New Kingdom

Perfume Vase of King Tutankhamun

Perfume Vase of Tutankhamun

Alabaster perfume vase upon ornamental stand, with cartouches of Tutankhamun, lotus and papyrus flowers forming a Sema Tawy (unification of the two lands) and stems as renpet (time or eternity) signs. This vase differs from others in the complicated knot that ties the various stems of the plants around its neck together. The lower part...

Mummy of the Royal Architect Kha

Mummy of the Royal Architect Kha

The mummy of the royal architect Kha who was the overseer of works from Deir el-Medina in the mid-18th Dynasty. It was one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of ancient Egypt, one of few tombs of nobility to survive intact. After the discovery of the tomb of Kha by the Italian archaeologists, the Egyptian authorities...

Fragment of Paving from Tell el-Amarna

Fragment of Paving from Tell el-Amarna

Fragment of a painted paving from the southern palace at Amarna, the Maru-Aten (which was built for Meritaten, King Akhenaten’s eldest daughter). It is made of painted plaster, and depicts a marsh scene with wild ducks flying over tufts of reeds and papyrus which intermingle with the floating leaves of a flowering plant. Realism abounds...

Miniature Coffin of Tutankhamun

Miniature Coffin of Tutankhamun

The interior of the alabaster canopic chest of King Tutankhamun was divided into four compartments, each holding a miniature gold coffin containing the viscera of the king, wrapped in bandages. These mummiform coffins were decorated inside with texts and outside with a feather design inlaid in carnelian and colored glass and the titles of the...

Statue of King Ramesses III as a Standard-Bearer of Amun-Re

Statue of Ramesses III as a Standard Bearer

This grey granite statue of King Ramesses III as a Standard Bearer of Amun-Re was found in Karnak in the temple of Amun-Re. Depicting himself as a high priest allowed Ramesses III to symbolically attend all ceremonies in every temple. Engraving his images on the walls and installing his statues in the temples magically ensured...

Mummy of King Ramesses II

Mummy of Ramesses II

The mummy of Ramesses II was discovered within the Royal Cache (TT320), near Deir el-Bahari in the Theban Necropolis. This cache was utilised by ancient priests to safeguard the royal and elite mummies from the threat of tomb robbers. Unearthed by Egyptian locals in 1871, the cache contained the remains of numerous pharaohs, including Ramesses...

Statue of Queen Tuya

Statue of Queen Tuya

This statue, sculpted during 18th Dynasty with the features of Queen Tiye, wife of Amenhotep III, was usurped and reused during the 19th Dynasty by Ramesses II, who dedicated it to his mother Tuya. This queen, who had an important political and court role, received after her death a funerary cult associated with that of...

Workers' strike at Deir el-Medina

Workers strike at Deir el-Medina

The first workers strike in recorded history took place in the 12th Century BC in Egypt. Even though they regarded the king as a kind of living god, Egyptian workers were not afraid to protest for better working conditions. The most famous example came in the 12th century BC during the reign of the New...

Mummy of King Thutmose II

Mummy of Thutmose II

The mummy of Thutmose II was presumably violated by tomb robbers. Therefore it was moved to the Deir el-Bahari Cachette (DB320), where it was rewrapped and restored. The king, like the other kings, has his hands crossed over his chest, in an Osirian pose that continued to be followed in mummies of kings for many...

Mummy of Hatshepsut

Mummy of Hatshepsut

The mummy of Hatshepsut, one of Egypt’s most famous female pharaohs, has been the subject of significant archaeological and forensic research. Hatshepsut reigned during the 18th Dynasty (around 1479-1458 BC), and while her tomb and her many monuments were discovered, her mummy was not immediately identifiable. For years, the location of her final resting place...