Egypt Museum ancient Egypt art culture and history

Predynastic figure of a woman

Predynastic figure of a woman

This figure of a woman in a shawl is dated between 3100 -2700 B.C. She stands 13.5cm high, and is a finely carved from a piece of Hippopotamus ivory. Hippopotamus ivory is harder than elephant ivory and is much more difficult to carve. The woman depicted, with hair parted in the middle, stares forth with...

Overseer of Builders, Amenhotep

Funerary Mask of the Overseer of Builders, Amenhotep. Amenhotep is believed to have lived and worked sometime between 1427–1390 B.C. of the 18th Dynasty. He is titled with the title of Over Seer of Builders, seemingly working under the king Amenhotep II and/or Thutmose IV.Thutmose being the son and heir of Amenhotep II. The death...

Cartouche Shaped Box of Tutankhamun

Cartouche Shaped Box of Tutankhamun

The cartouche shaped box carries the name of Tutankhamun, executed in the most handsome hieroglyphs, made up of ebony and stained ivory. Less grand, but still elegantly formed, hieroglyphs are used for the many texts which are incised and filled with blue paint on the upper rim of the lid, surrounding the cartouche, and in...

King Unas being suckled by a goddess

King Unas being suckled by a goddess

Fragment of a relief depicts king Unas being suckled by unidentified goddess. These reliefs are often found in temple complexes and tombs, and they serve as visual representations of the divine nature and legitimacy of the king. The concept of a king being suckled by a goddess is often seen as a metaphorical representation of...

Keftiu Minoan Cretan men visit Egypt. Tomb chapel of the vizier Rekhmire (TT100). Photograph by manna4u

Keftiu

The Keftiu, often identified with the inhabitants of Minoan Crete, are frequently depicted in Egyptian tomb paintings as exotic emissaries from a distant and prosperous land. Their name appears in inscriptions dating predominantly from the Eighteenth Dynasty (c. 1550–1292 B.C.), a period when Egypt’s influence stretched across much of the eastern Mediterranean. The Keftiu were...

Statue of Horus wearing Roman military costume

Statue of Horus wearing Roman military costume

This limestone seated statue of Horus, now housed in the British Museum (EA51100), stands as a testament to the intricate fusion of Egyptian and Roman artistic and religious traditions. Carved in the form of the falcon-headed deity but clad in Roman military attire, this sculpture embodies the cultural synthesis that defined Roman Egypt. The figure,...

Statuette of Amenhotep III, likely made of wood from Lebanon

Statuette of Amenhotep III, likely made of wood from Lebanon

At just 26.3 cm tall, this statuette of king Amenhotep III, is a treasure of the Brooklyn Museum in New York, and for obvious reason. The Brooklyn Museum’s website states that it is unsure whether the statue is made from ebony or yew wood, however, Edward Bleiberg (Curator of Egyptian, Classical, and Ancient Middle Eastern...

Relief of Two princesses

Two princesses

This talatat depicts two princesses of king Akhenaten and his wife Nefertiti. Their youth is represented by the hairstyle Egyptologist’s have dubbed the ‘side lock of youth’, a plaited strand or strands of hair on an otherwise shaven head or short hairstyle. This piece was found among the foundations of the Pylon of Ramesses II...

Gold Sandals of King Shoshenq II

Gold Sandals of Shoshenq II

Gold sandals found on the mummified body of the king Shoshenq II. Ensured that the king would be shod like the gods in the afterlife. Shoshenq II was the only ruler of the 22nd Dynasty whose tomb was not plundered by tomb robbers. His final resting place was discovered within an antechamber of Psusennes I’s...

Coffin for young girl from Akhmim. British Museum. EA29587

Coffin for young girl from Akhmim

Wooden lid and base of a coffin for a young girl from Akhmim, Sohag, Egypt, c. 50 B.C.- 50 A.D. This coffin dates from the period of Greco-Roman rule and can be seen by the garment the young girl is seen depicted wearing. However, despite this she maintains her Egyptian religious belief, by being mummified...