Inscribed with the title of “Royal acquaintance”, this double statuette depicts a married couple, Nen-Kheft-Ka and his wife Nefer-Shemes. Nen-Kheft-Ka was the mayor of his town, and this statue was discovered within his mastaba, rock-cut tomb at Deshasheh. Made of limestone, the statue is delicately carved in traditional style of the Old Kingdom period. The...
This wooden figure of a man dates from around 2347-1793 B.C., making it a Late Old Kingdom – Middle Kingdom production. It depicts a man with one leg forth, holding a now, missing staff, and another object in his hand. He wears a short cropped wig upon his head and a pleated linen kilt, known...
Within the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, there is a rather strange thing that doesn’t get much attention. It is what appears to be a true to life plaster cast death mask. This is not a mask made by an artist to represent a godlike image of the deceased, but an actual cast of the face....
This double statuette (57.2 × 36.2 cm) depicts the married couple Raramu and Ankhet, and it was found within Raramu’s tomb (G 2099). Raramu was an elite in Ancient Egyptian society within the Old Kingdom period, and he held many titles. Some of those titles showcase his royal ties, such as, “Priest of Khufu in...
Nefer was a man of important status in Ancient Egypt’s Old Kingdom period. The owner of Tomb G 2110 at Giza, Nefer clearly held enough societal importance to have a decorated tomb upon the Giza Plateau to enjoy eternity within. Nefer’s titles vary, among some of which are, “Strong-of-voice (of the judiciary), Chief of the...
Once within the collection of Prince Mohammed Ali, and since 1979, in the hands of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio, this head of king Userkaf shows the Old Kingdom king, wearing the white crown of Egypt, known as the Hedjet. The Hedjet was a representation of Upper Egypt; the Nile valley south of Memphis...
This painted limestone statue of an Ancient Egyptian Old Kingdom family, dates from the 5th Dynasty, c. 2420-2389 B.C.The statue depicts Nikare, the Official of the Granary, with his wife Khuennub knelt by his side, and their daughter Khuennebti standing beside her father. Found in Saqqara, likely the Memphite region, the limestone statue still has...
This painted limestone head of a woman was found in the mud brick mastaba Tomb of Nikhasutnisut (G 7911), Giza. Found among the debris of a pit, during the Harvard University-Museum of Fine Arts Expedition of 1930/31, the head of the woman measures at 9.2 cm high and 6.8cm wide. She is broken at the...
This calcite or Egyptian Alabaster figure of a woman dates from the Old Kingdom’s 4th Dynasty, c. 2613-2566 B.C. Read more about women in Ancient Egypt: Daughters of Isis, Women of Ancient Egypt
This painted limestone statuette depicting a woman baking bread was discovered at Giza within Tomb G 2415. According to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where this piece currently resides, the statue was broken in antiquity and was fixed via a wooden peg, holding the base together. If you look closely, you can still see...
