Sealing, from letter 22.3.518 from Heqanakht to Rahotep

Middle Kingdom

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 107

Discovered attached to a letter from Heqanakht to the Overseer of the Delta, Herunefer (see 22.3.518), this lump of mud is an example of a sealing. When a document was ready, it was folded or rolled and wrapped with a string. A small lump of mud was placed over the ends of the string and impressed with the incised underside of a seal, such as a scarab. This served to identify the owner or writer of the document.

Sealing, from letter 22.3.518 from Heqanakht to Rahotep, Mud, fiber

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