The chest of the sarcophagus of the vizier Gemenefherbak is protected by a winged scarab, a personification of the reborn morning sun. On the back of the box, the deceased is shown twice worshiping the djed pillar, a symbol of Osiris, lord of the netherworld. In spite of the size of the object and the...
The conglomerate sarcophagus of Nectanebo II was discovered after being used as a bath in the Attarin Mosque, the former Church of St Athanasius, in Alexandria, Egypt. Drill holes at the bottom of the coffin, used for drainage, had been installed and are still very noticeable. Unfortunately, due to it being used as a bath,...
Relief depicting women squeezing oil from lily flowers in a press for use in perfume. Fragment from a decoration of a tomb. The Ancient Egyptians loved beautiful fragrances. They associated them with the gods and recognized their positive effect on health and well being. Perfumes were generally applied as oil-based salves, and there are numerous...
Sister goddesses, Isis and Nepthys, stand beside and hold hands with Harpocrates, the god of silence, secrets and confidentiality in the Hellenistic religion developed in Ptolemaic Alexandria. Harpocrates stands in the centre, his youthfulness indicated by his nudity and the sidelock of hair worn on his head. He is flanked by Isis and Nephthys. All...
This is a scene you are used to seeing from Ancient Egypt; a triumphant, dominating king, with a pleading & subdued enemy. But here, the tables have turned. Here the king of Egypt is the pleading subdued one, as the “Achaemenid King of Kings” holds the power. The king of Egypt pleading with the Achaemenian...
This may have been a statue from a temple of Nefertem. Large silver statues are very rare in ancient Egypt. The god of perfume, Nefertem, was also a god of healing who was said to have eased the suffering of the aging sun god Re with a bouquet of sacred lotus. Nefertem therefore not only...
Black stone amulet carved into the shape of the sema hieroglyph, which means ‘unite’ and similar concepts. It is often described as a pair of lungs attached to a windpipe, genitalia, and sometimes both simultaneously. The Sema was often placed on a mummy’s chest in order to give it life in the underworld. As an...
This small faience vessel in the shape of a hedgehog was most likely a perfume or cosmetic vessel. Texts and images tell us that both men and women wore eye makeup and applied perfume. Perfume was associated with the divine in ancient Egypt and the presence of a deity is sometimes signaled by a sweet...
In this statuette of Isis suckling Horus, the goddess is seated on a throne whose hieroglyphic sign is used to write her name. She wears a lovely three-part “raven black” wig with tubular locks covering her shoulders with the remains of a vulture; it is surmounted by a mortar ringed with uraei. In its center...
This steep-sided pyramidion is inscribed for Iufaa, a priest of Osiris, ruler of the Netherworld, at his sacred site of Abydos, and originally would have surmounted a memorial chapel at this site. It is decorated on all four faces, with almost identical images on each pair of opposing sides. An inscription at the top of...
