Museo Egizio

Statuette of Taweret dedicated by the draughtsman Parahotep

Statuette of Taweret dedicated by Parahotep

The goddess Taweret is depicted with pendulous breasts and swollen belly, which recalls the image of a pregnant woman. The goddess usually wears a female wig that can be topped with a feathered headdress, a modius (a cylinder-shaped headdress with a flat end), or with horns and a sun disc. Another recurring element is the...

Statuette of a dignitary presenting a naos topped by a ram’s head

Statuette of a dignitary presenting a naos

The dignitary is shown in this statuette offering an altar with the head of a ram, the sacred animal of Amun-Re, the main god of Thebes and the New Kingdom. Steatite is a soft, easy to carve stone, which hardens and turns black when baked in a closed kiln. The man wears the so called...

Woman Statuette

Woman Statuette

This wooden statuette of a woman depicting her wears a wig with a wreath of leaves and a lotus flower on her forehead. In her left hand she holds a sistrum (a rattle used in the cult of female deities), whose handle only is preserved. The right arm, which was carved separately and attached with...

The deceased Kha and his wife Merit worship Osiris

Book of the Dead of Kha

The deceased Kha and his wife Merit worship Osiris, Lord of the Underworld and Judge of the Dead, detail of a vignette from the Book of the Dead of Kha. The deceased needed all the help he or she could get on his or her long journey to the afterlife, a place full of evil...

Stele of dedicated to Amun-Re by Baki

Stele of dedicated to Amun-Re by Baki

This round-topped stele of the foreman Baki is carved in low relief and painted in several colors. The pictorial plane is divided into two registers, the upper one containing two rams facing each other. The animals, with cobras rising on their foreheads, wear tall headdresses composed of two tall plumes with a solar disk at...

Wooden Statuette of Neferetmau

Wooden Statuette of Neferetmau

The wooden statuette depicts a naked young girl named Neferetmau with her arms stretched out along her body. The head is mostly shaved, with the exception of the braids (some fall on the shoulders, others cover the forehead) that frame the face, and two loose strands of hair. She wears disc earrings and a golden...

The Making of Lotus Perfume

Limestone slab with relief depicting women pressing lotus flowers, for the making of perfume or narcotics. The women at center twist a sack in which the lotus flowers are collected, the juice of which collects in the container below. The Ancient Egyptians loved beautiful fragrances. They associated them with the gods and recognized their positive...

Ostracon of Prince Sethherkhepshef

The ostracon of prince Sethherkhepshef is a painted limestone figured ostracon of the son of Ramesses III. It is a standing, figured profile of Prince Sethherkhepshef (who later ascended the throne as Ramesses VIII) in an adoration pose, with outstretched arms, a scepter in his left hand, and right hand, palm-forward. Behind Sethherkhepshef in a...