The tomb of Tutankhamun contained many leopard heads like this gilded one. This head differs from others in having the king’s cartouche incised atop its head. The leopard head adorned a garment that imitated the animal’s skin. This was the distinctive garment of the Sem priest. The leopard’s body and fur were particularly valuable in...
This statue evokes the intimacy of Memi and his companion, Sabu, although she is set somewhat apart by her oblique gaze. Until recently, the flowering of nonroyal statuary was believed to have occurred only in the 4th and 6th Dynasties. Recent studies indicate, however, that many of these nonroyal statues, including Memi and Sabu, are...
This wooden standing statuette shows the Lady Henutnakhtu of the 18th Dynasty wearing a tight pleated garment and a long beautiful wig. She is holding in her right hand a flower and in her left one a staff, with which to purify the deceased. The statuette rests on a wooden base with hieroglyphic text giving...
The chest of the sarcophagus of the vizier Gemenefherbak is protected by a winged scarab, a personification of the reborn morning sun. On the back of the box, the deceased is shown twice worshiping the djed pillar, a symbol of Osiris, lord of the netherworld. In spite of the size of the object and the...
Gilded cartonnage mummy mask of Mareis, obsidian and limestone eyes cased in bronze (lost on left side). Greek text on forehead, painted funerary scenes on front and back. Mummy masks of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods often had gilded faces that reflected the association of the deceased with the gods. Mummy masks are shaped like...
A gold vase that was found with other objects at Bubastis in the Nile Delta, among the votive offering in the temple dedicated to the cat goddess, Bastet. The topmost decorative band is a frieze of lanceolate leaves that point downwards; the middle band has a motif of large drops, and the bottom band is...
This Jackal-headed god statuette, one of the four gods protecting the organs of Tutankhamun, is easily mistaken for Anubis but is in fact Duamutef “He who adores his mother”. Duamutef is one of the Four Sons of Horus, to whose particular protection the stomach was entrusted once it had been removed from the body during...
Brooch featuring an ancient scarab in a modern winged mount, scarab is ancient Egyptian, (scarab). New Kingdom, ca. 1539-1077 BC; (gold mount) early 1900s, glazed steatite and gold (modern), Mrs. Kingsmill Marrs Collection, Worcester Art Museum, 1926.86 One of the most popular motifs among revivalist jewelers was the scarab. These small beetles were powerful amulets...
Once in a weary state, this alabaster masterpiece was discovered dismantled within a cache at Karnak Temple (Luxor, Egypt). It appears that upon the ancient dismantling, the inlaid stones which once filled the eye and eyebrow sockets were removed, as were the likely real and pure golden cuffs that adorned the king’s wrists, placed strategically...
This sandstone sunken relief of a woman dates from the Amarna Period, and it is easy to tell the era she is from due to the style in which she is depicted. The artistic manner is most definitely from the period of Akhenaten’s experimental reign, however, this piece was actually found in Thebes and not...
