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

Scarab

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

Description

New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, ca. 1550–1295 B.C. Steatite (glazed). L. 1.7 × W. 1.1 × D. 0.7 cm (11/16 × 7/16 × 1/4 in.). From: Egypt. Subject: Scarabs. Credit: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1905.

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 turquoise/green glazed scarab-shaped object with a central emblem-like motif in dark brown/black lines.

The image shows a single oval/inscribed scarab face with a glossy turquoise glaze. A thick dark outline frames the piece, and within it are two large, symmetrical vertical loop-like elements on the left and right, enclosing a central form that resembles a stylized hieroglyph or name sign rather than a fully modeled beetle. The surface shows crackling craquelure consistent with glaze, with wear/oxidation at the edges. No clear throne-name cartouche or royal titulary layout is legible at this resolution. No deities are clearly depicted; the design appears to be an incised or painted sign pattern on the scarab face rather than figural imagery. No modern text or inscriptions in Greek/Coptic/Arabic are visible.

decorative New Kingdom (as catalogued); exact sign/date not confirmable from the image alone. good
Materials steatite (glazed)glaze (turquoise/green)
Signs Unknown hieroglyphic sign(s) / name-sign elements (two loop-like elements with a central wedge-like form) ×3
Visible text "Central engraved/painted sign pattern is present but not confidently readable; likely a non-specific hieroglyphic name sign on a scarab face."

Inscriptions (1)

Inscription #1 AI reading of the photograph

Visible text (machine reading)

Central engraved/painted sign pattern is present but not confidently readable; likely a non-specific hieroglyphic name sign on a scarab face.

Connections

Materials Steatite

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116245078 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 05.3.397 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 554051 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.