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Walters Art Museum (Egyptian) · vessel

Cosmetic Vessel of Meretnubt

Source of record: Walters Art Museum (Egyptian) — catalogued by the holding institution. View the original record →

Description

<p>This small cosmetic vessel is carved with an openwork frieze of heraldic birds flanking a cartouche with the name "King's daughter, Nubet-meryt." Meretnubt was a daughter of King Thutmose I (1504-1492 BCE). Separating the two heraldic groups are two snakes flanking a column. Above the openwork frieze is carved a series of alternating open and closed lotus flowers which ring the neck of the vessel. The glaze is particularly green in appearance.</p><p>For the latest information about this object, <cite><a href='https://purl.thewalters.org/art/48.1388' rel='external'>Cosmetic Vessel of Meretnubt</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.

A small, round cosmetic container with a flared rim and painted/detailed decorative band on the sides, shown in two-piece form (lid and base).

The image shows a steatite-like cosmetic vessel consisting of a domed lid and a cylindrical body. The lid is flat-to-slightly concave on top and appears covered in a greenish turquoise glaze with areas of wear and chipping along the edges. On the front of the body, a molded/relief or incised scene is filled with dark pigment: a symmetrical design dominated by a central cartouche-like or emblem form, flanked by wing-like or feathered elements and additional carved shapes that resemble stylized eyes/face motifs. Around the scene are decorative bands and small incisions/marks. No clear modern labels or writing are visible. The only text-like elements are the decorative hieroglyphic-style forms in relief; specific characters and counts cannot be read with confidence from this resolution. The object matches the catalogue premise of a cosmetic vessel, and the visible green glaze is consistent with a “steatite with glaze” description; no clear contradiction is visible.

daily life Ancient Egypt (period unclear; likely Late Period/Early Ptolemaic style cosmetic vessel, but not certain from the image alone). good
Materials steatite (implied by catalogue)glaze (green/turquoise)dark pigment/infill (possibly painted details)
Signs Hieroglyphic/royal-name or emblem-like cartouche form (central) Decorative eye/face-like motifs flanking the central emblem ×2 Additional incised hieroglyphic-style bands/lines (unreadable) ×3

Inscriptions (1)

Inscription #1

English description

[Translation] king's daughter, Nubet-meryt

Connections

Royals Thutmose I

Cross-references (2)

  • Walters-AccNum 48.1388 tier-2
  • Walters-id 37477 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.