On this piece the uraeus cobra functions as the protector of the royal name, the name of king Amenhotep III “The Lord of Maat is Re” is in the center of the plaque. The top and center part of the inscription is written twice and the direction of the hieroglyphs was reversed. Only the very...
This girdle with cowrie shells was found with other pieces of jewelry in the plundered chamber reached by a shaft in the portico of a rock-cut tomb in the Asasif section of the Theban necropolis. Among the finds were parts of a rectangular wooden coffin with green hieroglyphs on a yellow background as well as...
One of the most popular amulets in ancient Egypt, the wadjet eye amulet represents the healed eye of the god Horus. It depicts a combination of a human and a falcon eye, since Horus was often associated with a falcon. Its ancient Egyptian name, wadjet, means “the one that is sound (again).” In Egyptian mythology...
This nude sensual female figure has the cartouches of Necho II on her upper arms. A small tightly fitted wig caps her head, and two holes with silver wires are located in the wig over her forehead; their placement suits a uraeus. She wears a finely wrought broad collar plus earrings (only one of which...
This statuette depicts Ptah, the chief god of Egypt’s capital city Memphis, who is easy to identify by his tight-fitting cap and enveloping shroud. Other iconographic details, such as the royal beard, the large and detailed broad collar, the scepter of merged “was” and “djed” signs, and a platform representing the hieroglyph for universal order,...
This fragment of relief of a group of archers shows one of the most elaborately composed scenes preserved from the Old Kingdom. A careful examination reveals parts of at least four archers, three standing and one kneeling below them, his extended left arm and the upper part of his head just visible along the lower...
Beautifully poised, this small bronze statuette of king Thutmose III offers wine or milk to a god. This figure is the earliest known New Kingdom royal bronze statuette and, with a few Late Middle Kingdom copper and copper-alloy precursors, it initiates the tradition of bronze statuary in Egypt. The fluid, athletic modeling of his body...
This statuette of Ptah is remarkable for its beauty and size, state of preservation, elaborate manufacture provisions, and its demonstrable date to the Third Intermediate Period. The great Egyptian god Ptah was a deity whose many aspects include those of both a creator god and a god who listens to individuals’ prayers. Ptah’s name was...
This model from Rifah of the “Soul House” type represents a house with a three-columned portico behind a walled courtyard; in front of the courtyard a libation spout is partly preserved. A stairway on the right gives access to the roof of the house, where an arched opening represents a feature in actual houses through...
This figure wears the red Deshret crown of Lower Egypt and the face appears to reflect the features of the reigning king, most probably Amenemhat II or Senusret II. However, the divine kilt suggests that the statuette was not merely a representation of the living ruler. Together with its counterpart wearing the white Hedjet crown...
