
Model Vase from a Foundation Deposit
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
This model jar is from one of the foundation deposits that were placed in front of the entrance of the tomb of Thutmose IV (KV 43) in the Valley of the Kings. The inscription scratched onto the side identifies the king by his throne name, and reads "The Good God Menkheperure, beloved of Osiris." A small amount of paint is still visible around the edges of the hieroglyphs. The tomb and its foundation deposits were discovered in February1903 during excavations sponsored by Theodore M. Davis and supervised by Howard Carter while he was Inspector-General of Upper Egypt for the Egyptian Antiquities Service. Thirty-nine objects were found in two foundation deposits on either side of the stairs leading down to the tomb entrance. Davis received four of these objects in the division of finds: two model jars and two model dishes, which he bequeathed to the MET and are now on display in Egyptian gallery 117.
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.