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Bead with Name of King Amenemhat

A work made of steatite.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of steatite.

Date:

Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, about 1985–1777 BCE

Artist:

Egyptian

About this artwork

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,” which 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 Twelfth Dynasty (about 1985–1773 BCE). It is pierced through the middle so that it can be strung and worn as part of a necklace or other jewelry.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Arts of Africa

Artist

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

Steatite

Dimensions

1.3 × 1.6 cm (1/2 × 5/8 in.); 1.4 × 1.7 × 1.7 cm (9/16 × 11/16 × 11/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson

Reference Number

1894.1285

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.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/94857/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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