Reference sealing

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Small lumps of clay were often used to seal goods or documents. They are called sealings. On one side they often bear an impression of the seal used, while another side can show an impression of the object itself or of its closing mechanism (such as a string). This lump of clay bears a seal impression, but its conical shape suggests that it was never attached to an object. It can therefore be identified as a reference sealing, which was used to verify the authenticity of sealings that were attached to documents or goods. Or it could have been used as proof of authorization for certain dealings. This reference seal was found together with two others (25.3.267b, c) and a third one (26.3.282) was discovered in another area of the same tomb. The reference sealing here shows an impression from the same seal as 25.3.267c that reads "Storehouse of the Great (Goddess)."

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