Right side of mandible belonging to a soldier
Unknown Artist
ca. 1961–1917 B.C.
Medium
Human bone
Dimensions
See 27.3.617a
Classification
Human remains, partial mandible
Period
Middle Kingdom
Department
Egyptian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1927
Accession Number
27.3.617b
Art Historical Context
This poignant artifact, the right side of a—or lower jawbone—from ancient Egyptian soldier, dates to Egypt's Middle Kingdom, specifically 12 (ca. 1961–1917.C.). Acquired through the Rogers Fund in1927, it resides in the Metropolitan Museum of's Egyptian Art department, offering a direct, tactile link to the lives of ordinary warriors in one of pharaonic Egypt's most stable and prosperous eras. The Middle Kingdom marked a renaissance after the chaotic First Intermediate Period, with Dynasty 12 pharaohs like Amenemhat I and Senusret I expanding military campaigns into Nubia and Asia, bolstering...