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Bead with Name of King Amenemhat

A work made of carnelian and gold.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of carnelian and gold.

Date:

Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, about 1985–1777 BCE

Artist:

Egyptian

About this artwork

Carved from carnelian, this spherical bead is incised with a cartouche, a protective ring that encircled a king’s name in ancient Egyptian writing. The small hieroglyphs written from right to left inside this cartouche read “Amenemhat,” a name that means “[the god] Amun is in front.” Many ancient Egyptians had multipart names that incorporated a god or goddess’s name, sometimes indicating a personal affinity with them. This bead names one of four kings who bore the name Amenemhat during Egypt’s 12th Dynasty (about 1985–1773 BCE). It has a gold cap at the top and bottom along with a suspension loop so that it can be strung and worn as part of a necklace or other jewelry.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Africa

Culture

Ancient Egyptian

Title

Bead with Name of King Amenemhat

Place

Egypt (Object made in:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

c. 1985 BCE–1777 BCE

Medium

Carnelian and gold

Inscriptions

Amenemhat

Dimensions

1.9 × 1.4 × 1.4 cm (3/4 × 9/16 × 9/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson

Reference Number

1892.23

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/592/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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