This statue of kneeling captive can be dated to the reign of Pepi II for stylistic reasons. Beginning at least in the mid 5th Dynasty, large sculptures of bound foreign captives appeared in the pharaoh’s pyramid complex. Pepi I and Pepi II had great numbers of them. Statues of prisoners were presumably placed in areas...
The nursing woman sits on the ground with one knee raised. Against the hammock of cloth formed by her skirt stretched over her knee she holds a child whose yellow skin indicates she is a girl. With one hand the woman holds the child’s head, while with the other she offers her breast to the...
This statue evokes the intimacy of Memi and his companion, Sabu, although she is set somewhat apart by her oblique gaze. Until recently, the flowering of nonroyal statuary was believed to have occurred only in the 4th and 6th Dynasties. Recent studies indicate, however, that many of these nonroyal statues, including Memi and Sabu, are...
A battle scene depicting Asiatic bearded men (West Asia/Eastern Mediterranean) being trampled under the horses that pull the Egyptian royal chariot. This block with a fragmented scene was discovered (MMA excavations, 1912–13) within the Temple of Ramesses IV, among the foundation where it was being reused as a foundational block. Some Egyptologists dated this piece...
This is a solid gold statue of the god Amun (imn) and is truly one of a kind. As a pure gold figure of the god, this figure is an example of those golden figures of gods and goddesses that would have been the centrepiece of prayers and rituals within the temples throughout the age...
The outer coffin lid of Henuttawy, intended to resemble a wrapped mummy, wears an elaborate pectoral topped by a cavetto cornice in the shape of a small shrine within which are two winged wadjet eyes, with suspended uraeus cobras holding ankhs. Below these, Horus falcons flank a central scarab that pushes a sun disk upward,...
This beautifully painted limestone head of a woman came from a tomb chapel niche dating from the Ramesside era, c. 1250–1070 B.C., 19th-20th Dynasty. Not a singular statue, this Noblewoman would have been accompanying her husband, this statue would have represented the pair at their best; see her elaborate wig, lotus adorned headband and perfect...
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)...
This perfume bottle, with a depiction of an Amarna princess stood upon a lotus blossom, is in the shape of a hes-vase. It is made from Egyptian alabaster, with an inlay of coloured glass, carnelian, obsidian and gold. A hes-vase is named after the “hes” hieroglyph. The hes-vase was used as a libation vessel, meaning,...
“May everything that comes forth upon the offering table of [the god] . . . and all pure food that comes forth from the Great Enclosure [the temple complex at Heliopolis] be for the chief scribe, royal scribe of letters, Yuny, justified.” Yuny was a Chief Royal Scribe and Physician during the reign of king...
