Museo Egizio

Figure of Taweret

This small wooden statuette represents Taweret, whose name means “the Great One,” a powerful household deity revered for her protection of women and children. Her composite form (hippopotamus body, crocodile back and tail, and leonine limbs) draws upon some of the most formidable creatures of the Nile, each known for its fierce defence of its...

Statuette of Isis suckling Harpocrates

Statuette of Isis suckling Harpocrates

Seated figure of Isis suckling Harpocrates (identifiable with the so-called ‘Isis lactans’ motif). The goddess is wearing a hathoric crown, consisting of a solar disc with horns resting on a stylised uraeiform modius. She is wearing a tripartite wig decorated with incised vertical streaks and with a stylised vulture headdress. The goddess is wearing an...

Queen Tiye as Taweret

Rounded of belly, crocodile-tailed and lion-pawed, the goddess Taweret guarded childbirth and the nursery. Here her form is endowed with the features of Queen Tiye, great royal wife of Amenhotep III, weaving queenly authority into the most intimate sphere of protection. Such statuettes, small enough for chamber or chapel, were charms of presence, depicting the...

Coffins of Butehamun

Butehamun was a distinguished scribe who was born and raised in the Deir el-Medina region, and resided in Medinet Habu, living during the reign of Ramesses XI, he died in Third Intermediate Period. Born into a lineage of scribes, he followed in the footsteps of his father, Thutmose, embracing a life devoted to the written...

Amulet depicting the djed pillar

Amulet depicting the djed pillar

This djed amulet was discovered in the tomb of Queen Nefertari (QV66) in the Valley of the Queens and dates back to the New Kingdom, specifically the 19th Dynasty (ca. 1279-1213 BC) during the reign of Ramesses II. The amulet measures 5.5 cm in height, 13 cm in length, and 1 cm in width. It...

Statue of Anen

Anen, also known as Aanen, was an ancient Egyptian nobleman and official during the Eighteenth Dynasty, specifically under the reign of his brother-in-law, Pharaoh Amenhotep III. He held significant roles such as the Chancellor of Lower Egypt, Second of the Four Prophets of Amun, sem-priest of Heliopolis, and was also known as the Greatest of...

Amulet of a lion-headed uraeus

Amulet of a lion-headed uraeus

An amulet of a lion-headed uraeus is a powerful and symbolic piece of ancient Egyptian jewelry, often designed to convey protection, strength, and divine authority. In ancient Egyptian symbolism, the uraeus is a representation of a serpent, typically a cobra, which is used as a symbol of sovereignty, protection, and divine power. The uraeus was...

Wig of Merit

Merit was the wife of the foreman Kha, and the couple both resided in the Worker’s Village of Deir el-Medina (Set Ma’at) and were buried together in the local necropolis within Theban Tomb 8 (TT8). The tomb was discovered during an Italian Archaeological Mission by Ernesto Schiaparelli and Arthur Weigall in 1906, and considering it’s...

Outer coffin of Butehamun

Outer coffin of Butehamun

The outer coffin of Butehamun shows stylistic features that are still typical for the Ramesside Period (1292-1076 BC), but the growing space devoted to images is a feature of the new “yellow coffin” style. The image repertoire is expanded, combining typical New Kingdom elements with Third Intermediate Period Theological creations. Butehamun’s set of coffins, probably...

A Family Portrait

This limestone statuette features a husband, wife and their daughter together for eternity. It dates from the 18th Dynasty was was discovered in Thebes, possibly Deir el-Medina, but uncertain. It measures at 32 x 15.5 x 19.5 cm. The male is painted in traditional Egyptian red, he wears a shoulder length wig with a fringe,...