This funerary gold mask originally covered the face of the mummy of Wendjebauendjed, an army general of Psusennes I. Colored glass paste forms the eyes and eyebrows. The general’s face is idealized and detailed, with a slight smile. The mask covered the face, neck, and ears. It ended at the forehead where six small-perforated tongues...
Fashioned from gold of astonishing purity (some 99.5 per cent) this petite masterpiece takes the form of a falcon mid-swoop, yet crowned with the curling horns and bearded muzzle of a ram. In its talons it clutches paired shen rings, emblems of cosmic eternity, while some 300 delicate cloisons cradle slivers of turquoise, lapis-lazuli, and...
The outer coffin of Seshepenmehyt is made of sycamore fig wood, with elaborate polychrome painted decoration. A winged solar disc covers the right breast, and below, a narrow scene showing the weighing of the deceased’s heart (at right). At the level of the knees, Anubis is represented mummifying the deceased as she lies on a...
This fish amulet is made from gold with a green feldspar inlay. The amulet is open on both sides. The central cloisonné, to which are attached fins and tail, is roughly made from a strip of sheet metal curved around to make an oval shape. The inlay is a piece of feldspar which has been...
This golden strainer from Bubastis is intended for a wine service, removing sediment from the beverage as it is poured out of jugs, jars or flasks into bowls, goblets or situlae for drinking. The strainer indicates that most if not all of the Tell Basta vessels belonged to just such a wine service, certainly a...
This bronze statuette depicts Ptah, the Chief god of Memphis, patron of craftsmen and architects. In the Memphis triad, he is the husband of Sekhmet and the father of Nefertem. He was also regarded as the father of the sage Imhotep. A statue like this would have been housed in a wooden shrine; when the...
Atjema is standing with his left foot forward, as if walking. His arms are held close to his sides, and, typically, he has cylindrical object in his hands. A man is one of the classic Old Kingdom poses is depicted in this large statue with well-preserved colors. The spaces between his torso and arms and...
The Head of Nefertem (also known as the Head from the Lotus Bloom or Tutankhamun as the Sun God). An unusual and appealing small head that is a masterpiece; it was found by Howard Carter at the entrance to the Tomb of Tutankhamun. The head is that of the king tut with very beautiful features,...
Decorations show scenes from the Amduat or “Book of What is in the Underworld”, detail of a wall carving in the second corridor of the Tomb of Ramesses IX (KV6). “Amduat (What is in the Netherworld) was used in Ancient Egypt as a generic name for descriptions of the netherworld, but in modern Egyptology is reserved...
Molded faience amulet in the form of Nefertem or Nefertum, he is often defined as the god of perfumes but this association is secondary. Nefertem was, in fact, first and foremost, the young god of the lotus bud that emerged from the primordial waters, according to the Egyptian myth, and from which the sun was...
