Jar Label
Unknown Artist
ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
Medium
Pottery and ink, paint
Dimensions
H. 13.7 × W. 9.4 × Th. 0.8 cm (5 3/8 × 3 11/16 × 5/16 in.)
Classification
Jar Label
Period
New Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.10.1134
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Egyptian Art galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where we encounter a humble yet revealing artifact: the *Jar Label*, by an unknown artist around 1390–1352.C. during the New Kingdom's Dynasty 18. This was Egypt's golden age of imperial power, under pharaohs like Amenep III, when grand temples rose and vast trade networks flourished. Small objects like this pottery tag offer a window into the everyday bureaucracy that supported such splendor. Measuring just 5 3/8 × 3 11/16 × 5/16 inches, this thin shard of pottery bears inscriptions in ink and paint—likely hieroglyphs n...