This ivory label originally attached to a pair of royal sandals, found at his tomb in Abydos, showing the king Den with an upraised mace, about to strike a captive. The king’s name is written before him in a Serekh, in the center of the top of the label. The king wears a bull’s tail,...
Stone relief plaque depicting a Ram, representation of god Amun, or of Banebdjedet of Mendes. The two sets of horns on this exemplary portrayal of a ram reflect ancient Egyptian sculptors’ simultaneous close observation of nature and strict adherence to artistic tradition. The elongated corkscrew horns atop the ram’s head belong to a species that...
This relief depicts the cobra on a neb basket from the king’s Two Ladies name. Small Late Period and Ptolemaic reliefs or sculptures that depict a subject in a partial or unfinished way but are themselves finished objects constitute a special class of object. Guidelines like those for artists are often prominently exhibited as part...
On this piece the uraeus cobra functions as the protector of the royal name, the name of king Amenhotep III “The Lord of Maat is Re” is in the center of the plaque. The top and center part of the inscription is written twice and the direction of the hieroglyphs was reversed. Only the very...
This golden mummy plaque covered an incision in the abdomen of queen Henuttawy caused by embalmers removing her internal organs during mummification. The plaque was supposed to restore the body to its original state of strength as the wound was considered to be vulnerable and a possible entry point for negative forces. It is decorated...
In this sculptor’s model plaque, the princess is biting into a duckling held in her right hand, while reaching with her left hand for fresh fruits and vegetables placed on a table in front of her. The artist had begun to carve the lower part of the body and the cushion on which the princess...
Reliefs like this ram plaque depict a subject in a partial or unfinished way but are themselves complete objects that constitute a special class of object. Guidelines like those for artists are often prominently exhibited as part of the object, although, in fact, many instances can be noted where the object simply could not serve...
This plaque, or thin plate, was placed on the mummy of king Psusennes I over the incision made in the lower abdomen to remove the internal organs. The plate was intended to heal and form a scar over the incision. In the center of the plate, there is a sacred wadjet eye flanked by the Four Sons...
As with many aspects of Egyptian life, childbirth was regarded not only as a biological event, but as one deeply embedded within the realms of magic, religion, and the divine. One of the most intriguing aspects of Egyptian pregnancy practices is the use of a primitive yet surprisingly insightful pregnancy test, recorded in the Papyrus...
