Bead with Name of King Amenemhat

Arts of Africa

Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, about 1985–1777 BCE

Egyptian

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

Garrett Chatfield Pier, “Historical Scarab Seals from the Art Institute Collection, Chicago,” The American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, 20, 1 (October 1906), pp. 75, 84 (no. 1106) (ill.).
Thomas George Allen, A Handbook of the Egyptian Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1923), p. 113.

Reverend Chauncey Murch (1859-1907), Luxor, Egypt; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1894; price reimbursed by Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson, 1894.

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