Alabaster Boat of Tutankhamun

Fashioned from translucent alabaster and poised upon a square, pool-like plinth, this miniature barque ranks among the most exquisite treasures of Tutankhamun’s tomb.

Howard Carter discovered the piece in the annexe, still entwined with garlands of faded blossom; suggesting it once served as a festive centrepiece, perhaps holding scented oil or water to complete the illusion of a vessel afloat.

The prow and stern curve into matched ibex heads, each fitted with genuine horns and adorned with collars of gilded glass; their painted eyes and surviving beard lend a startling lifelikeness.

Beneath a delicate canopy at the bow kneels a young woman, a wig of grey stone cascading over jewelled earrings and bracelets, while she proffers a lotus, emblem of rebirth. At the stern a nude dwarf, wigged and banded in gold, grasps a pole: not a mere decoration, but a symbolic helmsman.

In Ancient Egyptian thought, the barque was far more than transport, it was the sacred craft that bore sun and soul alike through perilous night waters to dawn’s renewal. Thus, this diminutive navigator embodies the liminal guide, steering the king’s spirit across the netherworld’s currents, while the maiden ushers the promise of resurrection.

Inscribed on the base are Tutankhamun’s throne-name and that of his queen, anchoring the piece in royal identity even as it alludes to cosmic voyage. Created in the late 18th Dynasty (c. 1332–1323 B.C.), this alabaster boat is both a triumph of artistry and subtle treatise on the pharaoh’s eternal passage from mortal dusk to solar dawn.