Ivory

Painter’s Palette

This painter’s palette was carved from a single piece of ivory. Six oval wells contain cakes of pigments including blue, green, brown (?), yellow, red, and black. The oval cartouche at one end encircles the throne name of Amenhotep III, Neb-Ma’at-Re, and the epithet “beloved of Re.” This could mean the palette belonged to an...

Apis Bull Statuette

Apis Bull Statuette

In this ivory statuette of Apis bull, the white triangle is indicated by a sunken area on the head, while engravings of a vulture with wings spread and a winged scarab flank an elaborate blanket on the back. One of the most important animal deities of ancient Egypt was the sacred Apis bull, whose worship...

Predynastic figure of a woman

Predynastic figure of a woman

This figure of a woman in a shawl is dated between 3100 -2700 B.C. She stands 13.5cm high, and is a finely carved from a piece of Hippopotamus ivory. Hippopotamus ivory is harder than elephant ivory and is much more difficult to carve. The woman depicted, with hair parted in the middle, stares forth with...

Sandal Ivory Label of King Den, MacGregor plaque

Sandal Ivory Label of King Den Striking Down Asiatic Tribesman

This ivory label originally attached to a pair of royal sandals, found at his tomb in Abydos, showing the king Den with an upraised mace, about to strike a captive. The king’s name is written before him in a Serekh, in the center of the top of the label. The king wears a bull’s tail,...

This small dog now resides in the Walters Art Museum, in Baltimore, Maryland. 71.622

Ancient Egyptian Domesticated Dogs

Made from the ivory from a hippopotamus, this dog was a figure piece from a game called “Mehen”, also known as The Serpant Game. Knowing the game pre-dates the period from which this collared dog was likely created in, it tells us that Egyptians had domesticated the dog possibly long before the unified Egypt even...

Cosmetic spoon in the form of a swimming girl.

Cosmetic spoon

The cosmetic spoon in the shape of a girl swimming with a lotus flower in her hands illustrates the refined taste of the New Kingdom. It is carved of ivory and ebony. In Egyptology a cosmetic spoon means an ornately shaped vessel for cosmetic paints or aromatic oils that were especially popular during the 18th...

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...

Comb with the name of Djet

Ivory Comb with the name of King Djet

Some important artifacts were found in the tomb of the 1st Dynasty king Djet at Abydos in Petrie’s Tomb Z. Such as this wide-toothed comb, which is made of hippopotamus ivory. The king’s name is engraved inside the serekh, or palace facade. It is the earliest surviving depiction of the heavens symbolized by the outspread...

Apotropaic Wand Fragment

Apotropaic Wand Fragment

“One side of this ivory fragment wand carving depicts a figure of a crocodile with its tail curved below the head and body. The mouth, eyes, leg scales, and body ridges are carved in minute detail. With its eye open and jaws closed in alert pose it faces right toward the accompanying figures (now lost)....