In this fragment painting from the Tomb of the Dancers, the girls are performing to the accompaniment of of clapping and finger-snapping, under the supervision of two male overseers. The occasion is perhaps a festival dance in honor of Hathor, goddess of music and dancing and also protector of the tombs of Western Thebes. “The...
This scene is unique in its nature. We never witnessed an heir or a successor performing the ritual of the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony on the deceased King. The scene from the north wall of the burial chamber in the Tomb of Tutankhamun shows the brown “freckling” of the paintings that may have resulted...
A priest wearing the mask of Anubis completes the mummification of Amennakht. On both sides of the bed, where the mummy lie, is depicted the goddesses Isis and Nephthys. The damage on the wall, shows where the coffin was placed. Detail of a wall painting depicts Anubis before embalmed Amennakht, from Tomb of the Servant...
The tomb of Queen Nefertari, Valley of the Queens, West Thebes, is one of the best preserved and most ornately decorated of all known tombs. The image shows a wall and ceiling within the burial chamber. The ceiling is painted with stars to represent the night sky. The paintings (from left to right) show a...
Besides the Litany of Re, we find the vignette of Chapter 151 of the Book of the Dead. It represents the mummification of the dead king under the protection of Anubis, Isis, Nephthys and the four sons of Horus. In some versions of ancient Egyptian religious beliefs Anubis assisted in the mummification and rebirth of...
Interior of the vestibule within the tomb of Queen Nefertari. At center is the entrance to a larger room known as the First east side annexe. Nefertari Meritmut, who lived around 1300-1255 BC, was the Great Royal wife of king Ramesses II. Her tomb is located in the Valley of the Queens, near the ancient...
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...
In the Tomb of Tutankhamun, the burial chamber’s west wall depicts an extract from the Book of Amduat or “What is in the Underworld”. Twelve baboon deities represent the twelve hours of the night through which the sun travels before its rebirth at dawn. On the main north wall, The King and his Ka before...
Taken from Spell 144 of the ‘Book of the Dead’, they were the keepers of the gates of the Underworld, menacing the enemies of order with their sharpened knives. Detail of wall painting from the Tomb of Queen Nefertari (QV66). New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, ca. 1292-1189 BC. Valley of the Queens, West Thebes.
A Wall painting from the Tomb of Seti I (KV17) depicting the the journey of the sun god Amun-Re in his ram-headed form, standing in his solar barque, detail from the ‘Book of Gates’. The Book of Gates is an ancient Egyptian funerary text dating from the New Kingdom. It narrates the passage of a...
