Gable-topped Linen Chest

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This rectangular box with a gable-shaped lid was whitewashed inside and out. Two v-shaped battens on the underside of the lid hold it in place when closed. The bottom fo the chest was originally fitted with four short L-shaped legs, but one of these was missing (now restored). The box was also fitted with two knobs at the front, one on the box and one on the lid. A length of linen cord was wound around these knobs and a piece of mud applied to the cord was impressed with a square seal. Inside the box were 30 linen sheets. The majority of which had been used before being buried in Hatnefer's tomb (36.3.1). All of the sheets had been cleaned and all but one were folded into small bundles and carefully packed into the box. Many had ink inscriptions of the treasury (36.3.95–.100), indicating that they came from the royal storerooms.

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