Middle Kingdom

Imti

This wooden figure depicts Imti as a youth. Dating from around 1900-1800 B.C., it dates from the Middle Kingdom. It is inscribed with a funerary prayer, “Revered before Osiris, Imti, the blessed.” Imti is depicted as a youth, striding forth, nude, wearing only a necklace and cuffs. Children were often (but not always) depicted with...

Middle Kingdom Man

This figure of a man is 15 7/8 inches tall with base (40.4 cm), and depicts a male in traditional Middle Kingdom. Carved out of wood, interestingly, the different parts of the body were created separately and then placed together via nails. After this, they were plastered over and painted. The man is currently unknown,...

The superintendent Tef-Ib

“The revered before Dwe-mutf, the Domain-Superintendent, Itf-ib, engendered by Itf-ib, the blessed, Lord of Reverence.” These wooden figures of a man named Tef-Ib were discovered within his tomb. Although all representing Tef-Ib, they also hold the inscriptions of the Four Sons of Horus, usually associated with the Canopic jars, as they were deemed protectors of...

Striding figure of a man

This wooden figure of a man dates from around 2347-1793 B.C., making it a Late Old Kingdom – Middle Kingdom production. It depicts a man with one leg forth, holding a now, missing staff, and another object in his hand. He wears a short cropped wig upon his head and a pleated linen kilt, known...

Middle Kingdom head of a man

This head of a man dates from the Middle Kingdom period and is very recognizable by the characteristics of the face. Here we see a style of portraiture that began with the reign of Senwosret III. The face is no longer a smooth serene idealistic depiction, but a detailed lined face with frown lines, sunken...

Plaster cast of a face

Within the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, there is a rather strange thing that doesn’t get much attention. It is what appears to be a true to life plaster cast death mask. This is not a mask made by an artist to represent a godlike image of the deceased, but an actual cast of the face....

Hairdressing and Nursing Scene

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...

Middle Kingdom Figure of a Woman

This wooden statuette of a woman stands 16 1/8 in. (41 cm) tall and dates from the Middle Kingdom, c. 1900-1800 B.C.From Asyut, Egypt, this figure showcases a slender woman with a tight-fitting dress with long plaited wig cascading over her bosom. Pigments of yellow, black and white paint remain in fragments upon the wood....

Weeping cow

A weeping cow is milked by a man. A calf is investigating a ribbon or some kind of rope around its mother’s leg.This scene is depicted upon the sarcophagus of Kawit, queen consort of Pharaoh Mentuhotep II. Discovered within her tomb (DBXI.9) at Deir el-Bahari.Middle Kingdom 11th Dynasty c. 2061-2010 B.C.Now in the Egyptian Museum,...

Golden diadem and hair ornaments belonging to Lady Senebtisi

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...