During early excavations of the worker’s village of Deir el-Medina, numerous anthropoid busts of limestone and clay, referred to as “ancestor busts” were found. French Egyptologist Bernard Bruyère (10 November 1879 – 4 December 1971), proposed the idea that these “ancestor busts”, rather than being funerary items or temple tributes, would have actually been a...
This beautiful decorated wooden trunk was discovered within the famous tomb of the foreman Kha and his wife Merit, known as tomb TT8 at Deir el-Medina. Depicted within a painted scene, whose borders are adorned with decorative floral, zigzag and geometric designs, is the married couple Kha and Merit, receiving offerings of food, drink and...
Pay was a man who lived in the famous workers/artists village of Deir el-Medina, then known as Set Ma’at, which translates to “The Place of Truth”. Pay’s titles tell us that he worked as a draughtsman, a very important role in making sure that both the temples and tombs of the royals and elites of...
This limestone ostracon was discovered in the famous Workers Village of Deir el-Medina. Dating from approximately, 1292–1076 B.C., this piece was created within the 19th or 20th Dynasty. Deir el-Medina (Set Ma’at) was a workman’s village, which was state commissioned and owned. The artisans and architects who would design and build the tombs of the...
The functions of Qetesh in Egyptian religion are hard to determine due to lack of direct references, but her epithets (especially the default one, “lady of heaven”) might point at an astral character, and lack of presence in royal cult might mean that she was regarded as a protective goddess mostly by commoners. Known sources...
![This votive stela, dated from the reign of Amenhotep III and found at Deir el-Medina, is dedicated to the goddesses Taweret and Mut of Isheru, both female deities of motherhood and femininity. It was commissioned and dedicated by a man “[ … ] of [the house of] Amun, Khonsu“, in hopes for a woman’s safe and successful pregnancy and childbirth.](https://i0.wp.com/egypt-museum.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/This-votive-stela-dated-from-the-reign-of-Amenhotep-III-and-found-at-Deir-el-Medina-is-dedicated-to-the-goddesses-Taweret-and-Mut-of-Isheru.jpg?resize=720%2C340&ssl=1)
This votive stela, dated from the reign of Amenhotep III and found at Deir el-Medina, is dedicated to the goddesses Taweret and Mut of Isheru, both female deities of motherhood and femininity. It was commissioned and dedicated by a man “[ … ] of [the house of] Amun, Khonsu“, in hopes for a woman’s safe and successful pregnancy and childbirth.
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...
Ahmose Nefertari was the sister and Great Royal Wife of king Ahmose I, the first king of the 18th Dynasty. After taking the reins from the Hyksos’s hands and unifying a dismantled Egypt, Ahmose I was the first ruler of Egyptian origin to bring Egypt into what is referred to as it’s Golden Age, also...
Scribe Ramose from Deir el-Medina New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 1279-1213 B.C. Musée du Louvre. E 16346 This painted limestone figure of the Scribe Ramose, shows the Scribe with a beautifully detailed thick wig. His shoulders are adorned with the cartouches of Ramesses II, Thutmose IV and Horemheb. Ramose (scribe in the Place of truth,...
A fine painted limestone statue depicting King Amenhotep I. After his death, Amenhotep I was deified and became a source of law and order for centuries. This piece is likely a cult sculpture dating to the 19th Dynasty. King Amenhotep I was celebrated as the founder of the village of Deir el-Medina and divinized by...
