Harpocrates seal

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This small figurine depicts a naked, crouching boy with a uraeus (cobra) on his forehead to indicate his royal or divine status. A thick lock of hair falls from the right side of his head onto his shoulder and marks that he is a child. His proper right hand was originally held up with his finger reaching for his mouth in a gesture that likewise signifies youth. Despite its small size, this figurine is very nicely modelled and of high quality. The underside bears an inscription and could have been used as a seal. The base is incomplete, but the inscription can be reconstructed as awish: "May Amun-RE give protection and all goodness." The name of the god Amun was written with an n-sign (a ripple of water) within an oval, a cryptographic writing that is known from the Third Intermediate Period on.

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