Fragment of a limestone bas relief depicting female dancers and musicians beat tambourines and clapsticks before approaching funeral procession. “In ancient Egyptian society a woman was accorded legal rights equal to those of a man from the same social class and had the same expectation of a life after death… Pharaonic Egypt was not an...
Among the precious artifacts in the royal tomb of Psusennes I at Tanis, a bronze brazier, or oven, belonging to Ramesses II was found. It might have been an important object deposited in a palace or a temple in the vicinity of Tanis, or at Thebes. It was taken to Tanis as a sacred artifact...
This alabaster canopic chest of Tutankhamun is considered to be one of the finest masterpieces of King Tut’s collection. The interior of the chest is divided into four compartments, each with a cylindrical hollow covered by a lid elegantly carved in the form of the king’s head. At the four corners of the chest, carved...
This small statuette depicts King Seti I, father of Ramesses II as a Standard Bearer. The statuette is a portrait of the king in which grace and grandeur are mixed. The sensitive face is framed by the short, round, thick wig decorated at the front with the uraeus, or royal cobra. The narrow slits of...
Painted wood ushabti ‘funerary figurine’ of the king Ramesses IV. Funerary figurines, known as “ Ushabtis” by the Egyptians (which means “those who answer”) are viewed as typical ancient Egypt objects. They represent the deceased in the form of a mummy in osirifide position. The figure’s name, headdress, and any hand-held accessories are the only way...
Although this snake goddess is not named in an inscription, her human face and the two finger-shaped feathers on her crown identify her as Meretseger (She Who Loves Silence), a patroness of fertility and the harvest. Like this statue, most images of Meretseger are modest in quality and were placed in small chapels or shrines...
Illustration of the interior of a royal tomb of a king of Ancient Egypt. This depiction is partially based on the tomb of Thutmose IV, the 8th king of the 18th Dynasty. Thutmose IV ruled from 1401 BC to 1391 BC. The tomb has many rooms and side room, with the tomb at lower right. An...
Painting of the goddess Isis offers the ankh, the symbol of life, to Nefertari. A detailed view of Pillar II in Chamber K (the burial chamber). The tomb of Nefertari is located in the Valley of the Queens, near the ancient city of Thebes. It is one of the best preserved and most ornate of...
This earrings of King Seti II was found in 1908 with other artifacts belonging to the king and to Queen Tausert in a hiding place in the Valley of the Kings. It is composed of a flat trapezoidal centerpiece from which hang seven pendants in the form of cornflowers. At the end of the upper...
At the Egyptian Museum in Cairo reside two extraordinary granite statues representing the Souls of Pe and Nekhen, sculpted during the reign of Amenhotep III in the 18th Dynasty, around 1391–1353 B.C. Hewn from grey granite and originally set within the grand temple precinct of Karnak, these figures (JE 41210 and JE 41211) encapsulate some...
