New Kingdom

Bust of King Merenptah

Bust of Merneptah

This gray granite bust from a statue of King Merneptah shows the king as a middle-aged man. He wears the nemes headdress topped by uraeus, or rearing cobra. His names are engraved upon his shoulders. The torso shows a strong, well-built body, serious face but softer features. The statue was once painted; the headdress was...

Tomb of Unknown Queen unearthed at Saqqara

Tomb of Unknown Queen unearthed at Saqqara

On the 100-year anniversary of unearthing King Tutankhamun’s tomb, archaeologists discover hundreds of tombs and mummies buried in Saqqara. Egyptian archaeologists rewrite history with the discovery of a tomb of a previously unknown queen. The New Kingdom Tomb of Queen Neith, along with a cache of 300 coffins and 100 mummies, was unearthed at the...

Kneeling Statue of Amenhotep II

Kneeling Statue of Amenhotep II

In this statue, King Amenhotep II is shown kneeling in a pose of worship, offering two Nu vases for libation to Amun-Re. His body is well modeled with defined muscles. He wears the royal nemes headdress, surmounted by the uraeus, or rearing cobra. One type of statue, adopted by both individuals and rulers, is that...

Detail of the block statue of Kha-em-Waset. Walters Art Museum. 22.

Block Statue of Kha-em-Waset

This piece is a small serpentine, New Kingdom, block statue of Kha-em-Waset. Kha-em-Waset was a noble who held the titles of Fan-Bearer and Chief of Works in the Temple of Amun. This statue would have been placed as a votive in the temple of Amun. Kha-em-Waset sits with his knees drawn up upon a rectangular...

Statue of Minemheb

Statue of Minemheb

It is actually a statue within a statue: Minemheb kneels to present a small altar, upon which squats a statue of the god Thoth in baboon form. Carved in extremely hard stone, Minemheb’s statue is nonetheless carefully detailed and superbly modeled. Special attention was given to the rendering of the baboon’s face. The heavy-lidded eyes...

Tutankhamun Scarab Necklace

Tutankhamun Scarab Necklace

Gold inlay necklace and pendant with scarab from the Tomb of Tutankhamun. A flexible pectoral with suspension chains and counterpoise clasp. This necklace with pectoral of the rising sun on the horizon is one of the finest of the many pectorals found in king Tut’s treasures. It has a large lapis lazuli scarab in the...

Pectoral bearing the name of Ramesses II

Pectoral bearing the name of Ramesses II

The pectoral bearing the throne name of Ramesses II written in a cartouche above what is already a dense composition. Two djed pillars fill in the lower corners of the rectangular frame; they symbolize stability and the rebirth of Osiris. Nekhbet and Wadjet, goddesses of Upper and Lower Egypt, stand side by side within the...

Statue of Ramessesnakht holding the Theban Triad

Statue of Ramessesnakht and the Theban Triad

Ramessesnakht is donating a statue of the Theban family, Amun is seated in the middle of the little group wearing tall feathers on his flat topped crown, to his left his wife the goddess Mut with a special tall crown and their son Khonsu sitting at his father’s right. Ramessesnakht served as High Priest of...

Tutankhamun’s Celestial Dagger

A Blade from the Heavens More than a century has passed since Carter first stepped into the antechamber of Tutankhamun’s tomb, where he was met with a sight that dazzled the world—gilded chariots, ornate jewellery, finely woven linens, and, of course, the iconic golden death mask. Yet, among these wonders, this small but extraordinary object...

Gold Amulet of the God Nefertem

Gold Amulet of the God Nefertem

Gold amulet in the form of Nefertem or Nefertum, he is often defined as the god of perfumes but this association is secondary. He was, in fact, first and foremost, the young god of the lotus bud that emerged from the primordial waters, according to the Egyptian myth, and from which the sun was born....