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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
The shrine of Hathor and the cow’s statue were retrieved from under heaps of debris south of the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari. The shrine is from the reign of Thutmose III. Its roof is painted blue with yellow stars to imitate the Vault of Heaven. The statue of Hathor as the divine...
The Great Hymn to Aten is one of the most famous texts from Akhenaten’s reign. It describes Aten as the sole creator, sustainer of life, and a universal omnipresent deity, making it one of the earliest religious texts that resemble later monotheistic traditions. The hymn, inscribed in Akhenaten’s tomb at Tel el-Amarna, praises Aten as...
The stele of Merneptah was originally erected by King Amenhotep III in his mortuary temple on the west bank of Thebes. King Merneptah, the thirteenth son and successor of King Ramesses II, reused the back face of this gray granite stele. The round top of this face, topped by the winged sun disk and flanked...
Some of the earliest silver objects unearthed in Egypt are these rare silver bracelets that once belonged to Queen Hetepheres I. They are inlaid with turquoise, lapis lazuli, and carnelian, in the form of a butterfly. The internal and external surfaces of this small box, or casket, were covered with gold leaf. The lid of...
