Ivory label of King Den: From the William MacGregor Collection

The name of King Den in a serekh on the ivory label. Image: J Peter Phillips This small rectangular tag provides what appears to be a revealing insight into a moment in Egyptian history – and also asserts the all-important power of the pharaoh. It is made of ivory and is pierced with a round hole, indicating that it was originally strung for attachment on to another object, perhaps a commodity. The suggestion that the label was intended to identify a pair of sandals – because of the incised image of a pair of feet on the reverse – is perhaps a little flimsy, but no other obvious explanation presents itself. Although small, the surface is crisply incised with a scene of one of Egy