The statue of King Ramesses VIII presenting Amun-Re is an example of hasty workmanship. It lacks vigor. One of the few statues that survive from the Ramesside Period, it demonstrates that the great era of creativity had ended. The face of the statue is heavy with a troubled expression devoid of interior strength. The wig,...
Statue of King Ramesses VI standing, grasping the hair of a Libyan captive in his left hand and an axe in his right. A short military campaign might have ensued and from Ramesses VI’s second year on the throne onwards these troubles seem to have stopped. This campaign could be connected with an unusual statue...
This small statuette depicts King Seti I, father of Ramesses II as a Standard Bearer. The statuette is a portrait of the king in which grace and grandeur are mixed. The sensitive face is framed by the short, round, thick wig decorated at the front with the uraeus, or royal cobra. The narrow slits of...
Bas-relief depicts sculptors working on statues, detail of a wall carving from the joint Mastaba of Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum, royal servants. They shared the title of Overseer of the Manicurists in the Palace of King Nyuserre Ini. In the Old Kingdom of Egypt, sculpting statues held great importance for several reasons. Firstly, statues were created to...
Although this snake goddess is not named in an inscription, her human face and the two finger-shaped feathers on her crown identify her as Meretseger (She Who Loves Silence), a patroness of fertility and the harvest. Like this statue, most images of Meretseger are modest in quality and were placed in small chapels or shrines...
Fragment of a limestone statue (snout restored) of the chief god of Faiyum, the crocodile-headed Sobek. The statue comes from the mortuary temple of Amenemhat III, attached to his pyramid in Hawara. Although the temple was begun by Amenemhat III, it was incomplete at the time of his death. It was finished by his daughter,...
Bronze head of a cat represents goddess Bastet or Bast with inlaid amber eyes and a golden scarab on its forehead, it was part of a cat-shaped sarcophagus for a cat mummy, as a sacrifice to the goddess Bastet. The little feline lived in the houses, that’s why it was associated to the goddess Bastet,...
The Louvre’s scribe, known as the “Seated Scribe”, is indeed sitting cross-legged, his right leg crossed in front of his left. The white kilt, stretched over his knees, serves as a support. He is holding a partially rolled papyrus scroll in his left hand. His right hand must have held a brush, now missing. The...
These figures of the souls of Pe and Nekhen are identified as King Amenhotep III. The soul of Nekhen is represented by the jackal-headed figure. Its counterpart was the falcon-headed souls of Pe Dep (the double mounds of Buto), which was located in the northern part of the Egyptian Delta. The Souls of Pe and...
This colossal statue of Amenhotep III and Tiye is a group statue and three of their daughters. It is the largest known Ancient Egyptian family group ever carved. The almond-shaped eyes and arched eyebrows of the figures are of typical late 18th Dynasty style. Amenhotep III wears the nemes headdress with the uraeus or royal...
