This finely carved limestone relief once adorned the tomb chapel of Horemheb, at a time when he was still a general serving under Tutankhamun. It records a moment of high ceremonial theatre, showcasing Horemheb’s huldiging, or formal honouring, for military and diplomatic success. At the centre, attendants place heavy gold collars around Horemheb’s neck. This...
This limestone relief fragment (Met Museum. 36.3.239) once formed part of a statue niche in the offering chapel of Senenmut, the influential official of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut. The surviving hieroglyphs above a kneeling woman most likely identify her as “his beloved sister Ahmose,” a reading reinforced by a wooden Osiris figure dedicated to a...
Carved in dark granodiorite, this commanding head of Amun bears features closely aligned with those of Tutankhamun, marking it as a royal commission of his reign. Though acquired in Cairo in 1907, the sculpture was almost certainly created for Karnak, Amun’s great temple at Thebes. The head belongs to the young king’s programme of restoration,...
In a quiet chamber of House L.50.12 at Amarna, not far from a modest domestic shrine, excavators of the 1923–24 season uncovered two sandstone figures standing side by side: the heretic king Akhenaten and his queen, the ever-radiant Nefertiti. Fashioned in the later years of the Atenist experiment, both statues once held offering trays aloft...
A glimmer from the lifetime of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, this elegant mirror is fashioned from a copper alloy, cast in two neat pieces. The gleaming disk possesses a sturdy little tang that slots snugly into the handle, secured by a modest bronze peg; simple engineering with a decidedly regal flair. The handle itself bears...
In the vast world of Egyptian art, most treasures are the glamorous survivors: gilded coffins, glittering jewellery, superb limestone reliefs polished by the desert wind. Yet every so often, something slips through from a very different realm; the dusty, aromatic heart of the ancient workshop itself. A rare survival of the craftsman’s workshop, this modest...
The mummy of king Ahmose I was discovered in the Royal Cache of Deir el-Baharai, in 1881. He was buried within a coffin inscribed with his name, and his wrappings also bore his name in hieratic script, as well as a garland of Delphinium flowers wrapped around his neck. King Ahmose I holds a place...
This finely made bronze axe-head was crafted as an ornamental piece rather than a functional weapon. Its blade is pierced with an intricate openwork scene of two bulls locked in combat, their horns interlaced in a moment of tense, sculptural energy. Both sides show carefully tooled internal detail, revealing the high skill of the metalworker....
This magnificent red-granite lion, carved in the reign of Amenhotep III, shows the animal in a graceful recumbent pose, forepaws crossed and tail curled neatly around the rump. Its modelling is a masterful blend of stylised elegance and striking naturalism: a circular mane frames the head; raised fur textures mark the chest and shoulders; the...
Fashioned from the thinnest sheets of shimmering gold, these delicate sandals were never meant to grace a living foot. Instead, they were lovingly crafted to adorn the body of the deceased, guiding her in gilded splendour into the afterlife. Beautiful though they are, one imagines they would have been dreadfully uncomfortable for earthly wandering, and...
