Across the sun-soaked civilisations of the ancient Mediterranean, few fruits captured the imagination quite like the pomegranate. Known to the Ancient Egyptians as “ḥnmt”, with its ruby skin and hidden constellation of seeds, the pomegranate became a living metaphor for fertility, abundance, and eternal renewal. To taste it was to share in nature’s secret of...
This finely painted fragment comes from the tomb of Sobekhotep, “Overseer of the Seal“; the highest treasury official under king Thutmose IV. It forms part of a grand tribute scene in which foreign envoys bring precious offerings to Egypt’s court. The men shown here are Asiatics from Syria–Palestine, known to the Egyptians as Retjenu or...
Discovered among the celebrated Drovetti Collection and now preserved in the Musée du Louvre, these two wooden female figures are remarkable survivals of Egyptian furniture craftsmanship from the Late Period, likely the 25th Dynasty (c. 760–656 B.C.). Their form finds close parallels in the elegant bed and couch supports unearthed in the tomb of Tutankhamun...
Ever seen an ancient meme? This limestone sketch (Musée du Louvre Museum. E 32954) from Deir el-Medina might just be one! Drawn over 3,000 years ago (c. 1295–1069 B.C.) by an artisan of the royal tomb-builders’ village depicts a cat standing upright, holding or offering a vase and a lotus flower to another seated cat,...
Amongst Egypt’s most enduring gods stands Anubis, the jackal-headed guardian of tombs and guide of souls. His origins reach deep into Egypt’s early history; before Osiris rose as lord of the afterlife, it was Anubis who presided over the dead, wrapping them in sacred linen and weighing their hearts against the feather of Ma’at. He...
On the desert’s edge, where the cultivated fields of the Faiyum oasis melt into the barren sands, lies the site of Medinet Gurob. In antiquity, this region was part of the land known as Shedet, the great marshland capital the Greeks would later call Crocodilopolis. Close by rose the pyramid town of Lahun, gateway to...
Diminutive in scale yet dazzling in presence, this statuette portrays Lady Mi, a courtly figure of the reign of Amenhotep III. Carved from wood and once richly embellished with gold leaf and inlays, she wears a heavy wig and broad earrings, fashionably in step with the royal court of her day. Unlike the eternal youth...
High upon the walls of the Temple of Seti I at Abydos lies a curious carving that has sparked endless wonder. To the casual eye, the shapes appear astonishingly familiar to the modern world; depicting what appears to be a helicopter, a submarine, and even a tank, yet these images were etched more than three...
This limestone head (British Museum. 1879,0712.15) shows a woman with a hooked nose, curved nostrils, pointed chin and almond-shaped eyes; features strikingly close to those seen on coin portraits of Cleopatra VII. The hair is styled in the “melon” coiffure, drawn back into a plaited knot, with two ringlets falling by the ears. The ears...
Among the windswept cliffs of the Valley of the Queens lies the shattered splendour of one of Egypt’s most magnificent tombs. It belonged to Nefertari, Great Royal Wife of Ramesses II, the pharaoh who would come to be known as “the Great”. Revered not only for her beauty but for her wisdom and influence at...
