On the convex side of the disk of Hemaka there is a hunting scene. A dog tracks a gazelle and then attacks and bites its neck. The figures are enhanced by a skillful contrast of colors. One of the dogs and the horns and hooves of the gazelles are carved from the soapstone disk itself. ...
The colossal statue of Akhenaten serves as a significant archaeological and historical artifact, shedding light on the reign of this unique king and the religious revolution he initiated. In this sculpture, Akhenaten is depicted wears the Pschent or the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, as well as the Khat headdress. The statue is...
“In some versions of the Egyptian mythology, the sun god was born from a blue lotus that emerged from the primeval waters. The flower itself could be identified with the great goddess who gave birth to the sun. The blue lotus came to be a general symbol of rebirth. It was also the emblem of...
Nebamun is shown hunting birds, in a small boat with his wife Hatshepsut and their young daughter, in the marshes of the Nile. Such scenes had already been traditional parts of tomb-chapel decoration for hundreds of years and show the dead tomb-owner ‘enjoying himself and seeing beauty’, as the hieroglyphic caption here says. Yet this...
This gold pomegranate vase was part of a votive offering dedicated to the cat goddess Bastet in her temple at Tell Basta. The body of this vase is decorated with small, embossed beads shaped like pomegranates, which were among the fruits introduced into Egypt from the East at the beginning of the New Kingdom. The...
A stunning box with carved scenes of Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun. Among the series of ornamental caskets, a much ill-treated but wonderful specimen was found at the northern end of the chamber. The lid was thrown in one corner, while the empty casket itself was heaved into another, and its legs and panels damaged by the...
This flared bowl with crocodiles and a flattened rim is typical of the pottery production of the early Predynastic Period. Generally characterized by the red coloring of the surfaces, decoration consists of geometric motifs or stylized plants or animals rendered by means of rapid brushstrokes in white paint. On the outside of this particular vessel,...
Limestone slab with relief depicting women pressing lotus flowers, for the making of perfume or narcotics. The women at center twist a sack in which the lotus flowers are collected, the juice of which collects in the container below. In Ancient Egypt, the pressing of lotus flowers was not only an artistic activity but also...
“By curious coincidence, the breakthrough that had allowed ancient Egyptian writing to be first deciphered, and had thus opened up the study of pharaonic civilization through its numerous inscriptions, had occurred exactly a century before. In 1822, the French scholar Jean-François Champollion published his famous Lettre à M. Dacier, in which he correctly described the...
This clay head found in one of the most recent levels of the settlement at Merimde Beni Salama, a village in the Western Delta is enigmatic. This is one of the earliest known representations of a human head in Egypt. The perfectly oval face has features in the form of depressions of various shapes and...
