Egypt Museum ancient Egypt art culture and history

Cult Image of the God Ptah

Cult Image Statuette of the God Ptah

This statuette depicts Ptah, the chief god of Egypt’s capital city Memphis, who is easy to identify by his tight-fitting cap and enveloping shroud. Other iconographic details, such as the royal beard, the large and detailed broad collar, the scepter of merged “was” and “djed” signs, and a platform representing the hieroglyph for universal order,...

Group Statue of Seneb and His Family

Group Statue of Seneb and His Family

Seneb was a dwarf who served as a high-ranking court official in the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, circa 2520 BC. Despite his diminutive size, Seneb was a person of considerable importance and wealth who owned thousands of cattle, held twenty palace and religious titles and was married to a high-ranking priestess of average size...

Pyramidion of King Amenemhat III

Pyramidion of Amenemhat III

The basalt pyramidion of Amenemhet III was found from his pyramid toppled from the peak of its structure and preserved relatively intact. Under a winged sun-disk are hieroglyphic texts offering the king access to the sun-god. Very few pyramidia or capstones have survived into modern times. Most of those that remain are made of polished...

Seated Statues of Rahotep and Nofret

Seated Statues of Rahotep and Nofret

Prince Rahotep and his wife Nofret life-like painted limestone statues are considered among the most famous private statues from ancient Egypt. The statues were discovered in the mastaba tomb (a tomb in the form of a rectangular platform) of Rahotep, north of the pyramid of Snefru, in Meidum, dating to the reign of King Snefru...

Anubis before embalmed Amennakht

Anubis before embalmed Amennakht

A priest wearing the mask of Anubis completes the mummification of Amennakht. On both sides of the bed, where the mummy lie, is depicted the goddesses Isis and Nephthys. The damage on the wall, shows where the coffin was placed. Detail of a wall painting depicts Anubis before embalmed Amennakht, from Tomb of the Servant...

Statue of King Thutmose IV and his mother Tiaa

Statue of Thutmose IV and his mother Tiaa

In this seated statue of King Thutmose IV, he and his mother Tiaa are embracing each other. His mother was a secondary wife of his father Amenhotep II. Hieroglyphs on both sides of the chair give the names and titles for King Thutmose IV and his mother Tiaa. She was “the Great Royal Wife and...

Statuette of King Khufu

Statuette of King Khufu

The Khufu Statuette or the ivory figurine of Khufu is an ancient Egyptian statue which is historically and archaeologically significant; it was found in 1903 by Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie during the excavation of Kom el-Sultan in Abydos. Despite the discovery of a few other small fragments of the king’s statues and statuettes, this...

Folding Cubit Rod of the architect Kha

Folding Cubit Rod of the architect Kha

The cubit rod of Kha folds in half with a simple bronze hinge at the center; there are absolutely no inscriptions. When Ernesto Schiaparelli discovered the rod, it was folded inside a leather bag with a strap. This extremely rare folding cubit rod was loved by Kha, who was the overseer of works in Deir...

Boulaq Museum, 1870s

Artifacts from the Tomb of Psamtik, 1870s

Artifacts discovered in a deep pit in the Tomb of the scribe Psamtik at Saqqara, Boulaq Museum, 1870s. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Seated statue of god Osiris – CG 38358 Osiris is shown seated, wrapped tightly, and holding the crook and flail – symbols of kingship – in his hands, crossed at his...

detail of the face of scribe Metri

Statue of Metri as a Scribe

The statue depicts Metri, an overseer of the scribes during the 6th Dynasty, sitting in the traditional pose of scribes with his legs crossed. He spreads a roll of papyrus on his lap and holds it with his left hand. In his right hand he holds a pen. The body of the statue is painted...