Knob from a Chest Inscribed for Horemheb

Artist Unidentified

Period New Kingdom Period (Ancient Egyptian, 1550–1070 BCE)

Place of OriginEgypt

Date1347-1338 BCE

Dimensions11/16 × 2 1/8 in. (1.7 × 5.4 cm)

MediumEgyptian faience

ClassificationFurniture

Credit LineGift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1906.200

Not on View

DescriptionA small knob of blue faience inlaid with white faience. It features a central cartouche with the throne name of Horemheb, flanked by uraei with "life" signs (ankhs), and crowned with symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt. A gold symbol (nub) is beneath the cartouche, and a sun disk (Amun) sits above. It is circular in form and likely once affixed to a wooden container. Some chips on the outer edge have been restored.

Label TextThis blue faience knob bears the throne name of Horemheb, the last ruler of Egypt’s 18th Dynasty, who restored religious and political order after the disruptions of the Amarna period. The surrounding motifs—symbols of gold, life, and the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt—reinforce his claim to divine authority and national unity. Affixed to a coffer or small chest, the knob served a functional and symbolic role. A cord would have been looped around this and a paired knob to fasten the lid shut, sometimes with a clay seal impressed over the tie to ensure protection. Similar knobs were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun, suggesting a shared practice among Egypt’s royal elite for securing valuable or sacred contents. Ask ChatGPTPublished References(Godwin, Blake More and Molly Ohl Godwin), Catalogue of Egyptian Antiquities, Toledo Museum of Art, 1917, p. 22, no. 200.

Comparative ReferencesSee also Desroches-Nobelcourt, C., Tutankhamen, New York, 1963, esp. p. 59 (coffer); p. 80, pl. XVI ("the painted box"); p. 86, fig. 44 (a small coffer); p. 107, pl. XXIII b. (a coffer); p. 184, fig. 106 (a wig box); p. 203, fig. 123 (terminal of a fan's handle); p. 211, pl. XLIII (an unguent jar); p. 232, pl. XLIXa (a coffer); p. 234, pl. L (a cabinet).

cf. Reeves, N., The Complete Tutankhamun, London, 1990, esp. p. 30 and "Boxes and Chests," pp. 188-193.