New Kingdom

Plaster head of Akhenaten

This plaster head of king Akhenaten was discovered within the remnants of the studio of the sculptor Thutmose at Tel el-Amarna (House P 47.02, Room 19). House P 47.02, Room 19, is the same location where the famous painted limestone bust was also discovered. Photographs of both the painted bust of Nefertiti and this plaster...

Lion-shaped perfume vase of Tutankhamun

Lion-shaped perfume vase of Tutankhamun

The mythical lion is represented standing with its right leg forward, in contrast to human statues, which have the left leg forward. It shows an aggressive attitude against evil powers; the fangs are bared, the tongue protrudes from the mouth to tease, one foreleg is raised to ward off all evil forces while the other...

Colossi of Memnon

The Colossi of Memnon (Arabic: el-Colossat or es-Salamat) are two colossal seated statues of Pharaoh Amenhotep III, which once would have flanked the entrance of the king’s Mortuary Temple, which was said to have finally been erected in 1350 B.C. The sculptures have 107 Roman-era inscriptions in Greek and Latin dated between 20 and 250...

Heads of Akhenaten & Nefertiti

These heads, discovered within the remnants of the studio of the sculptor Thutmose at Tel el-Amarna, clearly depict king Akhenaten and his Great Royal Wife Nefertiti. Despite no markings, based upon appearance alone we can almost certainly identify the royal pair. The heads are made of plaster (stucco) and are life-sized. Stucco is applied wet...

Ahmose Meritamun in Hathor wig

Ahmose Meritamun in Hathor wig

This colossal limestone bust depicts a female figure wearing what is known as the ‘Hathor wig’, which has wide lappets on either side of the face that curve at the ends and a very broad lappet at the back. This sort of wig has been named after the goddess Hathor because it resembles her hairstyle,...

Nubian and Asiatic captives at work

A man thought to be an Asiatic captive at work during the construction of the Temple of Amun at Karnak.This scene, from the Tomb of Rekhmire, depicts captives thought to be of Asiatic and Nubian origins doing manual labour. Prisoners of war were often recruited to work on major projects, or even sometimes made to...

The Mummy of Thuya

Yuya and Thuya are the parents of Queen Tiye, the beloved Great Royal Wife of king Amenhotep III. The pair were buried at the famous Valley of the Kings, within their tomb known as KV46, which was discovered in February of 1905 by by the British Egyptologist James E. Quibell, during excavations funded by the...

Mask of Yuya

Mask of Yuya

This gilded cartonnage mask shows Yuya wearing a long wig. His eyebrows and eyes are inlaid with blue glass, marble and obsidian. He wears an elaborate collar that goes beneath his wig. It consists of eleven rows of golden beads and it ends in teardrop-shaped pendants. The inside of the mask is covered in bitumen....

Head of a woman

Head of a woman (momie de femme), discovered at Thebes in 1799. Little is known about the identity of the woman, but she dates from between the New Kingdom Period and Late Period (when the last Native rulers of Ancient Egypt held power), c. 1550–332 B.C. Mummified head of a woman (momie de femme), discovered...

Tile of a bound Nubian

This glazed tile of a Nubian is from the remnants of a palace built by Ramesses III in Tell el-Yahudiyeh. This tile is only surviving in shards and has lost most of its former colour and gloss. Tell el Yahudiyeh is a city in Egypt’s Eastern Delta. The site has remnants dating from the Second...