The tomb of Tutankhamun contained many leopard heads like this gilded one. This head differs from others in having the king’s cartouche incised atop its head. The leopard head adorned a garment that imitated the animal’s skin. This was the distinctive garment of the Sem priest. The leopard’s body and fur were particularly valuable in...
This wooden standing statuette shows the Lady Henutnakhtu of the 18th Dynasty wearing a tight pleated garment and a long beautiful wig. She is holding in her right hand a flower and in her left one a staff, with which to purify the deceased. The statuette rests on a wooden base with hieroglyphic text giving...
This Jackal-headed god statuette, one of the four gods protecting the organs of Tutankhamun, is easily mistaken for Anubis but is in fact Duamutef “He who adores his mother”. Duamutef is one of the Four Sons of Horus, to whose particular protection the stomach was entrusted once it had been removed from the body during...
Once in a weary state, this alabaster masterpiece was discovered dismantled within a cache at Karnak Temple (Luxor, Egypt). It appears that upon the ancient dismantling, the inlaid stones which once filled the eye and eyebrow sockets were removed, as were the likely real and pure golden cuffs that adorned the king’s wrists, placed strategically...
This sandstone sunken relief of a woman dates from the Amarna Period, and it is easy to tell the era she is from due to the style in which she is depicted. The artistic manner is most definitely from the period of Akhenaten’s experimental reign, however, this piece was actually found in Thebes and not...
Parennefer was a close advisor to Prince Amenhotep IV (King Akhenaten), before he became king. Once Amenhotep IV, or rather, King Akhenaten, took the throne, Parennefer served as his personal Royal Butler, and worked closely as a confidant to the king. In the age of Akhenaten, it was Akhenaten who was the representation of Ma’at...
A battle scene depicting Asiatic bearded men (West Asia/Eastern Mediterranean) being trampled under the horses that pull the Egyptian royal chariot. This block with a fragmented scene was discovered (MMA excavations, 1912–13) within the Temple of Ramesses IV, among the foundation where it was being reused as a foundational block. Some Egyptologists dated this piece...
Henuttaneb’s name means “Mistress of All Lands” and she is one of the lesser-known daughters of Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye. Her role in the royal family is less well-documented compared to her siblings, particularly Sitamun and Iset, who were elevated to the status of Great Royal Wives or had prominent court roles. Henuttaneb is...
This head of Akhenaten is similar to portraits of the king that we believe come from early in his reign. The less exaggerated features of the soon-to-be “Amarna Period”, this serene, slight smile of the young king looks ahead, as he wears the blue “khepresh” crown of war. The uraeus would have been present but...
A fragment of a wall relief showing scribes intent on writing, probably under dictation, holding their tablets in their left hand and their pens in their right. The relief was part of a more elaborate composition from the memphite tomb of Horemheb at Saqqara. This limestone relief with traces of painting from the Saqqara tomb...
