New Kingdom

Funerary Bed of Tutankhamun, with Sides Representing goddess Mehet-Weret

Funerary Bed of Tutankhamun with Mehet-Weret

This is one of the couches of King Tutankhamun. It is in the form of the goddess Mehet-weret, the cow goddess of the sky whose name means “great flood”. Three ritual funerary couches were found in the antechamber of Tutankhamun. They are made of stuccoed gilded wood in the form of sacred animals whose eyes...

Ostracon of a Lute Player

Ostracon of a Lute Player

This ostracon depicting a female musician lute player, wearing a broad collar and holding a musical instrument that is functionally close to a modern lute. This pose is common in tomb scenes. The grace and beauty of the musician were caught with a few deft strokes of a master’s brush. The woman is facing left....

Cosmetic Ibex Vase of Tutankhamun

This alabaster cosmetic vase of King Tutankhamun, which is a unique piece of art, was shaped in the form of an ibex, or goat, with real horns, one of which is missing. The eyes are inlaid and have black lids. The ears of the ibex were pierced but the earrings are missing. The back of...

Senet Game of Tutankhamun

The senet game board of Tutankhamun rests on a stand with animal-shaped legs attached to sledge runners. The stand and sledge are made of ebony. The top and bottom surfaces of the board are veneered with ivory and divided into compartments by raised strips. The game board has a drawer used as storage for the...

Throne of Princess Sitamun

Throne of Princess Sitamun

The wooden throne of Princess Sitamun is an example of the subtlety and elegance of Egyptian woodwork in the 18th Dynasty. The throne is made from red wood, covered in parts by a 4 mm thick veneer of red wood. The legs are shaped like lion’s paws. These paws sit atop high bases which are...

Tutankhamun Couch representing Ammit

This strange combination couch of Tutankhamun represents the dreadful Ammit, the monster who waits during the final judgment in the court of Osiris and who devours the unjust deceased. Three ritual funerary couches were found in the antechamber of Tutankhamun. They are made of stuccoed gilded wood in the form of sacred animals whose eyes...

Litany of Re: Depiction of Re-Osiris

When Re was in the underworld, he merged with Osiris, the god of the dead, and through it became the god of the dead as well. The union of the gods Re and Osiris (in the guise of a ram-headed mummy which wears the sun’s disk between its horizontal, corkscrew horns). The “Amduat”, like the...

Relief of Osiris and Isis

Detail of a wall relief depicting Osiris and Isis in the Temple of Seti I in Abydos, the cult center of Osiris, lord of the dead. The necropolis is a place of pilgrimage and burial and at least ten temples were originally constructed there.  Among those ten temples, three remain that are of special note. These...

Statue of King Ramesses VIII Presenting Amun

Statue of Ramesses VIII Presenting Amun-Re

The statue of King Ramesses VIII presenting Amun-Re is an example of hasty workmanship. It lacks vigor. One of the few statues that survive from the Ramesside Period, it demonstrates that the great era of creativity had ended. The face of the statue is heavy with a troubled expression devoid of interior strength. The wig,...

Statue of King Ramesses VI smiting Libyan Captive

Statue of Ramesses VI smiting Libyan Captive

Statue of King Ramesses VI standing, grasping the hair of a Libyan captive in his left hand and an axe in his right. A short military campaign might have ensued and from Ramesses VI’s second year on the throne onwards these troubles seem to have stopped. This campaign could be connected with an unusual statue...