Papyrus Lid

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Part of Tutankhamun's "embalming cache," this was one of about 25 lids found inside a group of large jars that may have held food or drink used for the king's funeral ceremony. The jar it originally covered, with which it was no longer associated, may have contained food, or may have held embalming materials. This is one of six lids made by folding lengths of papyrus back and forth across a center point to create a flat circle.

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