Limestone

Copulating Couple

This limestone piece, despite damage and missing aspects, depicts a scene of a man and a woman copulating. The man’s phallus is oversized, for symbolism, but the tenderness of the scene showcases an interesting and unique representation of erotic artworks from Ancient Egypt. As the couple lay upon their side facing one another, the man,...

Erotic scene

Fertility was a very important and holy notion for the Egyptians and other ancient cultures. The Egyptian religion and other ancient religions from regions all across the world were essentially almost fully focused on the concept of fertility, with both the philosophy and practices, all coming down to maintaining agriculture, thus survival. In short, fertility...

Ahmose Meritamun in Hathor wig

Ahmose Meritamun in Hathor wig

This colossal limestone bust depicts a female figure wearing what is known as the ‘Hathor wig’, which has wide lappets on either side of the face that curve at the ends and a very broad lappet at the back. This sort of wig has been named after the goddess Hathor because it resembles her hairstyle,...

The White Chapel of Senwosret I

The White Chapel of Pharaoh Senwosret I, also known as the Jubilee Chapel of Senwosret I, was built during Egypt’s Middle Kingdom. During the New Kingdom, it was dismantled and used as filling for the Third Pylon of Karnak’s temple in the Amun-Re Precinct. The dismantled fragments were discovered inside the Third Pylon of Karnak’s...

Nefertiti Statue

This limestone striding figure of Nefertiti was unearthed in the archaeological remnants of the sculptor Thutmose’s workshop, within the remains of the same room (Amarna House P 47.02. Room 19) where the famous bust of the queen was discovered in 1912 by Ludwig Borchardt, at Tel el-Amarna. The figure was discovered in several fragments and...

Nebseni & Baket

This family portrait features Nebseni, chief of the royal stables alongside his wife Baket, and their son named Imen, whose face has sadly been destroyed, but it appears the boy stands before an altar. Finely carved from limestone, the piece measures at 87cm tall and 35cm wide, with a depth of 33.5cm. It was discovered...

Fragment of a Queen

This white limestone relief fragment shows an unidentified queen clutching a thick usekh collar in her raised left hand. Dressed in a translucent pleated garment with a headdress ornamented with a double uraei, cow horns, double plume and sun disc in the centre, the queen has divine status. The plumes are streaked with blue, brown,...

Kemsit

Kemsit was an ancient Egyptian queen consort and the wife of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II of the 11th Dynasty. Her titles included “King’s Beloved Wife” (ḥmt-nỉswt mrỉỉ.t=f), “King’s Ornament” (ẖkr.t-nỉswt), “King’s Sole Ornament” (ẖkr.t-nỉswt wˁtỉ.t), and “Priestess of Hathor”. Her tomb (TT308) and modest ornate chapel were discovered in her husband’s Deir el-Bahari temple complex, behind...

Stela of Neferhotep

Neferhotep’s limestone stela has two registers on the face of its spherical top. In the upper register, Amenhotep I and Queen Ahmose-Nefertari sit on thrones facing an altar with a water pot and a floral bouquet. The figurines and text are all carved in raised relief. In the lower register, the foreman Neferhotep, son of...

Ramesses II and Offering Table

Ramesses II and Offering Table

This limestone statue, which stands at 171cm tall, depicts the 19th Dynasty king, Ramesses II, knelt before a hes-vase shaped offering platform, whilst the king himself holds an offering tray. The bottom has been restored onto a modern platform, but the rest of the statue is in remarkable condition. Ramesses II can be seen wearing...