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...
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,...
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...
This mirror of Princess Sithathoriunet is a masterpiece of Middle Kingdom art. The mirror itself is made from silver, while the handle is of obsidian. The handle takes the form of a papyrus stem inlaid with gold ending with a double sided face of the goddess Hathor. Through the depiction of the goddess Hathor, the...
This statue of Senusret III sculpted of black granite was found in the forecourt of the temple of Mentuhotep II at Deir el-Bahari. It was one of the six statues that Senusret III dedicated to the temple of his ancestor Mentuhotep. Senusret restored and endowed this temple, which was the site of an important local...
This seated figure’s rank of vizier is confirmed by the cord around his neck from which his official badge or seal would have been suspended. The seal would have been tucked into his kilt for safekeeping. Carved from anorthosite gneiss (also known as Khafre diorite, the material associated with the Old Kingdom king Khafre), the...
In this statue, Queen Nofret is shown seated on a throne, wearing a wig known as a Hathor wig, which has three separate tresses of hair. A large tress falls behind the head, while two wavy tresses are pulled to the front and wrapped in narrow bands, which end over the breasts in two spirals...
This masterpiece of Egyptian wood carving of a woman carrying offerings was discovered in a hidden chamber at the side of the passage leading into the rock cut tomb of the royal chief steward Meketre, who began his career under King Mentuhotep II of 11th Dynasty and continued to serve successive kings into the early...
In this relief King Senusret I presents offerings to the god Min-Amun, shown in his ithyphallic form. Min, Egyptian god of fertility. He was invoked for animal, vegetable and human fertility. Min is represented in human form with legs placed close together like those of a mummy and an erect phallus. A flail is depicted...
On the right of this pectoral is the god Seth, who can signify southern Egypt, while on the left is a hieracosphinx representing Horus, a deity here related to northern Egypt. At the center is a symbol representing the goddess Hathor, imagery that was already ancient by the Middle Kingdom. The beautifully worked back of...
