Illustrative model — an approximation, not a scan of the original object.
c. 1877 – 1870 BCE
Pectoral of Sithathoryunet
Twelfth Dynasty, reign of Senusret II.
- Material
- Gold inlaid with semiprecious stones, including carnelian, lapis lazuli and turquoise
- Findspot
- Tomb of Sithathoryunet beside the pyramid of Senusret II, Lahun
- Discovery
- Found in 1914 in a niche of the princess’s tomb during the British School of Archaeology in Egypt excavations.
- Held by
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
- Inventory number
- 16.1.3a, b
A gold pectoral centred on Senusret II’s throne name, Khakheperre, flanked by two falcons and a kneeling god holding palm ribs, a symbol of countless years.
It is made of hundreds of small coloured stones, each cut precisely to sit in its own gold cell.
Certainty: Established
The Metropolitan Museum describes the pectoral as made of 372 carefully cut pieces of semiprecious stone.
Scholarly note: Another museum text gives 374; the difference reflects how the pieces are counted.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York “Pectoral and Necklace of Sithathoryunet with the Name of Senwosret II, 16.1.3a, b” metmuseum.org
Certainty: Established
The princess’s jewellery survived because it lay in a mud-filled niche that the robbers who plundered the tomb did not reach.
- Guy Brunton (1920) “Lahun I: The Treasure” British School of Archaeology in Egypt, London
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York “Pectoral and Necklace of Sithathoryunet with the Name of Senwosret II, 16.1.3a, b” metmuseum.org