Egypt Museum ancient Egypt art culture and history

Painted clay Tilapia fish. New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1390-1336 B.C. Brooklyn Museum. 48.111

Painted clay Tilapia fish

This Tilapia fish, is delicately painted with a pastel type colour scheme of oranges and blues, which were quite popular within the reign of Amenhotep III and his son king Akhenaten’s. However, it is not just the paintwork of this fish which is catching to the eye, this small relic holds a specific purpose that...

A detail of a wall painting depicts Ameneminet presents a libation offering to Amenhotep III & Queen Tiye.

Ameneminet presents a libation offering

A detail of a wall painting depicts Ameneminet presents a libation offering to Amenhotep III & Queen Tiye. Ameneminet was an Ancient Egyptian priest, who worked in dedication to the deity Ptah-Sokar, at Amenhotep III’s Temple of Millions of Years. Ritual Libation in Ancient Egypt Ritual libation was an important practice in ancient Egypt. It...

Making of Lily Perfume

Making of Lily Perfume

Relief depicting women squeezing oil from lily flowers in a press for use in perfume. Fragment from a decoration of a tomb. The Ancient Egyptians loved beautiful fragrances. They associated them with the gods and recognized their positive effect on health and well being. Perfumes were generally applied as oil-based salves, and there are numerous...

Thutmose usurped by Ramesside family. British Museum. EA61

Thutmose usurped by Ramesside family

This red granite statue of a king wearing the White Crown (Hedjet), was originally from Karnak, and has been recarved with the cartouches (namesake in rectangular-oval casing) of king Ramesses II and his son, the king Merenptah. It is believed this statue originally dates from the 18th Dynasty, and based upon the face and style,...

Tomb of Neferhotep TT49

Tomb of Neferhotep TT49

A woman’s offerings became clear after laser cleaning New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1320 B.C. Thebes, Tomb of Neferhotep (TT49). Since its construction, the tomb of Neferhotep (late 18th Dynasty) had been used for storing cattle and even as housing. When Jean-François Champollion entered the tomb, he wrote, “Now the tomb is almost completely damaged....

This small dog now resides in the Walters Art Museum, in Baltimore, Maryland. 71.622

Ancient Egyptian Domesticated Dogs

Made from the ivory from a hippopotamus, this dog was a figure piece from a game called “Mehen”, also known as The Serpant Game. Knowing the game pre-dates the period from which this collared dog was likely created in, it tells us that Egyptians had domesticated the dog possibly long before the unified Egypt even...

Unknown Amarna royal, possibly Tutankhamun or some propose it is the likeness of the mysterious Smenkhkare

Unknown Amarna royal

Sculpture of unknown Amarna royal. New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, Amarna Period, c. 1352-1323 B.C. Discovered in Tel el-Amarna (ancient Akhetaten – king Akhenaten’s experimental new capital), now in the Neues Museum, Berlin. This limestone bust of an Amarna royal has never been officially identified, yet the Neues Museum in Berlin does display it with the...

Amulet of Hedgehog

Scaraboid Hedgehog Amulet

Scaraboid amulet of a cute little hedgehog. Hedgehogs were common on amulets in the New Kingdom (1500s–1000s BC) and can also be seen on the backs of seals and scaraboids. Although never very common, hedgehog amulets have a long history in ancient Egypt, with their popularity peaking in the New Kingdom. These amulets functioned as...

Mummy of Thutmose III

Mummy of Thutmose III

The mummy of King Thutmose III was moved from its original burial place in tomb (KV34), in the Valley of the Kings, to the Deir el-Bahari Royal Cache (DB320) in his original middle coffin. The king, who was keen on leaving his own mark on his expanding empire, was extremely active all over Egypt and...

Prince Ankhhaf. Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition. 27.442

Bust of Prince Ankhhaf

Prince Ankhhaf was the son of an Old Kingdom king, most probably king Sneferu, making Ankhhaf the brother of king Khufu. Ankhhaf had the titles “eldest king’s son of his body” (sa nswt n khtf smsw), “vizier” and “the great one of Five of the house of Thoth” (wr djw pr-Djehuti). This bust made of...