Winnowing Scoop

Late Period

664–525 B.C.

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 130

This winnowing scoop would have been one of a pair used to toss newly threshed grain into the air so that the lighter husks would blow away and the heavier grain would fall back down. It was found discarded in the debris that filled a courtyard shared by a Middle Kingdom tomb (around 2000 BCE), a Third Intermediate Period burial (around 900 BCE), and the tomb of Nespekashuty, a high official who lived during the 26th Dynasty (around 650 BCE). Demotic and Greek texts on the walls of Nespekashuty's tomb and rubbish, including texts on flakes of limestone (ostraca), indicate that reuse of this area continued into the Ptolemaic and Roman eras. Evidence for later use by Coptic monks is seen in the drawing of a Late Antique saint (23.3.761, sixth to seventh century CE) on another block from the tomb.

For more on the tomb of Nespekashuty, see 23.3.468.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Winnowing Scoop
Period: Late Period
Dynasty: Dynasty 26 (?)
Date: 664–525 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahri, Tomb of Nespekashuty (TT 312, MMA 509), MMA excavations, 1923–24
Medium: Wood
Dimensions: H. 36.3 × W. 13.2 × D. 2.1 cm (14 5/16 × 5 3/16 × 13/16 in.)
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1923
Object Number: 23.3.51
Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art

More Artwork

In the same gallery

In the same medium

From the same time and place

A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.

Stela of Aafenmut, Wood, gesso, paint — Stela of Aafenmut
ca. 924–889 B.C.

Mummy Board inscribed for Henettawy daughter of Isetemkheb, Wood, gesso, paint — Mummy Board inscribed for Henettawy daughter of Isetemkheb
ca. 990–970 B.C.

Coffin Set of the Chantress of Amun-Re Henettawy, Wood, gesso, paint, varnish — Coffin Set of the Chantress of Amun-Re Henettawy
ca. 1000–945 B.C.

Outer Coffin of the Chantress of Amun-Re Henettawy, Wood, gesso, paint, varnish — Outer Coffin of the Chantress of Amun-Re Henettawy
ca. 1000–945 B.C.

Coffin of Irtirutja, Plastered, painted, and gilded wood — Coffin of Irtirutja
332–250 B.C.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.