Old Kingdom

Painted wooden statue of Metjetji

Statue of Metjetji

With titles such as, “Overseer of the Bureau of Tentantry of the Court“, “Overseer of the Office of the Palace of Tenants”, “Liege of the King of the Great Palace”, Metjetji was clearly a wealthy man of elite status. It is believed he worked directly with the king and possibly played an important role in...

Old Kingdom Statue of Raherka and Meresankh

Painted limestone statue of Raherka and Meresankh. Raherka held high administrative responsibilities. He was an “inspector of scribes of the jackal”. Meresankh’s title was “King’s acquaintance”, which means she had access to the royal palace. The couple is known from their beautiful pair-statue, which is an example of portraiture in Ancient Egypt. The statue is...

Priest Sepa and his wife Nesa

Priest Sepa and his wife Nesa

Sepa was a priest who lived during the 3rd Dynasty of Ancient Egypt’s Old Kingdom (c. 2700-2620 B.C.) With titles such as, “Responsible for Royal Matters”, “Greatest of the ten of Upper Egypt”, “Priest of the god Kherty” and “Herdsman of the White Bull”, Sepa was clearly a man of status and importance within society,...

Statue of dwarf Khnumhotep

Dwarf Khnumhotep

Limestone statue of the dwarf Khnumhotep, “Overseer of Ka-priests”, and dancer at the funeral of the Sacred Bulls.Old Kingdom, 6th Dynasty, c. 2350–2170 B.C.Saqqara. Khnumhotep, the priest and overseer of the royal wardrobe, was an Egyptian dwarf who suffered from physical deformity. He is represented with his torso exaggeratedly large in proportion to his short...

This small dog now resides in the Walters Art Museum, in Baltimore, Maryland. 71.622

Ancient Egyptian Domesticated Dogs

Made from the ivory from a hippopotamus, this dog was a figure piece from a game called “Mehen”, also known as The Serpant Game. Knowing the game pre-dates the period from which this collared dog was likely created in, it tells us that Egyptians had domesticated the dog possibly long before the unified Egypt even...

Prince Ankhhaf. Harvard University—Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition. 27.442

Bust of Prince Ankhhaf

Prince Ankhhaf was the son of an Old Kingdom king, most probably king Sneferu, making Ankhhaf the brother of king Khufu. Ankhhaf had the titles “eldest king’s son of his body” (sa nswt n khtf smsw), “vizier” and “the great one of Five of the house of Thoth” (wr djw pr-Djehuti). This bust made of...

Head of King Djedefre

Head of King Djedefre

Quartzite head of King Djedefre from Abu Rawash. Djedefre was the son of King Khufu ruled Egypt for 8 years and built his pyramid in Abu Rawash area in the north of Giza. His name was written inside a royal cartouche and was the first king to take the title of ‘Son of Re’ that...

Calcite figures of two men on stepped red plynths. Tomb of Idy.

Tomb of Idy

Idy was an Egyptian man who lived and died within the 6th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt’s Old Kingdom, c. 2345-2181 B.C. He was a nomarch (provincial governor of the varied nomes of Egypt, similar to a local administrator or perhaps a modern local councillor or possibly mayor type figure). He held titles such as Royal...

Triad statue of Ni-ka-re (Nykara), Inspector of the Scribes of the Granary, and his family.

Triad statue of Ni-ka-re (Nykara)

In this Old Kingdom, Late 5th Dynasty, triad statue, dating from approximately 2455-2350 B.C., we see an Ancient Egyptian style family portrait of a man called Ni-ka-re (Nykara), his wife Ni-ka.w-nb (.w) and their son Ankh-ma-re. Such statues were often placed in tombs for offerings to be received, yet they were also placed within households...