This head of a priest, called the Boston Green Head, is the best portrait sculpture known from the Late Period. The face is wonderfully lifelike and individual. Light wavy lines indicate the furrows of his brow, and crow’s feet radiate from the outer corners of his eyes. The top of his nose has a pronounced...
The Metternich stela belongs to a group of stelae known as the “Cippi of Horus” or ‘Stelae of Horus on the crocodiles’. The top half of this stela was skillfully carved in the hard dark stone. On the part below the central figure panel, rows of hieroglyphs record thirteen magic spells to protect against venomous...
This superb portrait of Egypt’s last native pharaoh is the product of three thousand years’ expertise in carving hard stone. The volumes of his helmet-shaped crown — the Blue Crown, or Khepresh, are sleek and streamlined, almost aerodynamic. The artist reveled in the mottled texture of the stone, and polished it to a glistening sheen...
This diorite statue of a Priest of Amun dates from the Late Period’s 30th Dynasty. The priest wears an Old Kingdom style wig, carved in the Late Period fashion. His body is polished to a smooth texture, and his facial features are typical of the Late Period and Ptolemaic age. Upon the back pillar of...
The basalt torso of Pa-Maj is entirely covered in engravings of magical spells and images of gods. Such items became highly collectable in Europe by the 1700s. This splendid statue in mutilated basalt, represents a standing man usually with his arms along the body and the palms of his hands turned inside and is leaning...
The conglomerate sarcophagus of Nectanebo II was discovered after being used as a bath in the Attarin Mosque, the former Church of St Athanasius, in Alexandria, Egypt. Drill holes at the bottom of the coffin, used for drainage, had been installed and are still very noticeable. Unfortunately, due to it being used as a bath,...
