Home › Browse › MET › Object 59271
Metropolitan Museum of Art — Egyptian Art (Open Access) · jewelry

Scarab Inscribed for Maatkare (Hatshepsut)

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, early, Joint reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, ca. 1479–1458 B.C. Steatite (glazed). L. 1.8 cm (11/16 in.); w. 1.3 cm (1/2 in.). From: Temple of Hatshepsut, Foundation Deposit 7 (G), Deir el-Bahri, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Egypt. Excavation: MMA excavations, 1926–27. Subject: Hieroglyphs, Scarabs. Credit: Rogers Fund, 1927.

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.

Glazed steatite scarab seal with an incised central cartouche-like form framed by decorative border elements and Egyptian hieroglyphs.

The image shows a small, oval scarab amulet viewed from above. The surface is greenish with a glossy glaze and the design is in dark incised lines. In the middle there is a rectangular cartouche-like frame containing a standing figure-like sign at the top and a set of signs below (not fully legible at this resolution). Surrounding the cartouche are additional incised hieroglyphic signs arranged symmetrically, including what appear to be column-like figures flanking the central register, and a lower curved border resembling a base platform or ground line with short tick marks. A faint decorative band surrounds the central field. No other scripts (Greek/Coptic/Arabic) are visible. The incisions clearly indicate an Egyptian inscribed scarab, though the exact reading of the royal name and individual signs cannot be confirmed from this image alone.

religious New Kingdom (likely 18th Dynasty, Hatshepsut/Maatkare) good
Royals Maatkare (Hatshepsut) — inscription appears cartouche-like but exact reading unclear
Materials green glazed steatite (surface glaze)
Signs cartouche-like frame with hieroglyphs (royal name cartouche format) incised surrounding Egyptian hieroglyphs (partially legible) ×6
Visible text "Central area includes a cartouche-like frame with standing/figure-like sign and additional subordinate hieroglyphs; specific text not reliably legible in the provided resolution."

Inscriptions (1)

Inscription #1 AI reading of the photograph

Visible text (machine reading)

Central area includes a cartouche-like frame with standing/figure-like sign and additional subordinate hieroglyphs; specific text not reliably legible in the provided resolution.

Connections

Found at Deir el-Bahri
Royals Hatshepsut

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116279803 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 27.3.230 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 559822 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.