This finely carved diorite fragment once formed a full depiction Amun within a triad statue depicting him alongside his consort, the goddess Mut, and King Seti I. The composition would almost certainly have shown the king standing between the divine pair, as was customary in Ancient Egyptian art. In such triads, the pharaoh’s position between...
This gold band, once part of the neck of a silver vessel, offers a tantalising glimpse into the ritual and mythological world of Ancient Egypt during the reign of Ramesses II or shortly thereafter (circa 1279–1213 B.C.). Found at Tell Basta (ancient Bubastis) within the Temple of Bastet, the fragment bears rich symbolic decoration despite...
A reminder that even in the shadow of eternity, the craftsmen of Thebes found time for life’s more earthly pleasures, this playful and rather daring sketch from the workmen’s village captures a rare glimpse into the more private humour of Ancient Egyptian life. Painted swiftly in black ink, it shows a man and woman engaged...
Carved in the glittering age of Amenhotep III, this finely carved acacia wooden figure captures the calm poise and refinement that defined Ancient Egyptian art at its most elegant. The man measures at 30.5 cm, and stands with his arms at his sides, clothed in a short-sleeved tunic and a pleated linen kilt whose layered...
This intimate limestone group captures three generations (or three male relatives) in quiet harmony. The two men and the boy are rendered in the distinctive style of the Amarna Period, with elongated heads and supple, naturalistic forms. Scholars have long debated their identity: are they a grandfather, father, and son united in familial devotion, or...
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....
