British Museum

Shrine Amulet. British Museum. EA59402

Shrine Amulet

Green glazed steatite amulet in the form of a naos or a shrine. A naos (Greek ναός “temple, shrine”) is the descriptive name given to Egyptian hieroglyph Gardiner O18 (see below). Within the inner shrine, an aegis of a leonine (lion) goddess remains. Each side of the shrine is decorated with representations of the leonine...

Osiris with Isis and Nephthys. Book of the Dead of the scribe Hunefer. New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 1300 B.C.British Museum. EA9901,3

Osiris with Isis and Nephthys

Osiris with Isis and NephthysThe Book of the Dead of the scribe HuneferNew Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 1300 B.C.British Museum. EA9901,3 Hunefer was a scribe during the 19th Dynasty (c. 1300 B.C.). He was the owner of the Papyrus of Hunefer, a copy of the funerary Egyptian Book of the Dead, which represents one of the...

Statue of Horus wearing Roman military costume

Statue of Horus wearing Roman military costume

This limestone seated statue of Horus, now housed in the British Museum (EA51100), stands as a testament to the intricate fusion of Egyptian and Roman artistic and religious traditions. Carved in the form of the falcon-headed deity but clad in Roman military attire, this sculpture embodies the cultural synthesis that defined Roman Egypt. The figure,...

Coffin for young girl from Akhmim. British Museum. EA29587

Coffin for young girl from Akhmim

Wooden lid and base of a coffin for a young girl from Akhmim, Sohag, Egypt, c. 50 B.C.- 50 A.D. This coffin dates from the period of Greco-Roman rule and can be seen by the garment the young girl is seen depicted wearing. However, despite this she maintains her Egyptian religious belief, by being mummified...

Round-Crown and Wig inlay. Walters Art Museum. 1920.1976

Round-Crown and Wig inlay

Both of these faïence depictions of royal headdresses date from the late 18th Dynasty to possibly early 19th Dynasty. The first, is likely to have been depicted upon the head of a late 18th Dynasty queen, and next is the round crown, as seen adorning the head of kings such as King Amenhotep III. Lavender...

Relief of Mentuhotep II

Relief of Mentuhotep II

King Mentuhotep II being embraced by the falcon-god of war Montu (no longer visible) Middle Kingdom, 11th Dynasty, c. 2055-2004 B.C. Temple of Mentuhotep, Deir el-Bahari. Limestone relief of Mentuhotep II: this section of raised relief shows Mentuhotep II, wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt, embraced by the god Montu. Montu embraces the king...

Amennakht (the Scribe of the Place of Truth) offering praises and tribute before the goddess Meretseger

Amennakht before Meretseger

The Scribe of the Place of Truth, Amennakht (New Kingdom, 20th Dynasty, c. 1170 B.C.) kneels before the goddess Meretseger, “She who loves silence”. Amennakht, is in praise of Meretseger who sits before him on a throne of red, blue and orange. She is wearing a red dress and a cuff on her upper left...

Statue of king Mentuhotep VI

Statue of King Mentuhotep VI

Fragmentary green schist statue of king Mentuhotep VI, the lower legs and base now missing. The king wears the nemes headcloth, with wide striped lappets that extend over the shoulders and a twisted braid at the back. The material is tucked behind the ears, and a faint horizontal band across the forehead. Above this is...

Sandal Ivory Label of King Den, MacGregor plaque

Sandal Ivory Label of King Den Striking Down Asiatic Tribesman

This ivory label originally attached to a pair of royal sandals, found at his tomb in Abydos, showing the king Den with an upraised mace, about to strike a captive. The king’s name is written before him in a Serekh, in the center of the top of the label. The king wears a bull’s tail,...

Cartonnage Mummy Mask

Cartonnage Mummy Mask

Gilded cartonnage mummy mask of Mareis, obsidian and limestone eyes cased in bronze (lost on left side). Greek text on forehead, painted funerary scenes on front and back. Mummy masks of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods often had gilded faces that reflected the association of the deceased with the gods. Mummy masks are shaped like...