Egypt Museum ancient Egypt art culture and history

Box with Carved Scenes of Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun

Tutankhamun and Ankhesenamun in a Garden

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...

Bowl with crocodiles

Bowl with crocodiles

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,...

The Making of Lotus Perfume

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...

The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt

“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...

Neolithic Clay Head

Merimde clay head

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...

Mask of Thuya

Mask of Lady Thuya

The mummy mask of Tjuyu or Thuya is made of cartonnage covered with a thin layer of gold foil. When found it was completely covered with the remains of its linen shroud removed by the restorer. A few fragments of the shroud, now blackened with age, still adhere to the wig and part of the...

Walking stick of Tutankhamun

Walking stick of Tutankhamun

When king Tutankhamun grasped this walking stick, the enemies were turned upside down so that they could not harm the king. At the other end of the stick, a papyrus bears the king’s cartouche. Most of the ancient Egyptian kings and nobles were depicted holding a cane or a staff as it was a sign...

Two Bracelets of King Shoshenq II

Bracelets of Shoshenq II

These golden twin bracelets belong to King Shoshenq II were found, with another identical five bracelets, around the wrists of the king. The two ornaments here are decorated with the wadjet eye, above the hieroglyphic “Neb” sign symbolizing eternal protection for the king. The decorations of the bracelets are identical except for the eyes. The...

Statue of Meryre and his wife Iniuia

Statue of Meryre and Iniuia

Painted limestone statue of Meryre, and his wife Iniuia. He is wearing two rows of gold beads presented by the King. Meryneith started his career under king Akhenaten as ‘Steward of the Temple of Aten’ and ‘Scribe of the Temple of Aten’ in Akhetaten and in Memphis. The latter title might imply that he worked...