This statue depicts a king, almost certainly Akhenaten, and is made from yellow limestone. The king holds the heqa scepter (crook and flail), and is seated upon a cushioned throne, wearing a pleated linen kilt, and a striped nemes headdress with the royal insignia of a uraeus upon the centre of his forehead. Often overlooked...
This painted limestone statue of a woman named Ta-Seket was discovered within Tomb Y 524 at Hu. Hu, Huw or Hiw (Arabic: هُو, Coptic: ϩⲱ, ϩⲟⲩ)is the modern name of an Egyptian town on the Nile, which in more ancient times was the capital of the 7th Nome of Upper Egypt. Hu was the centre...
The Ba is a part of a person’s non-physical spiritual nature. After death, the Ba might leave the tomb, but it had to return to the tomb on a regular basis to reconnect with the mummy. The Ba was frequently shown as a bird with a human head, and occasionally with human arms. This Ba...
This statue of a man dating from the Late 5th Dynasty-Early 6th Dynasty, c. 2430-2195 B.C., is made of limestone and pigment of black and red still remains quite prominently upon the piece. Despite the lack of titles, the piece is clearly of the Old Kingdom style; rigid form, layered spiral-style cropped wig, a pleated...
Originally described as a ‘linen belt’ but since at least 1913 it has been called the ‘Ramesses Girdle’. Paintings of Ramesses III show him wearing similar long lengths of cloth wrapped several times around the chest in a herringbone fashion, like a girdle, before being fastened around the waist. Cartouches of Ramesses III were inscribed...
Referred to as Asqanu in Egyptian texts and among the cities revolting against Ramesses II. Scenes of the battle for Ashkelon (including the one shown here) are shown on the walls of Ramesses’ temple at Karnak. The scene shows many activities taking place at once. The army of Ashkelon is being defeated in the center,...
The inner coffin lid of Henuttawy is painted yellow all over, imitating royal coffins made of solid gold or gilded wood. The pectoral is only slightly less elaborate than the one on her outer lid (25.3.182a, b). Its main feature is a large scarab that pushes a sun disk upward to symbolize the rising sun....
This superb portrait of Egypt’s last native pharaoh is the product of three thousand years’ expertise in carving hard stone. The volumes of his helmet-shaped crown — the Blue Crown, or Khepresh, are sleek and streamlined, almost aerodynamic. The artist reveled in the mottled texture of the stone, and polished it to a glistening sheen...
Measuring at 34.5cm, this bronze (copper alloy) figure of a woman dates from around 1069-664 B.C., putting it among the Third Intermediate Period. The figure depicts an unknown woman with a slender physique and a cropped wig of layered style. Based upon the stride of her legs and supposed material between, we can presume she...
This fragmentary limestone bust depicts the Royal Scribe, Méniou. Traces of pigment remain of black upon the wig, eyes and brows, giving this fragmentary piece a striking appearance, despite its disfigurement. Méniou wears an elaborate usekh collar and pleated linen tunic, indicating his status in society. His wig is shoulder-length and finely detailed with intricate...
