“The Tarkhan dress” (UC 28614B) discovered by Sir Flinders Petrie in 1913, was found within the Tarkhan Necropolis (Mastaba 2050). Certified radiocarbon dating conducted by the University of Oxford, places the creation of this garment to Egypt’s 1st Dynasty, c. 3000 – 2800 B.C. Further testing by the British Museum certified its dating. “The Tarkhan...
The mummy of Queen Henuttawy was found in the Deir el-Bahari Royal Cachette (TT320). She was the wife of Pinedjem I of the 21st Dynasty. The whole body of mummy of Queen Henuttawy was colored in yellow, while the cheeks and lips were painted red to improve her appearance. The head is adorned with an...
Light blue faience ushabti of Queen Henuttawy wife of Pinedjem I. One column of painted inscription down front of body; painted flail grasped in each hand. At knees glaze is cracked or more probably the ushabti has been broken and put together. It depicts a small mummiform figure. Arms are crossed opposite, right over left,...
A recently discovered marble statue of the Buddha at a temple in the ancient seaport of Berenice on the Red Sea in Egypt shows a connection between Egypt and India during the Roman Empire. The joint American-Polish archaeological mission excavating the main early Roman period temple dedicated to the Goddess Isis in Berenice uncovered in...
Black stone amulet carved into the shape of the sema hieroglyph, which means ‘unite’ and similar concepts. It is often described as a pair of lungs attached to a windpipe, genitalia, and sometimes both simultaneously. The Sema was often placed on a mummy’s chest in order to give it life in the underworld. As an...
This small statuette shows the Crown Prince Thutmose lying on a lion bier. The two goddesses Isis and Nephthys are depicted at the head and the raised foot end. The inscription on the long side of the bier gives the names and titles of the heir to the throne: “King’s son, Sem Priest, Thutmose, the...
Painted wooden model group: a peasant farmer wearing only a linen kilt, typical dress for a field worker, guides a team of two speckled oxen ploughing who draw a simple wooden plow which would have had a metal blade. He pushes down strongly on the handle and has sunk up to his ankles in the...
“This brilliant blue scarab is carved out of lapis lazuli. Scarabs first become incorporated into finger rings in the Middle Kingdom (1980-1630 BC).” (Jennifer Wegner, label text, “Sacred Adornment: Jewelry as Belief in Ancient Egypt”) The Egyptians used amulets shaped like scarab beetles as seals, piercing the scarab longitudinally to allow it to be strung...
Although this example is uninscribed, its size and style identify it as a “heart” scarab, meant to be placed within the wrappings of the mummy. Many such scarabs bear the text of Chapter 30B of the Book of the Dead, in which the owner asks his or her heart not to testify against them at...
Blue glazed faience composition amulet of Nut, the goddess of the sky, depicted with outstretched wings, but similar representations are also known for the goddess Isis. This kneeling woman is a goddess with protective outspread wings. On her head are cows’ horns and a sun disk, which are elements that could be worn by various...
