Large Oval Storage Basket

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This storage basket was discovered in the tomb of Senenmut's mother, Hatnefer (36.3.1), who lived into the reign of Hatshepsut. The basket is made of halfa grass coils sewn together with strips of palm leaf. It was tied shut using pieces of linen cords attached around the top edge of the basket. Then a mud seal was pressed over the knot at the center of the lid. The basket had been filled with soiled bandages that had probably been used in the embalming process for one of the mummies in the tomb.

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