WALTERS-EG
Walters Art Museum (Egyptian) · jewelry
Plaque with the Throne Name of Thutmosis IV
Description
<p>This symmetrical oval plaque has icons and inscriptions on both sides. The front depicts an icon and image of King Thutmosis IV (1397-1388 BCE); on the back is a representation of a vulture combined with the royal name. Both sides are executed in sunk relief with deeply incised outlines and finer lines on the inner structures. The sides are smoothed and the layout is balanced. The piece is carefully made. The plaque functioned as an individualized amulet, and was originally mounted and threaded. The amulet should secure the divinity and royal authority for the king, as well as divine protection; it should provide a private owner with his royal patronage and divine protection. The figure of the vulture above a cartouche is less common on scarabs; more often are examples displaying the vulture with outstretched wings at the side of the royal name. Oval plaques of this type are typical for the 18th Dynasty, especially for the period of the reign of Thutmosis III (1479-1425 BCE)-Amenophis III (1388-1351/1350 BCE).</p><p>For the latest information about this object, <cite><a href='https://purl.thewalters.org/art/42.28' rel='external'>Plaque with the Throne Name of Thutmosis IV</a></cite>, visit the Online Collection of the Walters Art Museum.</p>
AI image analysis GPT-5.4-nano
Machine-generated from the object's image on Jul 2026. Not curatorial; treat deities, names, and signs below as the model's best reading, not authority.
Oval plaque in light beige faience with a dark-lined hieroglyphic inscription containing a royal name associated with Thutmose IV, bordered by rectangular sign framing and a column-like arrangement of signs.
The image shows an oval/rounded-rectangular faience plaque with a light beige body and traces of blue-green glaze. Within the center is a hieroglyphic inscription rendered in dark pigment/outline, arranged around and within rectilinear framing elements. Multiple stacked signs are visible, including a prominent vertical arrangement on the right side that appears like a cartouche-like enclosure (uncertain), and a set of horizontal bar and block signs on the left/lower portion. The overall composition resembles a throne-name style cartouche/plaque inscription, but the exact hieroglyphs are not fully legible at this resolution. No clearly identifiable deities are depicted as figures; the object appears primarily inscribed with royal titulary. No Greek, Coptic, or Arabic text is visible. Wear, flaking, and discoloration are present, with background pitting and edge losses. No inscription certainty is high enough to quote verbatim excerpts.
hieroglyphic only
New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty (reign of Thutmose IV)
fragmentary
Royals
Thutmose IV (cartouche/throne name; exact reading unclear)
Materials
light beige faienceblue-green glaze (residual)dark painted/outlined pigment (hieroglyphs)
Signs
Hieroglyphic royal titulary/cartouche-like enclosure (exact signs unclear) ×6
Inscriptions (2)
Inscription #1
English description
[Translation] On front, throne name of King Thutmose IV in a cartouche combined with the royal divinity title and state ruler title: The Great God, Lord of the Two Lands: / Men-kheperu-Re.;
Inscription #2
English description
[Translation] On reverse: Men-kheperu-Re, Men-kheperu-Re.
Connections
Cross-references (2)
- Walters-AccNum 42.28 tier-2
- Walters-id 6714 tier-2
Similar inscriptions · by content embedding
About this record's data
- From the source institution — accession, description, dimensions, and dating are as catalogued by Walters Art Museum (Egyptian).
- AI-inferred — the image-analysis panel (deities, names, signs) is machine-generated and may be wrong.
- Approximate location — most map points are plotted at the site centroid, not the exact findspot.
- Inferred links — cross-references marked with a match method other than explicit-source-field were matched by us, not stated by the source.