This finely carved limestone head depicts Akhenaten, the pharaoh who reshaped Ancient Egypt’s religion and art in devotion to the Aten, the radiant sun-disc. The king wears the blue war crown (khepresh), its smooth form contrasting with the sensitive modelling of his features. Traces of red pigment still tint the lips, lending warmth to the...
This limestone stela belonged to Pashed, one of the craftsmen of Deir el-Medina, the village whose inhabitants built and decorated the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. It is an example of what scholars call an akh iqer en Re, literally, “the excellent spirit of Re”. Such stelae were placed in domestic shrines,...
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...
Among the innumerable treasures discovered within the tomb of Tutankhamun, none speak more tenderly of the Ancient Egyptian belief in the afterlife than his ushabtis; the small, spell-bound servants who would labour in eternity on behalf of their master. More than four hundred and fifteen of these figures were found within the Boy King’s tomb...
Userkhaure-Setepenre Setnakhte came to the throne at a moment of uncertainty; a king without clear ancestry who nonetheless restored order and re-established divine kingship after the troubled close of the Nineteenth Dynasty. His reign, brief but decisive (c. 1189–1186 B.C.), marked the founding of Egypt’s 20th Dynasty, the final great line of the New Kingdom....
Delicate as a blossom and radiant as moonlight, this exquisite vase takes the form of a pomegranate, its rounded body swelling with natural grace. It once held perfumed oils or unguents; sweet offerings for eternity, and was discovered among the treasures of Tutankhamun’s tomb. The fruit itself, newly introduced to Egypt during the 18th Dynasty,...
Discovered in a communal tomb at Medinet Gurob, near the lush margins of the Faiyum, the wooden statuette of the “Lady of the House, Tuty” offers a glimpse into the refined world of Egypt’s late 18th Dynasty, during the reign of Amenhotep III. Shimmering with detail of glittering gold, she stands poised and slender, her...
This finely painted fragment comes from the tomb of Sobekhotep, “Overseer of the Seal“; the highest treasury official under king Thutmose IV. It forms part of a grand tribute scene in which foreign envoys bring precious offerings to Egypt’s court. The men shown here are Asiatics from Syria–Palestine, known to the Egyptians as Retjenu or...
High upon the walls of the Temple of Seti I at Abydos lies a curious carving that has sparked endless wonder. To the casual eye, the shapes appear astonishingly familiar to the modern world; depicting what appears to be a helicopter, a submarine, and even a tank, yet these images were etched more than three...
In the mortuary temple of Ramesses II known as the Ramesseum at Thebes, the walls are alive with scenes not merely of conquest, but of sustenance, renewal, and divine favour. Among these reliefs is a particularly charming composition in which the king appears not once, but twice, in the embrace of a sacred tree. To...
