Shebiu Necklace of Amenhotep

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This necklace of lentil-shaped beads was found on top of the coffin of a twelve-year-old boy named Amenhotep (36.3.153). The necklace and two armlets found in Amenhotep's coffin (36.3.155, 36.3.156) are made of Egyptian faience, a ceramic material made of quartz frit. These pieces of jewelry are sized for an adult, and may have been a gift from the child's father. Gold necklaces of lentoid beads (shebiu-collars) and arm bands (a'a-armlets) were part of the honor jewelry presented by the king to important officials other highly valued individuals. Combinations of gold and blue armlets are depicted in tomb paintings (see the detail of facsimile 30.4 106 above), and it is possible that the faience versions of the gold jewelry were part of the sets, not just imitations.

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