# Bead with Name of King Amenemhat

- By: Ancient Egyptian
- Date: Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, about 1985–1777 BCE
- Medium: Carnelian and gold
- Classification: Costume and Accessories
- Dimensions: 1.9 × 1.4 × 1.4 cm (3/4 × 9/16 × 9/16 in.)
- Culture: Egypt
- Credit line: Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/592)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/5fb278c5-0b2c-e8c6-37ba-5b0b64477c0e/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

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.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0