When acquired in 1834, this mummy rested within a gilded cartonnage case and a wooden coffin adorned with a luminous gold face and inlaid glass eyes. Painted deities and hieroglyphic inscriptions name the deceased as Djedkhonsiufankh, son of Pennestytawy, grandson of Nesamun; a lineage carefully recorded to secure remembrance for eternity. Radiographic examination reveals a...
Irthorru was a man who once rose each day not to fields or markets, but to the presence of a god. Living in Akhmim near Thebes around c. 600 B.C., Irthorru belonged to Egypt’s quiet elite; not a king, not a warrior, but a priest entrusted with one of the most intimate sacred duties imaginable;...
King Den (also written Djer, Udimu, or Den-Setui) was one of the most important rulers of Egypt’s First Dynasty, reigning around c. 2970–2930 B.C. He is remembered as a strong and innovative king who helped shape the early Egyptian state at a time when kingship itself was still taking form. This small ivory plaque, once...
This finely made bronze axe-head was crafted as an ornamental piece rather than a functional weapon. Its blade is pierced with an intricate openwork scene of two bulls locked in combat, their horns interlaced in a moment of tense, sculptural energy. Both sides show carefully tooled internal detail, revealing the high skill of the metalworker....
This magnificent red-granite lion, carved in the reign of Amenhotep III, shows the animal in a graceful recumbent pose, forepaws crossed and tail curled neatly around the rump. Its modelling is a masterful blend of stylised elegance and striking naturalism: a circular mane frames the head; raised fur textures mark the chest and shoulders; the...
This luminous broad collar, fashioned from glazed composition, is a jewel of colour and meaning. Its three openwork rows bloom like the gardens of Amarna, with the upper ring bearing yellow mandrake fruits, beneath them unfurl green fronds of date palm, and below, a fringe of yellow, white, and mauve lotus petals. Between each pendant...
This amulet, made of green glazed composition (faience), takes the unusual form of a quadruple Wedjat-eye. The convex face shows four protective eyes surrounding a central rosette, while the reverse is flat but also bears a Wedjat-eye. Pierced longitudinally, it was once strung for wear, ensuring the constant presence of its protective powers. The Wedjat,...
To the Ancient Egyptian imagination, the blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) was far more than a waterborne bloom. Each evening, its petals folded and sank beneath the surface, only to rise and open anew with the sunrise. This daily rhythm made the flower an emblem of cosmic rebirth, mirroring the sun-god’s own journey through the night...
Strung some four-and-forty centimetres in length and weighing scarcely fifty grams, this Middle Kingdom girdle (c. 2055–1650 B.C.), said to be from Thebes, is a miniature treasury of electrum, silver, and semi-precious stone. Six hollow electrum cowries, each painstakingly punched in two halves, soldered, and pierced for threading. With oblate lapis-lazuli and green-feldspar beads, amethyst...
Dating from around c. 600-200 B.C., this golden inlaid depiction of a hawk or falcon in flight, would have been a representation of the deity Horus. Inlaid with multicoloured glass, the British Museum archives this piece as a pectoral. Based upon appearance, it appears the claws are missing and would have once been placed within...
