Fashioned from gold of astonishing purity (some 99.5 per cent) this petite masterpiece takes the form of a falcon mid-swoop, yet crowned with the curling horns and bearded muzzle of a ram. In its talons it clutches paired shen rings, emblems of cosmic eternity, while some 300 delicate cloisons cradle slivers of turquoise, lapis-lazuli, and...
This golden strainer from Bubastis is intended for a wine service, removing sediment from the beverage as it is poured out of jugs, jars or flasks into bowls, goblets or situlae for drinking. The strainer indicates that most if not all of the Tell Basta vessels belonged to just such a wine service, certainly a...
The coffin of Khonsu was found in the Tomb of Sennedjem (TT1), Khonsu’s father, at Deir el-Medina, West Thebes. This wooden coffin bears decoration related to Chapter 17 of the Book of the Dead on its long sides. On one side Anubis can be seen mummifying the body of Osiris (with whom the deceased is...
The limestone Pyramidion of Ramose, from the top of the tomb of the ‘Necropolis Scribe’. Scenes on all four sides depict the worship of the sun. Ramose of the 19th dynasty was an ancient Egyptian noble and high-ranking official during the reign of kings Seti I and Ramesses II. Ramose served as a vizier, which...
Hidden deep within the ochre cliffs of the Valley of the Kings lies one of Ancient Egypt’s most breathtaking royal sepulchres: the tomb of Pharaoh Seti I, who reigned during the 19th Dynasty around 1290–1279 B.C. Known to modern Egyptologists as KV17, this tomb is not only among the longest and most exquisitely decorated, but...
The battle of Kadesh is one of the world’s largest chariot battles, fought beside the Orontes River, King Ramesses II sought to wrest Syria from the Hittites and recapture the Hittite-held city of Kadesh. There was a day of carnage as some 5,000 chariots charged into the fray, but no outright victor. The Kadesh Treaty...
Taken from Spell 144 of the ‘Book of the Dead’, they were the keepers of the gates of the Underworld, menacing the enemies of order with their sharpened knives. “Egyptians were probably the first to be aware of the nobility inherent in the human form and to express it in art. One can sense the...
The goddess Taweret is depicted with pendulous breasts and swollen belly, which recalls the image of a pregnant woman. The goddess usually wears a female wig that can be topped with a feathered headdress, a modius (a cylinder-shaped headdress with a flat end), or with horns and a sun disc. Another recurring element is the...
This wooden statuette of a woman depicting her wears a wig with a wreath of leaves and a lotus flower on her forehead. In her left hand she holds a sistrum (a rattle used in the cult of female deities), whose handle only is preserved. The right arm, which was carved separately and attached with...
A bronze Khopesh sword inscribed with the cartouches of King Ramesses II. The Khopesh is an Egyptian sickle-sword that evolved from battle axes. The blunted edge of the weapon’s tip also served as an effective bludgeon, as well as a hook. This Khopesh sword is made of bronze with a typical length of 57.5 cm....
