Armlet of Amenhotep

Armlet of Amenhotep

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Inside the coffin of the child Amenhotep, two faience armlets had been placed on either side of the mummy's head (36.3.155, 36.3.156). These wide bands were made to been worn on the upper arm of of a grown man, not a child, and they may have been a parting gift from the boy's father. A faience necklace of lentoid beads was found lying on top of the coffin's lid. 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

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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.