Gilded silver was quite rare in Egypt at this time. Perhaps only two other Middle Kingdom pectorals not associated with royalty are known, but another Haraga fragment points to royal patronage: a gilded silver cartouche with the prenomen of Senwosret II (r. A single bee is repeated in a unique three-dimensional representation, possibly from a diadem ( 2014.619.6). On a fragmentary pectoral, flanking the central bovine emblem, are two bees. Unlike most silver antiquities in the Museum, these have never been cleaned-a fate suffered by many in the past-and they retain a thick crust of archaeological silver chloride corrosion. A recent Museum acquisition, sumptuous silver jewelry from Haraga, a provincial site near the mouth of the Fayum Oasis, reflects the refinement of gold cloisonné inlay jewelry worn by elite women during the Middle Kingdom ( 2014.619.7). In many ways, silver was used similarly to gold. As for the raw material, lead isotope analysis indicates that the metal likely came from Lavrion (Greece), an important source of silver during classical times.

1981–1952 B.C.), Meketre would have had access to precious materials. 1988–1981 B.C.) and Royal Chief Steward under Amenemhat I (r. As Royal Treasurer under Mentuhotep IV (r. The inscription indicates he received the scarab from his powerful superior, Meketre, although the phrasing is generally reserved for a royal donation. How a private individual at this time, even one as well connected as Wah, had access to so much of this rare metal remains a puzzle. The larger is the earliest example of metal-into-metal inlay-in this instance, electrum hieroglyphs hammered into cast silver-known from Egypt ( 40.3.12). Wah’s extraordinary scarabs were made of silver as well. In this case, not only the silver survived 4,000 years of burial, but also the linen cords. The round beads were separated by cylinder beads rolled from small rectangles of hammered sheet. The larger is silver ( 40.3.19), the smaller gold, and the beads from each were made in a similar way from hemispheres of hammered sheet that were joined using an early, experimental form of soldering. In death, as probably in life, Wah wore two ball bead necklaces, a typical form of jewelry in the Middle Kingdom. For example, a Middle Kingdom “silver” amulet from Abydos representing Anubis recumbent on a shrine ( 04.18.9), which was recently analyzed using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, is actually electrum containing approximately 40 percent gold.Ī wealth of silver was found on the body of Wah, a minor official buried in Thebes around the beginning of Dynasty 12 (ca. Dependent on composition, its color can range from pale gold to yellowish white, and in the past, when based on visual inspection, much whiter electrums were frequently mistaken for silver. 23–79) in his Naturalis historia¸ electrum is a natural alloy of gold and silver containing more than 20 percent of the latter. As defined by the Roman author, naturalist, philosopher, and historian Pliny the Elder (A.D.

Nearly all is in the form of small beads, but an interesting sa-amulet of alternating electrum and silver wires secured with electrum bands was also found ( 25.3.253). 2051–2000 B.C.) at Thebes excavated by Herbert Winlock in 1922–23. The earliest Egyptian silver in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection comes from burials of women associated with the temple of the Dynasty 11 king Mentuhotep II (r. 2551–2528 B.C.), come notable exceptions: a group of bangles inlaid with semi-precious stones and furniture fittings, now divided between the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. From the tomb of Hetepheres I, mother of the Dynasty 4 king Khufu (r. There are few documented finds of silver predating the early Middle Kingdom (ca. For this reason, and because silver, especially hammered sheet, is highly susceptible to the corrosive salts found in most Egyptian burial environments, it generally appears less frequently in the Egyptian archaeological record than gold or cupreous metals. However, unlike gold, which is known to have been brought from the Eastern Desert and Nubia, the sources of silver are obscure, and in view of the relative scarcity of local geological resources, assuredly much was imported from neighboring lands. Temple inscriptions suggest that for much of Egypt’s history, silver was valued more highly than gold. 4400–3100 B.C.) and remained important for personal ornaments and cult objects in Egypt through Roman times. Silver was used to fashion beads as early as the Predynastic Period (ca.

Electrum gold ring