Limestone

Relief of Scribes at work

Relief of Scribes at work

A fragment of a wall relief showing scribes intent on writing, probably under dictation, holding their tablets in their left hand and their pens in their right. The relief was part of a more elaborate composition from the memphite tomb of Horemheb at Saqqara. This limestone relief with traces of painting from the Saqqara tomb...

Ostracon with fighting bulls

Ostracon with fighting bulls

This ostracon is a dynamic depiction of two fighting bulls. The powerful motion is portrayed through their bodies, with the back legs of the charging bull pushing forward and head lowered to topple the other bull with its horns. Note the artist’s skillful use of color and pattering to add detail. Ostraca (plural for ostracon)...

Unknown Amarna royal, possibly Tutankhamun or some propose it is the likeness of the mysterious Smenkhkare

Unknown Amarna royal

This limestone bust of an Amarna royal has never been officially identified, yet the Neues Museum in Berlin does display it with the title of Tutankhamun, which is a likely possibility, others propose that it may be the mysterious 18th Dynasty ruler Smenkhkare. Who it is depends on the scholar, and your own thoughts at...

Prince Ankhhaf. Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition. 27.442

Bust of Prince Ankhhaf

Prince Ankhhaf was the son of an Old Kingdom king, most probably king Sneferu, making Ankhhaf the brother of king Khufu. Ankhhaf had the titles “eldest king’s son of his body” (sa nswt n khtf smsw), “vizier” and “the great one of Five of the house of Thoth” (wr djw pr-Djehuti). This bust made of...

Maya and his wife Merit, depicted in a life-sized limestone double-seated statue.

Statue of Maya and Merit

Maya was a high ranking official, with titles such as, “Overseer of the Treasury“, who lived towards the end of the 18th Dynasty. With the collapse of the Amarna Period (Akhenaten and Nefertiti’s Aten experiment purposely dissolved), Maya was an important figure who held special status during the reigns of Tutankhamun (it is said Maya...

Double seated statuette of Kinebu and Isis

Double seated statuette of Kinebu and Isis

This double seated statute of Kinebu and his wife, a singer for Amun, named Isis (Ancient Egyptian: Aset or Iset), was usurped (reused/recycled) by the pair, and originally dates from the reign of Amenhotep III, c. 1390-1353 B.C. rather than the lifetime of Kinebu and Isis, who lived and died during the reign of Ramesses...

Colossal of Ramesses II at Mit Rahina Museum, Memphis.

Colossal of Ramesses II, at Memphis

Limestone colossus of king Ramesses II, at Memphis, the colossal of Ramesses II, was discovered in 1820 by Giovanni Battista Caviglia, an Italian traveller. The statue is so large, an enclosure had to be built around it at the open air Mit Rahina Museum. Almost impossible to move, and after multiple attempts to relocate the...

Seated limestone statue of Senwosret I, from el-Lisht. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. CG417

Senwosret I, c. 1961-1917 B.C.

Kheperkare Senwosret I was the son of Amenemhat I, who became Co-Regent alongside his father, sometime after his father’s 20th Regnal Year.Senwosret, following in the footsteps of his father, led brutal campaigns south into Nubia, dominating the region all the way down to the Second Cataract of the Nile, documented on the Buhen Stela. With...

Votive Ear Stele of Usersatet

Votive Ear Stele of Usersatet

The ear stele of Usersatet was dedicated to the goddess Nebethetepet, “she who listens to prayers”. It is decorated with four ears in the hope that the deity would hear and answer to the requests of the dedicator. Originally from Heliopolis, Nebethetepet was a deity who was associated with Hathor and there is even evidence...

Relief from the Tomb of Kemsit

Relief from the Tomb of Kemsit

Kemsit sits on a wide, low-backed chair holding a vase of scented ointment to her nose. In front of her was the smaller figure of a male servant, of which only his hand remains, holding a small cup that is receiving the stream of liquid he was pouring into it with his other hand. This...