“Few personalities from classical antiquity are more familiar yet more poorly grasped than Cleopatra VII (69–30 B.C.), queen of Egypt. The subject of a vast repertory of post-antique popular culture and also a significant figure in literature, art, and music, Cleopatra herself is surprisingly little known and generally misunderstood. Even in the years immediately after...
These two unique two gold rings are decorated with lotus flowers. The blossoms are made from lapis lazuli and carnelian set into gold cloisons. One ring of this pair has a slender hoop attached to a lentoid bezel on which opposing lotus blossoms with petals of alternating dark and light blue glass are cut and...
“Preserved carved in stone or inked on papyri, hieroglyphic writings from ancient Egypt give a unique insight into an awe-inspiring but also deeply mysterious culture. The fascination that Ancient Egypt holds in our minds has many sources, but at the heart of it lie hieroglyphics. This extraordinary writing system was for many years seen as...
The lintel, a horizontal board or stone above a door, is decorated with the cartouche of Thutmose I as well as figures of Seth and Nubti sculpted on either side of the cartouche. The falcon Horus is standing above the Serekh, or palace facade, on which is inscribed the Horus name of the King, Ka-nakht-mery-Maat,...
The mummy of Queen Tiye was found within the second side chamber of the tomb of Amenhotep II. Found in 1898 by Victor Loret, it was discovered that Amenhotep II’s tomb had later been used by the Ancient Egyptian priesthood as a storage for many royal mummies spanning both the 18th and 19th Dynasties. Tiye...
“The Tarkhan dress” (UC 28614B) discovered by Sir Flinders Petrie in 1913, was found within the Tarkhan Necropolis (Mastaba 2050). Certified radiocarbon dating conducted by the University of Oxford, places the creation of this garment to Egypt’s 1st Dynasty, c. 3000 – 2800 B.C. Further testing by the British Museum certified its dating. “The Tarkhan...
The mummy of Queen Henuttawy was found in the Deir el-Bahari Royal Cachette (TT320). She was the wife of Pinedjem I of the 21st Dynasty. The whole body of mummy of Queen Henuttawy was colored in yellow, while the cheeks and lips were painted red to improve her appearance. The head is adorned with an...
Light blue faience ushabti of Queen Henuttawy wife of Pinedjem I. One column of painted inscription down front of body; painted flail grasped in each hand. At knees glaze is cracked or more probably the ushabti has been broken and put together. It depicts a small mummiform figure. Arms are crossed opposite, right over left,...
A recently discovered marble statue of the Buddha at a temple in the ancient seaport of Berenice on the Red Sea in Egypt shows a connection between Egypt and India during the Roman Empire. The joint American-Polish archaeological mission excavating the main early Roman period temple dedicated to the Goddess Isis in Berenice uncovered in...
Black stone amulet carved into the shape of the sema hieroglyph, which means ‘unite’ and similar concepts. It is often described as a pair of lungs attached to a windpipe, genitalia, and sometimes both simultaneously. The Sema was often placed on a mummy’s chest in order to give it life in the underworld. As an...
