Bead with Name of King Amenemhat
Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, about 1985–1777 BCE
Medium
Carnelian and gold
Dimensions
1.9 × 1.4 × 1.4 cm (3/4 × 9/16 × 9/16 in.)
Classification
bead
Department
Arts of Africa
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
592
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Carved from carnelian, this spherical bead is incised with a cartouche, a protective ring that encircled a king’s name in ancient Egyptian writing. The small hieroglyphs written from right to left inside this cartouche read “Amenemhat,” a name that means “[the god] Amun is in front.” Many ancient Egyptians had multipart names that incorporated a god or goddess’s name, sometimes indicating a personal affinity with them. This bead names one of four kings who bore the name Amenemhat during Egypt’s ...
About the Artist
Ancient Egyptian
Ancient Egyptian artists, a collective of highly skilled artisans spanning over three millennia from the Predynastic period (c. 6000–3150 BC) to the Roman era (30 BC–4th century AD), produced some of humanity's most enduring masterpieces. These anonymous craftsmen, often organized in state-sponsored workshops, lived in dedicated communities like Deir el-Medina near Luxor during the New Kingdom (c....