Cairo Museum

Model of a cattle census. Tomb of Meketre (TT280). Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 46724

Model of a Cattle Census

This large model shows a courtyard where the inspection of cattle took place. Meketre, his son, and four scribes sit under a columned canopy with scribes and guards standing nearby. Cattle are driven before them by several farmers and herdsmen in order to be counted for inspection purposes. All men are wearing short kilts and...

Bust of Ramesses II

Bust of Ramesses II

This bust of Ramesses II closely resembles a statue of Ramesses in the Egyptian Museum of Turin. However, the Cairo piece wears a long wig, rather than the Blue Khepresh Crown worn by the Turin statue (Cat. 1380).  A uraeus can be seen at the king’s forehead, and he is shown with a young face,...

Gold Diadem of Princess Khenmet

Gold Diadem of Princess Khenmet

The diadem of princess Khenmet is formed of a series of horizontal and vertical decorations made of gold with inlays of semiprecious stones and glass paste. Each horizontal element is composed of a rosette flanked by two bell-shaped flowers heavily inlaid with carnelian, turquoise, and lapis lazuli. This decoration is repeated eight times. Two delicate...

Early Dynastic Ivory Board Game Pieces

Ivory Lions Board Game Pieces of Mehen

These six board game pieces were associated with a game called ‘Mehen’ coil, because it was played on a circular limestone board that took the form of a coiled snake, its skin divided into squares. Three playing pieces represent recumbent lions, and three recumbent lionesses. The game of the snake, or Mehen, was a board...

Funerary Bed of Tutankhamun, with Sides Representing goddess Mehet-Weret

Funerary Bed of Tutankhamun with Mehet-Weret

This is one of the couches of King Tutankhamun. It is in the form of the goddess Mehet-weret, the cow goddess of the sky whose name means “great flood”. Three ritual funerary couches were found in the antechamber of Tutankhamun. They are made of stuccoed gilded wood in the form of sacred animals whose eyes...

Pectoral of King Amenemope

Pectoral of King Amenemope

The central feature of this pectoral is a lapis lazuli scarab pushing the sun-disc with its front legs, while the rear legs hold the cartouche of King Amenemope. To either side, the goddesses Isis and Nephthys protect him. At the bottom of the pectoral an inscription provides the name of the king. The frame of the...

Ostracon of a Lute Player

Ostracon of a Lute Player

This ostracon depicting a female musician lute player, wearing a broad collar and holding a musical instrument that is functionally close to a modern lute. This pose is common in tomb scenes. The grace and beauty of the musician were caught with a few deft strokes of a master’s brush. The woman is facing left....

Cosmetic Ibex Vase of Tutankhamun

This alabaster cosmetic vase of King Tutankhamun, which is a unique piece of art, was shaped in the form of an ibex, or goat, with real horns, one of which is missing. The eyes are inlaid and have black lids. The ears of the ibex were pierced but the earrings are missing. The back of...

Pectoral of Shoshenq II

This pectoral of king Shoshenq II, a large piece of jewelry worn on the chest, is in the form of a naos, or inner temple. It is topped by a decorative band with the winged sun disk. The main scene is of openwork design and shows the winged scarab Khepri. The scarab is below another...

Flying Falcon Amulet of King Amenemope

Flying Falcon Amulet of Amenemope

The falcon amulet of King Amenemope is represented stretching its wings and grasping the Shen sign to which two plaques bearing the cartouches of the king are attached. The solid gold head is turned to the left. Other parts of the hawk such as the beak, the eyes, the back of the neck, and the...