This obsidian head, an exquisite example of Egyptian craftsmanship, was part of a full-length statue depicting King Senwosret III. The king is wearing a nemes headdress, with the sacred serpent (uraeus), representing regal and divine might. In this representation, the artist portrays the sense of a firm yet extremely human figure, showing the load of...
This statue of kneeling captive can be dated to the reign of Pepi II for stylistic reasons. Beginning at least in the mid 5th Dynasty, large sculptures of bound foreign captives appeared in the pharaoh’s pyramid complex. Pepi I and Pepi II had great numbers of them. Statues of prisoners were presumably placed in areas...
Ptahshepses in this statue is portrayed as a scribe sitting on the ground with his legs crossed. He has a partly unrolled papyrus on his knees, a common “reading scribe” posture in Ancient Egypt. A heart-shaped amulet hangs around his neck with a counterpoise at the back. The head of Ptahshepses is inclined gently toward...
This ivory label originally attached to a pair of royal sandals, found at his tomb in Abydos, showing the king Den with an upraised mace, about to strike a captive. The king’s name is written before him in a Serekh, in the center of the top of the label. The king wears a bull’s tail,...
The nursing woman sits on the ground with one knee raised. Against the hammock of cloth formed by her skirt stretched over her knee she holds a child whose yellow skin indicates she is a girl. With one hand the woman holds the child’s head, while with the other she offers her breast to the...
This double cartouche shaped perfume box of Tutankhamun is gilded and inlaid with colored glass paste. The sides of the box feature a relief of Heh, god of eternity holding above and around his head the cartouches of the king. Each side is composed of two inward-facing cartouches containing the figure of the king squatting...
In the pale, honeyed limestone of this majestic double statue now residing in the Egyptian Museum of Turin (Cat. 768), the god Amun sits enthroned, serene and dominant, while the king stands reverently by his side. Though the cartouche names the pharaoh as Horemheb, some suggest it may have originally been made under the rulership...
The tomb of Tutankhamun contained many leopard heads like this gilded one. This head differs from others in having the king’s cartouche incised atop its head. The leopard head adorned a garment that imitated the animal’s skin. This was the distinctive garment of the Sem priest. The leopard’s body and fur were particularly valuable in...
This statue evokes the intimacy of Memi and his companion, Sabu, although she is set somewhat apart by her oblique gaze. Until recently, the flowering of nonroyal statuary was believed to have occurred only in the 4th and 6th Dynasties. Recent studies indicate, however, that many of these nonroyal statues, including Memi and Sabu, are...
This wooden standing statuette shows the Lady Henutnakhtu of the 18th Dynasty wearing a tight pleated garment and a long beautiful wig. She is holding in her right hand a flower and in her left one a staff, with which to purify the deceased. The statuette rests on a wooden base with hieroglyphic text giving...
