British Museum

Calcite figures of two men on stepped red plynths. Tomb of Idy.

Tomb of Idy

Idy was an Egyptian man who lived and died within the 6th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt’s Old Kingdom, c. 2345-2181 B.C. He was a nomarch (provincial governor of the varied nomes of Egypt, similar to a local administrator or perhaps a modern local councillor or possibly mayor type figure). He held titles such as Royal...

Fragments from the Book of the Dead of Khary Wesay

Not much is known about Khary Wesay, other than he lived during the 19th Dynasty, yet the remnants of his Book of the Dead remain a beautiful discovery from Ancient Egypt. Through these well preserved fragments, one can take a technicolour journey through the Afterlife along with Khary Wesay and his wife Puia. New Kingdom,...

Wooden and ivory fan handle with face of Hathor

Wooden and ivory fan handle with face of Hathor

An Ancient Egyptian wooden and ivory fan handle with the face of Hathor engraved. Modern ostrich feathers added to show how the fan would appear in its former New Kingdom glory. Hathor was a multifaceted deity. Her name, literally ‘the abode of Horus’, immediately emphasised the close connection with the falcon-headed god, whose mother or...

Bronze statuette of Harpocrates

Silver Statuette of Harpocrates

Silver statuette of Harpocrates, with gold chain and ring. The god is shown as a chubby Graeco-Roman Cupid with wings and a heavy garland of fruit and leaves crowning his curly head. The left hand is empty, but the right is raised to the chin. A gold chain with a god ring attached to it...

Female Mourners from the Papyrus of Ani

Ani, held numerous titles including, “True Scribe of the King; His Beloved Scribe”, as well as “Overseer of the Double Granary of the Lord of Tawer”. Ani’s famous papyrus is one of the best preserved documents from Ancient Egypt, and is known as the Book of the Dead. A Book of the Dead is a...

Mummy of Cleopatra. British Museum. EA6707

Mummy of Cleopatra

This is the mummy of a 17-year-old young woman called Cleopatra, who lived during the Roman Period of Ancient Egypt, c. 100-120. She is cited as the daughter of Candace, a member of the Cornelius Pollius family, the Archon of Thebes, under the rule of Emperor Trajan. The inscriptions state that Cleopatra died at age...

Statue of Viceroy of Kush, Paser, son of Minmose

Statue of Viceroy of Kush, Paser, son of Minmose

Sandstone statue of the Viceroy of Kush, Paser, son of Minmose, holding a ram-headed altar, with an invocation inscribed to Amun-Ra, and prayers to Min & Isis on the back. Also, additional prayers to “Horus, lord of Nubia, and Amun-Ra on behalf of the Viceroy of Kush, Paser” feature. A Viceroy is “the governor of...

Is this the head of Meryrahashetef?

Statue of Meryrahashetef, c. 2345-2181 B.C.

Sir Flinders Petrie discovered this human head of a man, resting upon a head rest in Sidmant el-Gebel within the Tomb of Meryrahashetef (?). Petrie identified the mummy as the Old Kingdom, “Keeper of the Palace Garden” and “Lector Priest”, Meryrahashetef of the 6th Dynasty. A wooden statue of Meryrahashetef, which has been carved from...

The Gebelein Man also known informally as Ginger

Pre-Dynastic Mummies: The Gebelein Man “Ginger”

The Gebelein Man (British Museum. EA32751), also known informally as “Ginger” due to his red hair; is the mummy of a young Egyptian man found in Gebelein (modern Naga el-Gherira, 25 miles south of Thebes), dating from the Late Pre-Dynastic Period, c. 3400 B.C. During the period of Gebelein Man’s life and death, Egyptians were...

Mummy of an adult man

Mummy of an adult man

Mummy of an adult man, name unknown. The preparation has been carried out with great care and skill by the embalmer, and the rounded and shapely contours of a living body have been skillfully imitated. The features of the face are painted upon the outermost wrappings. The fingers and toes are each wrapped separately; the...