18th Dynasty

Akhenaten Making Offerings

Statue of Akhenaten Making Offerings to Aten

This small statue, which depicts King Akhenaten making offerings, was discovered in a house in the residential area of Tell el-Amarna. This type of statuette served as a figurative embodiment of the human pharaoh, enabling the magic rituals in the celebration of religious rites connected with Aten. Akhenaten was a pharaoh who reigned during the...

Tutankhamun Headrest

Several headrests were found among the treasures in Tutankhamun’s tomb. This carefully carved ivory one depicts the god Shu holding up the celestial vault. If one goes to sleep on one’s side, then one’s head ends up a few centimetres above the surface one is lying on, a distance equal to the breadth of one’s...

Vulture Pectoral of Tutankhamun

This vulture pectoral of Tutankhamun is a stunning piece of ancient Egyptian jewelry that was found in the tomb of the young pharaoh Tutankhamun. This pectoral, or chest ornament prominently features the goddess Nekhbet, the patroness of Upper Egypt. The vulture pectoral was found in a box within the treasury. It is unusual in that,...

Leopard from the tomb of Thutmose IV

Striding leopard from the tomb of king Thutmose IV The figure is made of six pieces of wood put together – the body, four legs, and the tail – and has two rectangular mortises on its back for the insertion of tenons. Originally, the piece would have featured inlaid eyes, which have since been lost....

Quartz Head of a Female Royal

This head of an Amarna Period female royal was found within the remnants of the workshop of the sculptor Thutmose. Sculpted from quartz with traces of pigment upon the lips and eyes, the face is that of a young female, possibly and likely a daughter of Akhenaten and Nefertiti, but there is a possibility it...

The Agnostic Egyptian

Interestingly, the Harper’s Song accompanying this scene within the Chapel of Pa-Aten-Em-Heb, has a somewhat agnostic lyric, telling the listener through song, that lamenting and worrying about an Afterlife is seldom constructive, and one should enjoy life on Earth, rather than obsess and worry over death: “Make holiday, don’t weary of it/ Look, there is...

Ankhesenamun

Ankhesenamun was born Ankhesenpaaten, and was the daughter of Nefertiti and Akhenaten. It is believed she was born around 1350 B.C., the third daughter of the royal couple, born in year 5 or 6 of Akhenaten’s reign. Ankhesenpaaten, which translates to, “She Lives Through the Aten” or “Living Through the Aten,” later went on to...

Is Nefertiti under our Noses?

24th December, 2024: Opinion Piece “In a chamber beyond a tomb full of treasures, a sarcophagus adorned with gilded gold takes centre stage, with the serene face of the instantly recognizable beauty of beauties carved delicately into the hard stone or wood. Inside, the perfectly embalmed mummy of a queen lays, beyond the wrappings, her...

Statue of Anen

Anen, also known as Aanen, was an ancient Egyptian nobleman and official during the Eighteenth Dynasty, specifically under the reign of his brother-in-law, Pharaoh Amenhotep III. He held significant roles such as the Chancellor of Lower Egypt, Second of the Four Prophets of Amun, sem-priest of Heliopolis, and was also known as the Greatest of...

Mannequin of Tutankhamun

Mannequin of Tutankhamun

This mannequin of king Tutankhamun was located in the annex of his tomb at the Valley of the Kings (KV62) and was found amid other items used in daily life and for ceremonial purposes. It is made of wood covered with a thin layer of plaster, which was then painted. It has a smooth, white...