Mitry (formerly spelt “Merti”) was a senior official and province governor. His tomb’s serdab (statue chamber) contained eleven extraordinarily huge wooden statues. Five are in The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collection (26.2.2 – 26.2.6); five, including two wooden scribes, are in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo; and one is at Stockholm’s Medlhavsmuseet. Most of these...
This mask depicts a woman as if lying flat on her bier. She is adorned with a long, Egyptian-style wig crafted from plant fibres, a deep-red tunic featuring black clavi (stripes), and jewellery that includes a lunula (crescent-shaped pendant) and snake bracelets. Two holes at the lower edge of the tunic allowed the mask to...
This golden Ram’s-head amulet was probably made for a necklace worn by one of the Kushite kings. Representations show these pharaohs wearing a ram’s-head amulet tied around the neck on a thick cord, the ends of which fall forward over the shoulders. Sometimes a smaller ram’s head is attached to each end. Rams were associated...
This bronze statuette depicts a king of Kushite origin who ruled Egypt during the 25th Dynasty of the Third Intermediate Period. The Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXV, alternatively 25th Dynasty or Dynasty 25), also known as the Nubian Dynasty, the Kushite Empire, or the Napatans after their city Napata, was Egypt’s final dynasty...
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 gold inlaid with carnelian, turquoise head-dress (Met Museum. 26.8.117), belongs to a queen of Thutmose III. The headdress is made from gold, gesso, carnelian, jasper, and glass. The Met Museum writes; “These rosettes from the funerary equipment of three foreign wives of Thutmose III have been displayed in various ways, since they came to...
Wadjet eye amulets were among the most popular amulets of ancient Egypt. The wadjet eye represents the healed eye of the god Horus and embodies healing power as well as regeneration and protection in general. The faience eye here is an intriguing combination of the regular wadjet eye with a wing, two uraei, and a...
This limestone statuette, despite its small size (h: 7.1 cm), showcases a charming scene of sentimentality. A woman does the hair of another woman who is nursing a son. The delicate detailing gone into carving the plaited hair and the remnants of paint tells us what care went into creating this piece. Pigments of yellow...
Golden diadem and hair ornaments belonging to Lady Senebtisi (daughter of Apis, Lady of the House)Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, c. 1859–1770 B.C.Burial spot discovered within Vizier Senwosret’s (vizier under Senwosret I) funerary complex, el-Lisht, Egypt. Unfortunately, since the discovery of her tomb in 1907, little has been discovered about Lady Senebtisi, but she lives on...
This indurated limestone head of Tutankhamun, shows the youthful king wearing the khepresh crown, with a cobra uraeus. Upon first glance you may miss it, but what is fascinating is the hand of Amun, sanctifying Tutankhamun. Although statues of Egyptian rulers with deities were common practice, this piece, depicting Tutankhamun with Amun, showcases the rapid...
