Reading the Past
A Writing Tablet’s Language Can Be Revised in the Catalogue
A historical object’s catalogue description has a history of its own. When an institution explains that an earlier identification has changed, the revision…
Ancient objects, open questions
Notes from the collection
Reading the Past
An Egyptian School Board Retains More Than Its Latest Exercise
A writing surface used more than once can preserve traces of several activities in a single object. The Met’s board 28.9.4 makes that layered use part of…
Materials & Making
A Two-Centimetre Fish Hook Brings Egyptian Fishing Down to Object Scale
A fishing scene can suggest an entire working landscape. A surviving hook asks us to change scale and examine one small component whose own record may be…
Materials & Making
A Whetstone in a Toiletry Basket Connects Care with Tool Maintenance
A toiletry set can include an object concerned with maintaining another tool rather than directly applying a cosmetic. The Met’s whetstone 26.7.837d is a…
Reading the Past
An Egyptian Die Preserves a Numbering Arrangement as Well as a Shape
A small cube with dots can look familiar before we have read anything about it. The Met’s die numbered 10.130.1155 invites a closer question: how are the…
Objects & Beliefs
The Mechanical Dog’s Jaw Adds Movement to an Egyptian Animal Figure
The Met’s ivory mechanical dog is posed in a leap, but its movement is not only represented in carving. A lever beneath the chest operates the mouth, adding…
Materials & Making
A Six-Centimetre Furniture Leg Does Not Reconstruct the Whole Egyptian Seat
A small surviving support can tempt us to imagine a complete piece of furniture. The Met’s ivory furniture leg, object 26.7.1283, is only six centimetres…
Objects & Beliefs
Egyptian Wooden Clappers Give Percussion the Shape of Hands
Two carved wooden forms can describe a bodily action while also producing sound. The Met’s Egyptian clappers, object 89.4.1843, take the form of hands with…