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

Decorated jar fragment with inscription

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, reign of Amenhotep III, ca. 1390–1352 B.C. Pottery and ink, paint. H. 10 cm (3 15/16 in.); w. 12.7 cm (5 in.). From: Palace of Amenhotep III, Malqata, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Egypt. Excavation: MMA excavations. Credit: Rogers Fund, 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 terracotta/pottery jar sherd painted with faded light-colored decoration and a partial hieroglyphic inscription or sign block.

The image shows a single, irregular fragment of fired clay (a jar sherd) with a red/orange-brown body surface. Remnants of light-colored paint form a rectangular or stepped area near the lower right/center of the fragment, with what appear to be several small sign-like marks arranged in rows. The upper edge is chipped, and the surface shows minor speckling and flaking of pigment. No figurative scene or iconographic figure is clearly preserved; the visible writing marks are the primary decorated feature.

decorative New Kingdom (as catalogued; visually undiagnostic) fragmentary
Materials pottery (fired clay)paint (light-colored pigment on red/orange slip/body)
Signs partial hieroglyphic sign(s) in a painted inscription area ×5
Visible text "Partial, illegible hieroglyphic sign(s) in a painted block; exact reading unclear."

Inscriptions (1)

Inscription #1 AI reading of the photograph

Visible text (machine reading)

Partial, illegible hieroglyphic sign(s) in a painted block; exact reading unclear.

Connections

Found at Malqata
Materials Pottery
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.