The frog ring is made of Egyptian blue, which was a vibrant blue pigment, considered to be the first synthetically-produced pigment, composed of quartz sand, a copper compound, and calcium carbonate. The color blue was highly prized in ancient Egypt and the creation of a synthetic pigment allowed artists to produce imitations of the precious...
This small, painted votive statue depicts King Akhenaten and his Great Wife Nefertiti. The king and queen are shown hand in hand (a notedly unusual pose in New Kingdom artwork), as if walking forward together. They stand quite far apart, entirely unbending as they stare straight ahead, without the ghost of a smile. They are...
The granite sphinx of Hatshepsut is carved in a fairly classical pose, in a similar manner to the Middle Kingdom sphinxes of Amenemhat III. The front legs extend forward and the tail curls around the right hind leg. The sphinx is a portrait of Hatshepsut with the elegant feminine features of all her statues: almond-shaped...
A pair of flat, fiber, open shoes. Curled, pointed toe and round heel. Brittle. Treadsole: Swayed. Reed forming main sole sewn together with nine rows of thinner fiber, possibly papyrus. Rows end where the toe starts to curl and go all the way to heel’s end. Crown sinnet/toe knot protrudes. Perimeter sewn with a plait...
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...
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 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...
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...
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...
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...
