Ritual Implement Dedicated by a King Senwosret to Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Known as a pesesh-kef, this magical instrument has its origins in early Egyptian culture. It may represent an implement used to cut the umbilical cord. The pesesh-kef was employed in the Opening of the Mouth ritual, during which a priest would hold the implement to the mouth of a cult statue or mummy, allowing it to receive offerings. The inscription indicates that this implement was dedicated to Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II by one of the Senwosret kings, likely Senwosret III.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art