With a quiet dignity and timeless simplicity, this finely carved wooden statue of Nakhti, a man of status in Middle Egypt, stands poised with his left foot slightly advanced, a convention in Ancient Egyptian art that gently implies vitality, movement, and readiness for eternity, often referred to as the “striding pose”. Discovered nestled beside his...
These gold figurines discovered at Tell el-Farkha’s Eastern Kom, were unearthed by the Polish Archaeological Expedition to the Eastern Nile Delta, in 2006, during ongoing excavations that began in the late 1990s. Believed to date to the Naqada IIIB period (c. 3200–3000 B.C.), these figures are considered the oldest known depictions of Ancient Egyptian rulers...
The fragment of a head of king Khafre, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, once belonged to a statue that likely stood in one of the king’s grand temple complexes at Giza. Most probably, it was part of a seated or standing figure placed within the valley temple, mortuary temple, or possibly along the...
A model domestic figure is a small, carved representation of a person (often crafted from wood and painted) that was placed in Ancient Egyptian tombs to symbolise aspects of daily life. These figures typically depict servants, labourers, or household workers engaged in domestic or agricultural tasks such as grinding grain, baking bread, brewing beer, carrying...
Amidst the sprawling grandeur of Karnak Temple in Luxor, once the spiritual heart of ancient Thebes, stands a most curious and venerable monument: a colossal stone scarab carved from rose-hued granite. It is thought to date from the reign of Amenhotep III (r. 1391-1351 B.C.), during Egypt’s glittering 18th Dynasty, a period marked by architectural...
Among the many sculptural treasures of Ancient Egypt, few are as quietly evocative as the statues known as the “Bald One of Hathor”. These figures, though not divine themselves, were profoundly entwined with the sacred world of temple ritual and devotion. Most often depicted as shaven-headed men in attitudes of piety or offering, they represent...
King Menkaure, the illustrious pharaoh of Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty, reigned during the mid-26th century B.C., leaving an enduring legacy of majesty and refinement. Best known for his resplendent pyramid at Giza—smaller yet more exquisitely crafted than those of his predecessors—Menkaure was a sovereign of both might and measured grace. His reign is immortalised through sublime...
This statue, a life-sized representation, presents Hatshepsut wearing the nemes headdress—an insignia typically reserved for the reigning king. While she is draped in female attire, the inscriptions beside her legs already bear her throne name, Ma’at-Ka-Re, yet interestingly her titles remain feminine, calling her the “Lady of the Two Lands” and the “Bodily Daughter of...
Nestled within the hallowed grounds of Deir el-Medina’s East Cemetery, Tomb 1379 stands as a silent testament to the lives and legacies of its inhabitants. This ancient necropolis, home to the artisans who toiled upon the grandeur of Pharaonic tombs, harbours the remains of Satnem and Nub, figures shrouded in the mystique of Egypt’s storied...
This fragment of a statue base shows a Assyrian man’s head and shoulders. He wears a fringed robe embroidered with rosettes and has long hair and a headband. He also has a beard and a moustache, something that Assyrians were usually depicted with. The man’s complete figure was positioned flat on his belly, his back...
