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,...
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....
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...
This limestone bust of an Amarna royal has never been officially identified, yet the Neues Museum in Berlin does display it with the title of Tutankhamun, which is a likely possibility, others propose that it may be the mysterious 18th Dynasty ruler Smenkhkare. Who it is depends on the scholar, and your own thoughts at...
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...
The mummy of Thutmose III was discovered in 1881 in the famed Royal Cache (TT320) at Deir el-Bahari, near Luxor, yet the king was originally interred in the Tomb KV34 in the Valley of the Kings, famed for its vivid wall paintings and early depiction of the Amduat. This move took place during the 21st...
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...
This is a vessel in the shape of a cat that dates from early in the 12th Dynasty of Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, 1990–1900 B.C. Made from Egyptian alabaster, the cat is sculpted beautifully and inlaid eyes of rock-crystal, lined with copper bring an eerie sense of realism to this piece. Cats held a significant and...
This fragment depicts face and upper torso of Akhenaten with the exaggerated but sensitive features characteristic of representations of this king. The full scene would have shown the king worshiping his sole god, the Aten. This relief is currently on long-term loan to the Ägyptisches Museum und Papyrussammlung in Berlin. Akhenaten was a progressive king...
At the time of her unwrapping, when surveying the mummy of Neskhon; plumpness of her physique and well-endowed bust seemed to indicate pregnancy or motherhood to archaeologists, and to this day it is widely believed she was either pregnant or had died during childbirth. Neskhon (“She Belongs to Khons [Khonsu, the Egyptian God of the...
