorative Middle Kingdom (as catalogued); image does not provide secure stylistic dating features good
Materials woodmetal (dark patinated head)wrapped binding (fibrous/tan; possibly animal hide/cord)

Connections

Found at Asyut (Lykopolis)
Materials Wood

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116248083 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 17.9.17 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 544290 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.