Bead with Name of King Amenemhat
Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, about 1985–1777 BCE
- Medium
- Steatite
- Classification
- Costume and Accessories
- 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.)
- Culture
- Egypt
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Africa
- Credit line
- Gift of Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
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.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
