18th Dynasty

The burial chamber in the Tomb of Tutankhamun

Inside the Tomb of Tutankhamun

Tucked into the sandstone flank of the Valley of the Kings, KV 62 is hardly more than a corridor, a stair and a single painted chamber, but what a chamber! Built in haste for the boy-king who is thought to have died unexpectedly, Tutankhamun’s tomb became, thanks to Howard Carter’s discovery on November 4th, 1922,...

Diadem of King Tutankhamun

Diadem of Tutankhamun

The gold diadem of Tutankhamun was designed to secure the wig of the king during ceremonies and to protect his forehead in the hereafter. It is a multicolored masterpiece, decorated with gold cloisonnés inlaid with circles of carnelian and edged with inlays of turquoise, lapis lazuli, and blue glass. At the center front are the...

Statue of King Thutmose III

Statue of Thutmose III

This greywacke statue of Thutmose III was found in the Karnak Cachette in 1904. With the legs below the knees missing, the statue measures at 90cm tall. The Karnak Cachette was discovered by Gaston Maspero in 1903 and excavated by Georges Legrain between 1903 and 1907. It was a treasure trove of finds, with over...

Pectoral of Tutankhamun with Winged Scarab

Pectoral of Tutankhamun with Winged Scarab

In this exquisite pectoral, a winged large scarab beetle riding on a sacred barque flanked by the goddesses Isis and Nephthys with their arms outstretched as a sign of protection. The scarab serves a double function: as a heart scarab and as the ba of the sun god lighting the way to the underworld. The pectoral...

The Senet Game of Imenmes

The Senet Game of Imenmes

The Senet Game board of Imenmes who was an ancient Egyptian official, who was ‘Overseer of the Cattle of Amun’.  From the New Kingdom onward, the track for the game of Senet was usually engraved on the surface of a wooden box featuring a drawer for the playing pieces, while in previous periods the game...

Ceremonial dagger of King Ahmose I

Ceremonial Dagger of Ahmose I

Along with its sheath, this ceremonial dagger was a royal gift from king Ahmose to his mother Ahhotep, in whose burial it was discovered. The blade decorated with a typically Aegean technique but Egyptian iconography, bears the titulary of the king on one side and a hunting scene on the other side. Being a gift...

Alabaster Perfume Vase of King Tutankhamun

Alabaster Perfume Vase of Tutankhamun

This perfume vase of King Tutankhamun is made of four pieces of alabaster cemented together. The idea conveyed by its symbolism is that the Nile will provide the king and queen, whose names are inscribed on the vase, with its contents. The vulture with the so-called Atef crown on its head represents either goddess Mut...

Relief fragment showing a carpenter squatting on scaffolding and working on a wooden object with his adze.

Relief of a carpenter at work on a scaffolding

Fragment showing a carpenter with a stubbled beard squatting on scaffolding and working on a wooden object with his adze. Contrary to custom he is shown disheveled and unshaven. The beard was a sign of neglect and was reserved for days of mourning. At the same time, a fake, well-tended beard was a sign of...

Statuette of a dignitary presenting a naos topped by a ram’s head

Statuette of a dignitary presenting a naos

The dignitary is shown in this statuette offering an altar with the head of a ram, the sacred animal of Amun-Re, the main god of Thebes and the New Kingdom. Steatite is a soft, easy to carve stone, which hardens and turns black when baked in a closed kiln. The man wears the so called...

The Ebers Papyrus

The Ebers Papyrus

The Ebers Papyrus is written in hieratic Egyptian writing and represents the most extensive and best-preserved record of ancient Egyptian medicine known. An ancient Egyptian medical papyrus of herbal knowledge combining herbal remedies with magic spells. Among the oldest and most important medical papyri of ancient Egypt.  The scroll contains some 700 magical formulas and folk...