Sculpture

Statue of Queen Nofret

In this statue, Queen Nofret is shown seated on a throne, wearing a wig known as a Hathor wig, which has three separate tresses of hair. A large tress falls behind the head, while two wavy tresses are pulled to the front and wrapped in narrow bands, which end over the breasts in two spirals...

Statuette of Tutankhamun the Harpooner

Statuette of Tutankhamun the Harpooner

A gilded, wooden statuette of King Tutankhamun stands on a wooden boat that is painted to represent a papyrus boat. Its details are picked out in gold leaf. The king, wearing the Deshret Red Crown of Lower Egypt, holds a harpoon poised to strike an unseen enemy. According to the myth of Osiris and Isis,...

Bust of Mentuemhat

Bust of Mentuemhat as an old man

This bust head belongs to Mentuemhat, the Fourth Prophet of Amun, Mayor of Thebes and Governor of Upper Egypt. He was the greatest man in Upper Egypt during the 25th Dynasty and at the beginning of the 26th Dynasty. The head depicts him as an old man who is bald. He has narrow eyes, well-defined...

Egyptian Faience Statuette of a Hippopotamus

Faience Statuette of a Hippo

This statuette of a hippo was molded in faience, a crushed quartz glazed and fired at a relatively low temperature. Copper salts in the glaze impart the bright blue or blue-green color so characteristic of faience objects. Over the animal’s naturalistic shape, the craftsman painted lily plants that appear as a giant tattoo. Small sculptures...

Statue of Ranefer

Statue of Ranefer

The statue depicts Ranefer, standing and is wearing an overlapped kilt of medium length. His hair was cut short and the eyes are painted. This splendid statue was found together with another statue, almost identical, in two niches in the chapel at his tomb at Saqqara. This one shows him in an old age while...

Head of a King

Head of a King

This rare head of a king with beard and one eye-ball missing; ear chipped; tip of crown broken off and replaced. Recent bruises on the left cheek and the crown. The right eye-ball is carved of fine marl, originally held in place by a copper hand, of which two small fragments (completely oxidized) remain. The...

Statuette of the goddess Renenutet

Statuette of the goddess Renenutet

The serpent goddess Renenutet had two main roles. As the root of her name (Renen) makes clear, she was the ‘nurse’, mainly of the king, to whom she ensured a favorable destiny from birth. The goddess was also worshiped because she ensured the success of the harvest and the protection of the crops. In Ancient...

Statue of Hatshepsut

Statue of Hatshepsut

In this life-size statue, Hatshepsut is wearing the nemes headdress and the shendyt kilt. These are part of the ceremonial attire of the Egyptian king, which was traditionally a man’s role. In spite of the masculine dress, the statue has a distinctly feminine air, unlike most representations of Hatshepsut as ruler. Hatshepsut, the most successful...

Statue of a Woman Carrying Offerings

Statue of a Woman Carrying Offerings

This masterpiece of Egyptian wood carving of a woman carrying offerings was discovered in a hidden chamber at the side of the passage leading into the rock cut tomb of the royal chief steward Meketre, who began his career under King Mentuhotep II of 11th Dynasty and continued to serve successive kings into the early...

Headless Statue of Queen Arsinoe II

Statue of Queen Arsinoe II

Statue of Queen Arsinoe II identified with Isis, mother goddess and patron of magic. It is considered one of the masterpieces of Ptolemaic sculpture, which combines Greek and Egyptian elements. The statue is in a traditional Egyptian striding pose. She stands facing forward with her arms lowered along the sides of the body and her...