New Kingdom

Figured Ostracon

Figured Ostracon of animals

An ostracon sketch of animals such common crane, a vulture, and a hound possibly basenji. This probably a series of trial sketches, not an integrated composition, and the subjects were sketched independently. Sketches of animals on ostraca were a common form of artistic expression in ancient Egypt. These sketches depicted a wide range of animals,...

Ostracon of the god Hapi

Ostracon of the god Hapi

An ostracon depicted in two faces, the verso depicted with a double-figure of the Nile god Hapi standing, with a fat body wearing a crown of the two plants of Upper and Lower Egypt and a short kilt. On the left, the god raises his left leg while the right one raises his right leg...

Dispute Over a Hut

Ostracon of a Dispute Over a Hut

Fragmentary limestone ostracon with a hieratic inscription recording the resolution of a dispute over a hut inherited by the workman Wennofer. The inscription is unusual in being incised and filled with blue frit, a technique used for formal hieroglyphic inscriptions. Perhaps Wennofer set this ostracon into a wall of the disputed hut like a stele....

Ostracon of Ramesses III crushing an enemy

Ostracon of Ramesses III crushing an enemy

One of the most typical royal scenes is reproduced on this illustrated ostracon, king Ramesses III in the act of crushing the defeated enemy. The scene was widely used on pylons and external walls of temples. On this piece the king is shown upright, his head adorned with red crown topped by the two feathers...

Ostracon of a Prayer

Ostracon of a Prayer

This ostracon is depicting a scribe as a prayer, drawing on a piece of limestone. The ancient Egyptians drew on ostraca for a variety of reasons; for example, while planning work on tombs or as exercises. Ostraca are simple splinters of limestone or shards of pottery, on which the ancient Egyptians wrote or drew. This...

Ostracon of a Cat Minding Geese

Ostracon of a Cat Minding Geese

Ostracon of a cat, standing on its hind legs, acts as guide and protector to a flock of six ducks or geese, arranged in two registers, or sections. The ostracon shows a cheerful episode from an Egyptian folktale. In this tale the roles of the natural world are reversed. Above the birds is a nest...

sarcophagus lid of Ramesses III

Sarcophagus lid of Ramesses III

In the center of the lid of this sarcophagus, King Ramesses III is depicted as the god Osiris in mummy form. On his head he wears the Atef crown composed of ostrich feathers, a sun disk and a pair of ram’s horns. Emerging from his forehead is a uraeus, the royal symbol of protection. The king...

Mummy of King Ramesses V

Mummy of Ramesses V

Apparently, King Ramesses V died in his early thirties and this is perhaps the reason for the appropriation of his tomb by his successor, Ramesses VI. Nevertheless, the mummy later found its way to the Royal Cachette (DB320) at Deir el-Bahari. The king’s face was painted in red and his nostrils were filled with wax....

Faience Ushabti found in the tomb of Seti I

Ushabti of Seti I

Blue glazed composition ushabti of Seti I: the lower leg section is lost. With details painted in black (probably manganese dioxide), Seti I is shown wealing the striped royal ‘nemes’ headdress, once equipped with a rearing cobra above his brow, a broad collar that imitates glazed composition beads, and bracelets that also would have been...

Statue of Akhenaten Kissing his Daughter

Statue of Akhenaten Kissing his Daughter

This unfinished limestone statue of King Akhenaten kissing his daughter is of high artistic quality. It was discovered in a sculptor’s atelier, or workshop, at Tell el-Amarna. It depicts King Akhenaten supporting on his knee one of his daughters, probably Meritaten. Akhenaten sits on a stool wearing a short-sleeved tunic and the Blue Khepresh Crown...