This decorative lintel relief with hieroglyphs identify king Senusret III wearing the crown of Lower Egypt (left) and the crown of Upper Egypt (right) during the Heb Sed. Horus and Seth on standards give million years of life to the king. Sed festivals were jubilees celebrated after a ruler had held the throne for thirty...
King Hor (also known as Hor Awibre or Hor I)’s reign was relatively brief at an estimated two years, and falls within the late Middle Kingdom or Second Intermediate Period, a time marked by political fragmentation and a decline in central authority following the strong rule of the 12th Dynasty. Despite his short reign, the...
Before the discovery of the mummy of Ramesses III it had been speculated that he had been killed by means that would not have left a mark on the body. Among the conspirators were practitioners of magic, who might well have used poison. Some had put forth a hypothesis that a snakebite from a viper...
Vignette from a papyrus depicting the Weighing the Heart of the deceased in a balance. The Two Maat in the Judgment Hall weigh the heart of the deceased against a statue of Maat. The goddess Maat was the symbol of the cosmic order and it was believed that there were two of them: One for...
This silver vase looks like a pomegranate with a golden handle in the shape of a goat. It was discovered in one of the sanctuaries of goddess Bastet in Per-Bast or Bubastis (Tell Basta). The goat’s legs give the impression of movement. Around the jug is a decoration of hearts, perhaps as a sign of...
This model from Meketre’s funerary furniture shows some carpenters in their carpentry workshop. They are busy with woodworking of various kinds. One carpenter in the middle is sawing a piece of wood while other workmen are working around the sides holding hoes. A carpenter sits in the middle of the scene and uses a mallet...
This little head, filled with astounding detail, depicts Queen Tiye, one of Ancient Egypt’s most powerful queens. Tiye was a formidable character, and held positions of power that not many other Great Royal Wife’s before or after her reign managed to grasp. Her husband, King Amenhotep III, erected several shrines to a temple dedicated to...
In this portrait head, King Amenhotep III is portrayed with the features of a young boy; he has a round full face, almond-shaped eyes, curved eyebrows, a small nose and a fleshy mouth. These features determine that the head belonged to the so-called “second group” of portraits of Amenhotep III, from the last years of...
The ostracon of prince Sethherkhepshef is a painted limestone figured ostracon of the son of Ramesses III. It is a standing, figured profile of Prince Sethherkhepshef (who later ascended the throne as Ramesses VIII) in an adoration pose, with outstretched arms, a scepter in his left hand, and right hand, palm-forward. Behind Sethherkhepshef in a...
A statue of a cat feeding one kitten and playing with another is shown lying on a sarcophagus designed to store the mummified remains of cats. Cats were commonly portrayed in Egyptian art, especially during the Saite period, which was characterized by numerous images of animals in general. When represented, the cat-shaped statues was most...
