This golden strainer from Bubastis is intended for a wine service, removing sediment from the beverage as it is poured out of jugs, jars or flasks into bowls, goblets or situlae for drinking. The strainer indicates that most if not all of the Tell Basta vessels belonged to just such a wine service, certainly a...
This ring bezel is decorated with the royal device of two cartouches topped by ostrich plumes, the cartouches frame dancing figures of Bes. Since Bes was closely associated with women in labor and with small children, the use of his image on this signet ring suggests it belonged to a queen, probably Nefertiti herself. Though...
Reliefs like this ram plaque depict a subject in a partial or unfinished way but are themselves complete objects that constitute a special class of object. Guidelines like those for artists are often prominently exhibited as part of the object, although, in fact, many instances can be noted where the object simply could not serve...
This papyrus column amulet, meant to be worn, carried, or offered to a deity in the belief that it will magically bestow a particular power or form of protection, depicts a papyrus scepter or column. This plant, named wadj, meaning “green” or “fresh”, and the choice of green-blue faience all strongly evoke vitality and regenerative...
The braided beard and the flat cap with remnants of double plumes identify this head from a statue god as Amun. His small eyes are separated by a curved depression from the rounded brow ridge; his broad face shows full lips with sharp contours, and, from the side, a slightly drooping chin. These features closely...
In this gold statuette, Amun-Re stands in the traditional pose with the left leg forward. He is identified by his characteristic flat-topped crown, which originally supported two tall gold feathers, now missing. He wears the gods’ braided beard with a curled tip and carries an ankh emblem in his left hand and a scimitar across...
The reconstructed sections of the sphinx of Hatshepsut have been cast from an almost identical, but more complete companion piece now in Cairo. The two small limestone sphinxes may have been on either side of the entrance to the upper terrace of Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahari. The head of this sphinx differs markedly...
