Sealed Jar from the Tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu

New Kingdom
ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 117
This storage jar is from a tomb in the Valley of the Kings that was made for the parents of Queen Tiye, the principal the wife of Amenhotep III and grandmother of Tutankhamun. The wide opening of the jar was probably closed with a small dish or a circular rush mat that was then covered with a thick layer of mud. This mud covering was then stamped repeatedly with a small oval seal. The seal impressions are imperfect, but it is possible to make out elements of the official seal of the Theban necropolis: a recumbant jackal with nine captives below.

The tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu (KV 46) was excavated in February 1905 by American financier Theodore M. Davis of Rhode Island. In the division of finds, Davies received two large, sealed storage jars, a pair of sandals, two shabti boxes, three superbly crafted shabtis, and a group of shabti tools. Some of these pieces were given to The MET not long after the tomb was discovered. The others were bequeathed to the Museum after Davis died in 1915.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Sealed Jar from the Tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu
  • Period: New Kingdom
  • Dynasty: Dynasty 18
  • Reign: reign of Amenhotep III
  • Date: ca. 1390–1352 B.C.
  • Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Valley of the Kings, Tomb of Yuya and Tjuyu (KV 46), Davis/Quibell & Weigall excavations, 1905
  • Medium: Pottery, whitewash, mud
  • Dimensions: H. 64 cm (25 3/16 in.)
  • Credit Line: Gift of Theodore M. Davis, 1911
  • Object Number: 11.155.7
  • Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

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