Ashmolean Museum

MacGregor Man Statuette

MacGregor Man Statuette

This polished black basalt figure of a man wearing a hood and penis sheath was once in the collection of the Rev William MacGregor, and is said to have been found in the region of Naqada. Standing man, arms by sides with hands open, palms in, legs together.  Details of eyes, eyebrows, and mouth clearly...

Figure of Akhenaten Holding an Offering Table

Figure of Akhenaten Holding an Offering Table

This painted sandstone figure of King Akhenaten contains many androgynous physical characteristics which have led to contemporary speculation on Akhenaten’s gender and sexuality, health and religious beliefs. Akhenaten was a progressive king of the 18th Dynasty, who introduced great changes to ancient Egyptian religion and art. This has led to some scholars suggesting that Akhenaten’s...

Fragment of Wall Painting from the Tomb of the Dancers

Fragment of Painting from Tomb of the Dancers

In this fragment painting from the Tomb of the Dancers, the girls are performing to the accompaniment of of clapping and finger-snapping, under the supervision of two male overseers. The occasion is perhaps a festival dance in honor of Hathor, goddess of music and dancing and also protector of the tombs of Western Thebes. “The...

Moulded faience vase in the form of the goddess Taweret

Vase of goddess Taweret

This Egyptian faience vase is molded in the form of the goddess Taweret, the ancient Egyptian patroness of childbirth and a protector of women and children. Like Bes, she was considered to be a ferocious demon as well as a protective and nurturing deity. She was associated with the lion, the crocodile, and the hippo;...

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....

Shrine of King Taharqa

Shrine of Taharqa

The Shrine of Taharqa part of a temple built at Kawa, Nubia (modern Sudan) in about 680 BC. It was built on the orders of Taharqa who was King from 690 – 664 BC. The shrine was dedicated to the sun and fertility god Amun-Re. It was intended to give help to Taharqa in ruling...

Mummy and Coffin of Djed-djehuty-iuef-ankh

Mummy and Coffin of Djed-djehuty-iuef-ankh

Djed-djehuty-iuef-ankh (whose name means ‘The god Thoth says “May he live”’) was a member of a family of priests from the city of Thebes, where he served the warlike god Montu. This spectacular nest of three coffins containing his mummy was found in 1895, together with that of his mother, buried within the grounds of...

Seated statue of King Khasekhemwy

Statue of King Khasekhemwy

This statue of Khasekhemwy last king of the 2nd Dynasty of Egypt, enthroned with conquered foes incised around the base, it is the oldest surviving stone royal sculpture from ancient Egypt. The king is wearing the White Hedjet Crown of Upper Egypt and is wrapped in a long robe with long sleeves associated with the...

Amuletic disk (Hypocephalus)

Amuletic disk (Hypocephalus)

The term hypocephalus refers to a piece of Late Period and Ptolemaic funerary equipment. It is specifically an amuletic disc made of cartonnage, bronze, textile, or rarely from papyrus and even wood, emulating a solar disc. It was made for Tasheritenkhonsu. Linen and plaster, inscribed in ink. It dates to the Late Period, 26th Dynasty,...

Two Dog Palette

The Two Dog Palette

The both sides of the two dog palette are carved in low relief with scenes depicting the frenzy o an animal hunt. The imagery includes real animals, such as the pair of Cape hunting dogs that frame the top (from which the palette takes its name). They dogs are shown alongside mythical creatures, including felines...