King Pepi II and his mother Ankhesenmeryre II
Detail of the headdresses of both Ankhesenmeryre II and her son, king Pepi II
Sculpture
Head of female sphinx
Chlorite head of a female sphinx with missing inlaid eyes, wig clip visible. Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, c.1876-1842 B.C. Heliopolis, Egypt. Possibly found within Hadrian’s Villa, Rome, Italy. Brooklyn Museum. 56.85 Small details sometimes provide crucial clues to understanding a sculpture. On this object, for example, the back of the wig extends horizontally instead of...
Henuttaneb, daughter of Amenhotep III & Queen Tiye
Limestone statuette of Princess Henuttaneb (daughter of Amenhotep III & Queen Tiye) New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1388-1350 B.C. Formerly in the collection of Dominique Mallet, acquired before 1930. Antiquities, Christie’s, London, 30 April 2008, lot 236. Henuttaneb wears the vulture headdress over a bi-partite wig with two pigtails down her back, with traces of...
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...
Bust of a Priestess of Hathor
This bust is just a fragment of a statue of a Priestess of Hathor from the New Kingdom in Egypt. The priestess served the Egyptian cow goddess Hathor who unlike many other gods and goddesses had both male and female servants. Egyptian priests were meant to serve the gods and with this responsibility many of...
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...
Wife of Mentuhotep II
Statue of Queen Ahmose-Meritamun wearing Hathor wig. British Museum. EA93
Family statue of a man called Wah-Ib “Jeweller of Amun”, wife Teri
This family portrait comes from the reign of Amenhotep III. The artistic style of the piece is reminiscent of other pieces from the Late 18th Dynasty era, in which after a lustrous and inspiring reign, Amenhotep III’s lineage took hold with Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), leading to the eventual collapse of the 18th Dynasty’s Golden Age...
Ramesside head of a Noble Woman
This beautifully painted limestone head of a woman came from a tomb chapel niche dating from the Ramesside era, c. 1250–1070 B.C., 19th-20th Dynasty. Not a singular statue, this Noblewoman would have been accompanying her husband, this statue would have represented the pair at their best; see her elaborate wig, lotus adorned headband and perfect...
The Josephson Head
This head of a man dates from the Middle Kingdom, and the facial features and characteristics depicted are easily recognizable from the reign of Senwosret III. Although, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, lists this head as belonging to an Official, it could be argued that the head was originally a depiction of king Senwosret...
