12th Dynasty

The Josephson Head. MFA, Boston. Accession Number: 2003.244

The Josephson Head

This head of a man dates from the Middle Kingdom, and the facial features and characteristics depicted are easily recognizable from the reign of Senwosret III. Although, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, lists this head as belonging to an Official, it could be argued that the head was originally a depiction of king Senwosret...

Grey Granite Statue of Amenemhat III. Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, c.1853-1806 B.C.

Grey Granite Statue of Amenemhat III

Amenemhat III meaning “Amun is at the forefront”, was the son of the great king Senwosret III, and the sixth king of Ancient Egypt’s 12th Dynasty. Amenemhat Ill’s features are clearly marked and give life to a highly individualistic portrait quite unlike the idealized models of the ruler. The cheekbones protrude, the eyelids are heavy,...

Painted limestone stele depicts sisters, Keti and Senet

Stele of Keti and Senet

This painted limestone stele depicts sisters, Keti and Senet, breathing in the scent of a lotus blossom, while stood either side of an offering table full of food produce and other tribute presented to the pair. Dating from between approximately 2061–1900 B.C., Late 11th Dynasty to Early 12th Dynasty, this Middle Kingdom stelae was made...

Middle Kingdom Cat

Middle Kingdom Cat

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...

Objects from Theban Tomb MMA 840

Objects from Theban Tomb MMA 840

This group of objects was found in a plundered chamber in Tomb MMA 840, excavated by Herbert Eustis Winlock (1884-1950), an archeologist who worked for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, reached by a shaft in the portico of a rock-cut tomb in the Asasif section of the Theban necropolis. Among the finds were parts of...

Statuette of a woman carrying an offering. Musée du Louvre. E 10781

Statuette of a woman carrying an offering basket upon head

A painted wooden statuette of a woman carrying offerings. Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, c. 1963-1862 B.C. The Ancient Egyptians believed in physical offerings for spiritual sustenance. Therefore, in funerary scenes depicted upon tomb walls, you will see numerous men and women carrying objects to be buried alongside the deceased. Not only were these items of...

Seated limestone statue of Senwosret I, from el-Lisht. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. CG417

Senwosret I, c. 1961-1917 B.C.

Kheperkare Senwosret I was the son of Amenemhat I, who became Co-Regent alongside his father, sometime after his father’s 20th Regnal Year.Senwosret, following in the footsteps of his father, led brutal campaigns south into Nubia, dominating the region all the way down to the Second Cataract of the Nile, documented on the Buhen Stela. With...

Model Cattle stable from the tomb of Meketre

Models in Ancient Egypt

Wooden tomb models were deposited as grave goods in the tombs and burial shafts throughout ancient Egypt since its early history, most notably in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. They included a wide variety of wooden figurines and scenes, such as boats, granaries, baking and brewing scenes and butchery scenes. These served as ways to...

Egyptian Faience Hedgehog Figurine

Hedgehog Amulet

Faience hedgehog amulet with a white core and turquoise and black coating. Hedgehog-shaped objects of the most diverse types have been present in Egypt since the Predynastic Period. Images of hedgehogs were painted in tombs of the Old Kingdom as decoration on the bows of boats. It was also used in the production of small,...

Statue of Lady Sennuwy

Statue of Lady Sennuwy

This elegant seated statue of Lady Sennuwy of Asyut is one of the most superbly carved and beautifully proportioned sculptures from the Middle Kingdom. The unknown artist shaped and polished the hard, gray granodiorite with extraordinary skill, suggesting that he was trained in a royal workshop. He has portrayed Sennuwy as a slender, graceful young...