The coffin of Madja, a woman of the Theban necropolis, rests among the finest examples of 18th Dynasty funerary craftsmanship. Shaped in elegant mummiform, the surface unfolds as a painted world of gods, rituals, and eternal light. At the head stands Isis, at the foot Nephthys: the divine sisters who guard the deceased as they...
Gifted from the Egypt Exploration Society to the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio, United States, this fragmentary piece of alabaster showcases the intricate skill of the artisans of the Amarna age. Despite only a fragment remaining, we can get a true insight into the beauty of the pleated royal linens worn during the New...
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...
This limestone ostracon from the artisans village of Deir el-Medina (Egyptian: Set Ma’at = “The Place of Truth“), shows a beautifully intricate line drawing of the dwarf god Bes. The faint red pigmented lines, now orange, showcase the talent of the artists living within the worker’s village of Deir el-Medina. Likely a trial piece to...
This limestone statue of a man named Penmernabu holding a shrine was discovered at Deir el-Medina. Penmernabu’s shrine is surmounted by the head of a ram, an animal sacred and associated with the god Amun-Ra. The first datable remains of the village of Deir el-Medina (Set Ma’at) belong to the reign of Thutmose I (c....
Limestone bust of Akhenaten from Tel el-Amarna (ancient Akhetaten) New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Akhenaten, c. 1352-1335 B.C. Musée du Louvre. E 11076
This charming image of a cat eating a fish whilst sat under the chair of a woman named Tawy, is depicted on the Western wall, southern side, within the 18th Dynasty tomb of Tawy’s husband named Nakht (TT52). The image has been documented in a facsimile by the artist Nina De Garis Davis, with all...
The first man carries rings of gold, while the second man carries an Ebony log upon his shoulder and a giraffe’s tail in his other hand. The third man has a monkey perched upon his shoulder as he carries a bowl filled with chunks of jasper and a leopard skin. Nubians offering tribute of gold...
“… As my heart is sweetened Over the king’s wife, over her children, That old age be granted to the great king’s wife Neferneferuaten Nefertiti, granted life eternally, In this million years, While she is under the hand of Pharaoh, may he live, prosper and be well, And old age be granted to the king’s...
The mummified skull of Amenhotep III, photographed by Grafton Elliot Smith in 1912. Originally buried in WV22 (Valley of the Kings), Amenhotep III’s mummy was moved in ancient times to Tomb KV35, the tomb of Amenhotep II, which was used by Egyptian priests around the Third Intermediate Period as a royal “mummy” cache (storage). Tomb...
