Ceremonial Sickle of the "Fieldworker of Amun" Amunemhat

ca. 1479–1425 B.C.E.

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Object Label

Tools

Egyptian workers, including artisans, farmers, and fishermen, required a wide variety of specialized tools.

Woodworkers employed axes that had copper or bronze blades lashed to wooden handles with leather.

Carpenters produced smooth surfaces with copper chisels, often with serrated edges.

Tanners used broad, flat knives to cut strips of leather for sandals, harnesses, and whips, which they then pierced with metal awls.

Field hands cut grain with curved sickles fitted with small flint blades.

Fishermen relied on metal hooks with tiny barbs, much like their modern-day equivalents.

Officials used siphons to inspect the liquid contents of vessels without breaking through the protective mud seals.

Caption

Ceremonial Sickle of the "Fieldworker of Amun" Amunemhat, ca. 1479–1425 B.C.E.. Wood, pigment, Exterior: 9 × 13 1/2 × 2 in. (22.9 × 34.3 × 5.1 cm) Blade Channel: 3/16 × 1/8 × 6 11/16 in. (0.5 × 0.3 × 17 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 48.27. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Title

Ceremonial Sickle of the "Fieldworker of Amun" Amunemhat

Date

ca. 1479–1425 B.C.E.

Dynasty

Dynasty 18

Period

New Kingdom

Geography

Possible place collected: Thebes, Egypt

Medium

Wood, pigment

Classification

Accessory

Dimensions

Exterior: 9 × 13 1/2 × 2 in. (22.9 × 34.3 × 5.1 cm) Blade Channel: 3/16 × 1/8 × 6 11/16 in. (0.5 × 0.3 × 17 cm)

Credit Line

Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number

48.27

Frequent Art Questions

  • I was wondering: what's the meaning of the hieroglyphs written here?

    The inscription on this sickle translates to “the cultivator of Amun, Amunemhat, repeating life.” The inscription and its materials indicate that this is a ceremonial representation of the tool that was meant to be included in the tomb of a man named Amunemhat. It could relate to an official role he had in his life related to cultivation, but more likely relates agricultural responsibilities his soul will have in the afterlife.
    Oh, great. Thanks.

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