Plaque with the Name of Amenhotep III Flanked by Two Uraei

Plaque with the Name of Amenhotep III Flanked by Two Uraei

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

On this piece the uraeus cobra functions as the protector of the royal name. The name of pharaoh Amenhotep III "The Lord of Maat is Re" is in the center of the plaque. The top and center part of the inscription is written twice and the direction of the hieroglyphs was reversed. Only the very bottom part is shown once. To each side is an uraeus with a sun disk, protecting the royal name in the same way the uraeus protects the king as a head ornament. The underside of the plaque is undecorated and flat and does not bear any means of suspension. Originally the piece might have been fitted into a piece of jewelry, maybe it even belonged to the king himself?

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Plaque with the Name of Amenhotep III Flanked by Two UraeiPlaque with the Name of Amenhotep III Flanked by Two UraeiPlaque with the Name of Amenhotep III Flanked by Two UraeiPlaque with the Name of Amenhotep III Flanked by Two UraeiPlaque with the Name of Amenhotep III Flanked by Two Uraei

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.