20th Dynasty

Statue of Ramessesnakht holding the Theban Triad

Statue of Ramessesnakht and the Theban Triad

Ramessesnakht is donating a statue of the Theban family, Amun is seated in the middle of the little group wearing tall feathers on his flat topped crown, to his left his wife the goddess Mut with a special tall crown and their son Khonsu sitting at his father’s right. Ramessesnakht served as High Priest of...

Turin erotic satirical papyrus

Turin erotic satirical papyrus

The erotic-satirical papyrus also known Turin Erotic Papyrus, which should be read from right to left, consists of two parts. It measures 8.5 feet (2.6 m) by 10 inches (25 cm). The right side carries a topsy-turvy representation of a world where animals act like humans. This part of the scroll-painting has been described as...

Earrings of King Ramesses XI

Earrings of King Ramesses XI

This pair of gold earrings, bearing the cartouche of King Ramesses XI, was found on a female mummy. They are formed of convex disks grooved along the edge and decorated with five uraei, or royal cobras, on the outer face. The three snakes in the middle bear a sun disk while the two outer ones...

Silver Ring of King Ramesses IV

Silver Ring of Ramesses IV

On the large silver-tin alloy signet ring the prenomen of Ramesses IV appears—Hekamaat-re’ (“Re Is the Ruler of Maat“). In the lower half are several hieroglyphs—djed (“stability”), hes (“praise”), and hetep (“peace” or “satisfaction”)—that probably serve a decorative or amuletic function because they do not comprise a logical text. Likewise, the semi-hemispherical nb hieroglyph at...

The God Nun Raises the Sun

The God Nun Raises the Sun

Nun, god of the primeval waters, origin of all life and chaos, lifts the barque of the sun god Re (represented by both the scarab and the sun disk) into the sky at the beginning of time. Nut, goddess of the Sky, is hanging from above, holding the god Osiris, also hanging from upside down,...

Mummy of King Ramesses IV

Mummy of Ramesses IV

King Ramesses IV was the eldest son of King Ramesses III. He succeeded his father after having saved the throne from his father’s murders and punished the conspirators but he is considered to have been the first of a series of increasingly weak rulers. Originally, he was buried in tomb (KV2) in the Valley of...

Votive Ram’s Head

Votive Ram Head of Penta-weret

This splendid votive bust of a ram head with curving horns and stylized mane is placed on an inscribed pedestal. The top of the pedestal is marked by a cavetto cornice and a torus molding. The front has a shallow incised decoration of Amenhotep I in front of an offering stand. He is identified as...

Illustrated Book of Gates

Inside the Tomb of Ramesses IV

After a short reign of about six and a half years (1155-1149 BC), Ramesses IV died and was buried in tomb (KV2) in the Valley of the Kings, West Thebes. His mummy was found in the royal cache of Amenhotep II’s tomb (KV35) in 1898. His chief wife is Queen Duatentopet or Tentopet or Male...

Figured Ostracon

Figured Ostracon

Sketch of a common crane, a vulture, and a hound possibly basenji. This probably a series of trial sketches, not an integrated composition, and the subjects were sketched independently. Ostraca (limestone blocks) were often used by Egyptian artists for preliminary drawings, and no doubt by students of painting and sculpture. Ostracon, the Greek term for...

Dispute Over a Hut

Ostracon of a Dispute Over a Hut

Fragmentary limestone ostracon with a hieratic inscription recording the resolution of a dispute over a hut inherited by the workman Wennofer. The inscription is unusual in being incised and filled with blue frit, a technique used for formal hieroglyphic inscriptions. Perhaps Wennofer set this ostracon into a wall of the disputed hut like a stele....