18th Dynasty

Statue of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

Statue of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

This small, painted votive statue depicts King Akhenaten and his Great Wife Nefertiti. The king and queen are shown hand in hand (a notedly unusual pose in New Kingdom artwork), as if walking forward together. They stand quite far apart, entirely unbending as they stare straight ahead, without the ghost of a smile. They are...

Sphinx of Queen Hatshepsut

Granite Sphinx of Hatshepsut

The granite sphinx of Hatshepsut is carved in a fairly classical pose, in a similar manner to the Middle Kingdom sphinxes of Amenemhat III. The front legs extend forward and the tail curls around the right hind leg. The sphinx is a portrait of Hatshepsut with the elegant feminine features of all her statues: almond-shaped...

Perfume Vase of King Tutankhamun

Perfume Vase of Tutankhamun

Alabaster perfume vase upon ornamental stand, with cartouches of Tutankhamun, lotus and papyrus flowers forming a Sema Tawy (unification of the two lands) and stems as renpet (time or eternity) signs. This vase differs from others in the complicated knot that ties the various stems of the plants around its neck together. The lower part...

Mummy of the Royal Architect Kha

Mummy of the Royal Architect Kha

The mummy of the royal architect Kha who was the overseer of works from Deir el-Medina in the mid-18th Dynasty. It was one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of ancient Egypt, one of few tombs of nobility to survive intact. After the discovery of the tomb of Kha by the Italian archaeologists, the Egyptian authorities...

Fragment of Paving from Tell el-Amarna

Fragment of Paving from Tell el-Amarna

Fragment of a painted paving from the southern palace at Amarna, the Maru-Aten (which was built for Meritaten, King Akhenaten’s eldest daughter). It is made of painted plaster, and depicts a marsh scene with wild ducks flying over tufts of reeds and papyrus which intermingle with the floating leaves of a flowering plant. Realism abounds...

Miniature Coffin of Tutankhamun

Miniature Coffin of Tutankhamun

The interior of the alabaster canopic chest of King Tutankhamun was divided into four compartments, each holding a miniature gold coffin containing the viscera of the king, wrapped in bandages. These mummiform coffins were decorated inside with texts and outside with a feather design inlaid in carnelian and colored glass and the titles of the...

Mummy of King Thutmose II

Mummy of Thutmose II

The mummy of Thutmose II was presumably violated by tomb robbers. Therefore it was moved to the Deir el-Bahari Cachette (DB320), where it was rewrapped and restored. The king, like the other kings, has his hands crossed over his chest, in an Osirian pose that continued to be followed in mummies of kings for many...

Mummy of Hatshepsut

Mummy of Hatshepsut

The mummy of Hatshepsut, one of Egypt’s most famous female pharaohs, has been the subject of significant archaeological and forensic research. Hatshepsut reigned during the 18th Dynasty (around 1479-1458 BC), and while her tomb and her many monuments were discovered, her mummy was not immediately identifiable. For years, the location of her final resting place...

Bust of Nefertiti

The bust of Queen Nefertiti housed in Berlin’s Neues Museum is one of Ancient Egypt’s most famous works of art. A prime example of ancient artistry, this icon has been called “the most beautiful woman in the world”. Hypnotizing audiences since it went on display in 1923, the statue gives insight into the enigmatic queen...

Relief of Queen Tiye

Relief of Queen Tiye

Relief of Queen Tiye, the Great Royal Wife of King Amenhotep III, wearing the vulture headdress and uraeus. The fragment was part of a stele. From the mortuary temple of Amenhotep III at Western Thebes. Tiye married Amenhotep III at the age of eleven or twelve in the second year of his reign, being approximately...