Cylinder seal with name of Amenemhat II and that of princess Khenemetneferhedjet

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The so-called cylinder seal is pierced lengthwise, and inscriptions are carved into its surface. Theoretically, this seal could have been used to mark an object by rolling it over a moist lump of mud that had been placed over the closure, for example, between a base and lid, and thus impressing its inscription. However, many ancient Egyptian seals also had amuletic properties, and the piece here might never have been used as an actual seal.

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