Document Sealing With the Throne Name of Amenhotep III
Unknown Artist
ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
Medium
Mud
Dimensions
H. 1.6 cm (5/8 in.); w. 1.1 cm (7/16 in.); th. 0.5 cm (3/16 in.)
Classification
Sealing, Nebmaatre, Amenhotep III, Thoth, heb sed
Period
New Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1911, 1912
Accession Number
12.180.561
Art Historical Context
This diminutive mud seal, no larger than a modern button, hails from the opulent New Kingdom period of ancient Egypt, specifically Dynasty 18 (ca. 1390–1352 B.C.). Crafted during the reign of Amenhotep III—one of Egypt's most prosperous pharaohs, famed for grand building projects and diplomatic splendor—it bears his royal throne name, a sacred inscription affirming his divine authority. Acquired through the Rogers Fund in 1911 and 1912, it now resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Egyptian Art collection. Seals like this were essential tools of ancient bureaucracy, pressed into soft mud...