Ceremonial Sickle of Tutankhamun

This marvelous model sickle of King Tutankhamun is made of gilded wood and decorated with the cartouches of the king, bearing his birth and throne names. The serrated blades are made of colored glass.

The sickle was probably used for ceremonies in which the king himself took part during Peret, the annual harvest feast. The deceased king also could use the sickle in the afterlife to harvest his crops or cut down any evil that might oppose him during his journey in the underworld.

Sickles were important tools used by farmers to harvest their crops. Since the early Dynastic period, wooden sickles with flint blades attached with resin were placed in tombs for use in the hereafter.

Grain was a staple of the economy, as bread and beer made from grain were consumed daily. They also formed the foundation of eternal sustenance, as funerary offerings.

Ancient Egyptians used sickles this to harvest the grain that they made into bread and beer for daily consumption and for funerary offerings. Many tomb reliefs show sickles in use, such as in the Old Kingdom tomb of Raemka and in the New Kingdom tomb of Sennedjem.

From the Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62), Valley of the Kings, West Thebes. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 61264