Measuring at just under 20cm tall (19.1cm), this rose, or red granite head depicts the 18th Dynasty king Amenhotep III and dates from approximately 1390 -1352 B.C. Currently on display at the Louvre in Paris, unfortunately, not much else is documented about the piece. After ascending the throne as a teenager, Amenhotep III ruled for...
Ostracon are various shards of limestone and/or pottery, which were used by Ancient Egyptian artisans and scribes as a tablet. The term osatracon however, is not just used for the study of Egyptology, but used by historians studying the geographical regions of various other ancient cultures too. These fragmentary pieces have provided vast amounts of...
This striding statuette of a New Kingdom king, depicts the king in a kilt (shendyt) adorned with an elaborate belt, a usekh collar around his neck, and most notably, the “Blue Crown of War”, known to the Egyptians as the “Khepresh” upon his head, which is given a realistic glisten by the addition of rounded...
This wooden emblem of the goddess Anuket is a rather unique item and depicts the goddess with her famous ostrich feather headdress, with two depictions of the goddess on each side. She was the goddess of the First Cataract of the Nile and was associated with the Nubian region, she was worshipped at Elephantine. During...
This ostracon from Deir el-Medina shows two men performing the traditional stick-fighting martial art known as Tahtib, which is still practised and performed in Egypt to this very day. The oldest traces of tahtib were found on engravings from the archaeological site of Abusir, an extensive necropolis of the Old Kingdom period, located in the...
This wooden face from a coffin is beautifully carved with fine features and a sense of serenity can be felt from the expression and realism of the craftsmanship. The eyes and brows are inlaid with glass. Blue glass fills the brows and liner of the eyes, whereas the eyes themselves are white and black inlay,...
This small limestone statuette depicts a daughter of king Akhenaten and Nefertiti. She is depicted with a “side lock” of youth, protruding from a cap crown, seemingly made of layered beads. A “side lock” of youth is the modern term coined by Egyptologists to recognize this specific hairstyle, which was often worn by children or...
The tomb of Lady Madja was discovered in a cemetery in Western Thebes overlooking the valley of Deir el-Medina, behind the hill of Qurnet Mourai. What is interesting about the tomb, is that the coffin of Lady Madja was the only depiction of funerary texts and scenes of offerings that the Egyptians believed to be...
Limestone bust of Akhenaten from Tel el-Amarna (ancient Akhetaten) New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Akhenaten, c. 1352-1335 B.C. Musée du Louvre. E 11076
The portrait was found by the archaeologist Albert Gayet during the excavation campaign of 1904 or 1905 at the necropolis of Antinoopolis in Middle Egypt. It entered the Louvre’s collections in 1905. A fragment of the right side of the board has been reglued. The paint has worn away on the nose, leaving a dark...
