Cairo Museum

Two bracelets of Psusennes I

Bracelet of Psusennes I

This unique bracelet of Psusennes I is decorated with a winged scarab as its major feature. The scarab holds the sun-disc in its front legs, and the shen-sign of infinity with its rear legs. The cartouches of Psusennes I can also be seen, each surmounted by a sun-disc. The cartouches and the scarab are separated...

Stele of Akhenaten and his family. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 44865

Stela of Akhenaten and his family

The limestone stela shows King Akhenaten and his family as a “Holy Family.” It is considered to be an icon and was intended to be kept in a private chapel of an Amarna house. The stele, topped by the cavetto cornice, is decorated with a scene of an intimate moment from the daily life of...

Flexible Beaded Bracelet of King Tutankhamun

Flexible Beaded Bracelet of Tutankhamun

The principal ornament of this beautiful beaded bracelet of Tutankhamun is a large scarab at one end; when worn, the scarab would have appeared to be the central ornament. The scarab is not a single piece of stone, but is made of a number of pieces of lapis lazuli fitted most carefully into gold cloisonnés...

Necklace of Tutankhamun with Lunar Pectoral

Necklace of Tutankhamun with Lunar Pectoral

This necklace was discovered in a cartouche-shaped box that was found on the floor of the treasury and likely worn during Tutankhamun’s life. Pectorals attached to necklaces and decorated with figures of deities and the symbols that were associated with them formed a high proportion of the jewelry found in Tutankhamun’s tomb. In this example...

Colossal Statue of Amenhotep III and Tiye

Colossal Statue of Amenhotep III and Tiye

This colossal statue of Amenhotep III and Tiye is a group statue and three of their daughters. It is the largest known Ancient Egyptian family group ever carved. The almond-shaped eyes and arched eyebrows of the figures are of typical late 18th Dynasty style. Amenhotep III wears the nemes headdress with the uraeus or royal...

Ka Statue of Tutankhamun

Ka Statue of Tutankhamun

This wooden Ka statue is one of two statues that stood guarding the entrance of the burial chamber of Tutankhamun. The King is wearing the Khat headdress and in one hand the king is holding the hedge mace, as the traditional weapon of a victorious king; and in the other, a staff in the form...

Statue of Amenhotep II as Ptah-Tatenen

A fine limestone statue of king Amenhotep II depicted in the form of the god Ptah-Tatenen from the Karnak Cachette. Tatenen (or Tanen) was the god of the primordial mound in ancient Egyptian religion. His name means “risen land” or ‘exalted earth’, as well as referring to the silt of the Nile. Both Tatenen and...

Sphinx of Queen Hatshepsut

Sphinx of Hatshepsut

As a sphinx, Hatshepsut displays a lion’s mane and a king’s beard. Hatshepsut ruled as a man, not as a woman, and for this reason her royal protocols and titles are always written without the feminine qualification, which is the “T” letter in hieroglyphs. This is the case in the text inscribed on the base...

Mummy of Maatkare Mutemhat

Mummy of Maatkare Mutemhat

The mummy of Maatkare Mutemhat is plastered and painted with a mixture of yellow ochre and gum, and powdered resins were sprinkled over her face. Hers was the earliest mummy of her period to have been stuffed to present a life-like appearance. The body was internally packed and molded into the shape of the living...

Mummy Plaque of King Psusennes I

Mummy Plaque of Psusennes I

This plaque, or thin plate, was placed on the mummy of king Psusennes I over the incision made in the lower abdomen to remove the internal organs. The plate was intended to heal and form a scar over the incision. In the center of the plate, there is a sacred wadjet eye flanked by the Four Sons...