An amulet of a lion-headed uraeus is a powerful and symbolic piece of ancient Egyptian jewelry, often designed to convey protection, strength, and divine authority. In ancient Egyptian symbolism, the uraeus is a representation of a serpent, typically a cobra, which is used as a symbol of sovereignty, protection, and divine power. The uraeus was...
This book explores disability across time and space―from ‘ancient Egypt’ as a culture to Egyptology as a contemporary field―to go beyond simply identifying disability, encouraging readers to thoughtfully consider the history of disabled people in ancient Egypt and Egyptology. Through a critical investigation, this volume reshapes often-overlooked narratives of disability within the discipline of Egyptology...
This distinctive statue depicts Prince Tjau seated in an asymmetrical pose different from the usual cross-legged pose of a scribe at work. His right leg is pulled up in front of him and his left folded beneath each hand is placed on a knee, indicating that he is at rest. He is dressed in a...
This statue of the frog goddess Heqet stands at the beginning of a great tradition of animal sculpture in Egyptian art. During the Predynastic period statues of animals are much more common than those of humans. The sculptor has shown great sensitivity to the natural banding of the stone, using it to enhance the roundness...
This round topped funerary stele of Tembu is carved in very low relief and brightly painted in red, yellow, blue, and black. The decoration comprises of two registers of offering scenes and a register of inscription on the bottom. The top depicts two Wadjet eyes flanking a shen-ring and water ripples with a bowl. Below...
In this relief Amenemhat I is shown celebrating his thirty-year jubilee (Sed Festival), ritually demonstrating that he was still vigorous and fit to rule. The king is flanked by the jackal-headed god Anubis and the falcon-headed Horus, deities closely associated with coronation rituals; each god offers him an ankh, the hieroglyph for life. To the...
In its entirety the relief showed Ay kneeling in worship with his family and surrounded by a long prayer inscribed in hieroglyphs. The style of Ay’s portrait is typical of the Amarna period in its naturalistic depiction of the narrow and bony face, long nose, and small, squinty eyes- features common to other surviving representations...
This stele was colored with a mixture of pigment and tempera. First, however, it was sculpted in raised and sunken relief; only later were some of its surfaces embellished with black, brown, green, yellow, and white paint. The stele commemorates for all eternity a man named Amenemhat and his wife, Hemet. Before them are two...
This stele is known in Egyptian art as a cippus (pl. cippi) or magical stele. The instructions found on some cippi indicate that they were used to heal afflictions caused by snake or scorpion venom. Specifically, Egyptians believed that the water poured over these cippi would be transformed into a curative remedy that the afflicted...
This head of a priest, called the Boston Green Head, is the best portrait sculpture known from the Late Period. The face is wonderfully lifelike and individual. Light wavy lines indicate the furrows of his brow, and crow’s feet radiate from the outer corners of his eyes. The top of his nose has a pronounced...
