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

Scarab Inscribed with a Hieroglyphic Motif

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. 1.6 cm (5/8 in); w. 1.2 cm (1/2 in); h. 0.7 cm (1/4 in). From: Temple of Hatshepsut, Foundation Deposit 9 (I), 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.

Small oval scarab made of glazed greenish stone, with an incised hieroglyphic motif visible on the back.

The object appears as an oval scarab/seal with a glossy, glazed surface in green-blue tones. The central field contains a standing human/figural form flanked by vertical hieroglyph-like strokes and side ornaments, and there is a broad horizontal element near the lower portion resembling a platform or base. The design is worn but the incised lines and signs are clearly part of a hieroglyphic motif rather than plain imagery. No cartouche is legible. No distinct Greek/Coptic/Arabic lettering is visible. A small break/chip and surface irregularities are present near the rim. The front may contain standard scarab form but is not the focus of the image.

religious New Kingdom (as catalogued; specific reign unknown) good
Deities unknown
Materials steatite (glazed)
Signs Incised hieroglyphic strokes/columns (exact signs unclear) ×8 Lower platform/base element (exact sign unclear) Central standing figure/anthropomorphic sign within motif (exact sign unclear)
Visible text "Incised hieroglyphic motif with vertical sign strokes flanking an anthropomorphic standing figure; exact reading unknown."

Inscriptions (1)

Inscription #1 AI reading of the photograph

Visible text (machine reading)

Incised hieroglyphic motif with vertical sign strokes flanking an anthropomorphic standing figure; exact reading unknown.

Connections

Found at Deir el-Bahri
Materials Steatite

Cross-references (4)

  • Wikidata-Q Q116276844 tier-1
  • Collection-QID Q160236 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • Inventory-Number 27.3.384 tier-2 (wikidata-mediated)
  • MET-Object 559914 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.