WALTERS-EG
Walters Art Museum (Egyptian) · jewelry
Inscribed Bead
Description
<p>A flat rectangular bead made of grey steatite with a single, worn perforation on the long axis. The front is carved in relief showing a seated baboon, a Maat-feather, and a tree or a lotus bud. A three column hieroglyphic design shows the typical a-n-r pattern of the 2nd Intermediate Period. The central column may indicate the throne name of King Sesostris III.</p><p>For the latest information about this object, <cite><a href='https://purl.thewalters.org/art/42.87' rel='external'>Inscribed Bead</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 rectangular, greenish stone object inscribed with Egyptian-style hieroglyphic signs arranged in multiple lines, including a central figure-like motif and framed border bands.
The image shows a squat, rectangular plaque-like object with rounded edges. The surface is green-gray and appears worn, consistent with a stone bead or inscribed stone component. The hieroglyphic inscription is carved/engraved in shallow relief: left and right sides contain vertical stacks of ribbed or bar-like signs within a framed border, while the center includes a diagonal/wing-like or figure-like form and a horizontal bar element near the bottom. A row of small marks runs along the bottom edge, likely part of the inscription. No cartouche is clearly discernible and no Greek, Coptic, or Arabic script is visible. No explicit deity iconography (e.g., clearly identifiable gods such as Anubis, Isis, Ra) can be securely recognized from the worn signs.
hieroglyphic only
unclear (likely ancient Egyptian; exact dynasty unknown)
poor
Materials
green-gray stone (catalogued as steatite; visually consistent)
Signs
hieroglyphic signs (unidentified, likely vertical and horizontal groups) ×20
Visible text
"Unclear; the inscription is present but specific sign values and words cannot be reliably read from the image quality/wear."
Inscriptions (1)
Inscription #1
English description
[Inscription]
Cross-references (2)
- Walters-AccNum 42.87 tier-2
- Walters-id 38443 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.