Fish (Bolti) Amulet
Description
Amulet, fish (bolti). Late Old Kingdom–Early Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 8–12, ca. 2150–1950 B.C. Carnelian. H. 1.1 × W. 1.7 × D. 0.6 cm (7/16 × 11/16 × 1/4 in.). Said to be from: Aswan (Syene), Southern Upper Egypt. Subject: Fish. Credit: Rogers Fund, 1959.
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 carved amulet in the form of a fish, shown in profile with a rounded body and tail fin, likely intended as a symbolic “Bolti” fish amulet.
The object is a compact, lentoid-to-oval carved figure resembling a fish, oriented horizontally. The head end shows a slightly raised mouth/gill area and an eye-like indentation; the tail end has a split or flared caudal fin. The surface is glossy with visible color banding consistent with a translucent stone (reddish-brown to reddish-orange on the head and tail, darker reddish-brown along the main body). No clear suspension hole, stringing point, or drilled perforation is visible in this image. No hieroglyphs or other lettering are visible on the amulet surface. The image alone does not provide any readable cartouches or inscriptions.
Connections
Cross-references (4)
- Wikidata-Q Q116430961 tier-1
- Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- Inventory-Number 59.103.12 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
- MET-Object 555589 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.