Double-flute player
Unknown Artist
ca. 945–525 B.C.
Medium
Faience
Dimensions
H. 6 × W. 4.5 × D. 2.9 cm (2 3/8 × 1 3/4 × 1 1/8 in.)
Classification
Statuette fragment, double-flute player
Period
Third Intermediate Period–Late Period
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Elisha Dyer, in memory of George R. Dyer, 1941
Accession Number
41.6.7
Tags
Art Historical Context
This charming faience figurine, created between roughly 945 and525 B.C. during Egypt’s Third Intermediate Late Periods, captures a musician playing a double flute. Standing just over two inches tall, the small sculpture belongs to a long Egyptian tradition of representing daily life and ritual activities in durable, brightly glazed materials. Faience, prized for its vibrant turquoise hues that evoked the life-giving Nile, was commonly used for votive objects and personal items during Dynasties 22–26, a time when music remained central to both temple ceremonies and household entertainment. The...