Third Intermediate Period

Statue of Ankhemtenenet

Statue of Ankhemtenenet

The statue of Ankhemtenenet is a fascinating piece of Egyptian art from the Third Intermediate Period (around 743-656 BC). It was crafted from red quartzite, a stone prized for its durability and deep red hue, which likely helped preserve its features over millennia. Ankhemtenenet was likely a high-ranking official or a priest, though details about...

Maatkare Mutemhat: The High Priestess of Amun

Maatkare Mutemhat was the daughter of Pinedjem I, the de facto ruler of Upper Egypt as the High Priest of Amun at Thebes, and his wife, Duathathor-Henuttawy, who carried the blood of kings, being the daughter of Ramesses XI—the final sovereign of Egypt’s 20th Dynasty. It is thought that Maatkare Mutemhat ascended to a sacred...

Wig of Nauny

This wig was found lying behind the head of Nauny’s mummy in her inner coffin. From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahari, Tomb of Meritamun (TT 358, MMA 65), inside coffin, MMA excavations, 1928–29. The wig is made from plaits of human hair, which were fastened at the top with a cord. The hair was...

Karomama Meritmut

Karomama Meritmut (prenomen: Sitamun Mutemhat) was an ancient Egyptian high priestess and “God’s wife of Amun”, during the 22nd Dynasty. She is perhaps the same as Karomama, the daughter of king Osorkon II, who was represented in the king’s sed-hall and succeeded Henuttawy as High Priestess. Furthermore, Karomama, daughter of Osorkon is portrayed in the...

Coffin Set of Henuttawy

Coffin Set of Henuttawy

The inner coffin lid of Henuttawy is painted yellow all over, imitating royal coffins made of solid gold or gilded wood. The pectoral is only slightly less elaborate than the one on her outer lid (25.3.182a, b). Its main feature is a large scarab that pushes a sun disk upward to symbolize the rising sun....

Bronze Figure of a Woman

Measuring at 34.5cm, this bronze (copper alloy) figure of a woman dates from around 1069-664 B.C., putting it among the Third Intermediate Period. The figure depicts an unknown woman with a slender physique and a cropped wig of layered style. Based upon the stride of her legs and supposed material between, we can presume she...

Outer coffin of Butehamun

Outer coffin of Butehamun

The outer coffin of Butehamun shows stylistic features that are still typical for the Ramesside Period (1292-1076 BC), but the growing space devoted to images is a feature of the new “yellow coffin” style. The image repertoire is expanded, combining typical New Kingdom elements with Third Intermediate Period Theological creations. Butehamun’s set of coffins, probably...

Golden Ram’s-head Amulet

This golden Ram’s-head amulet was probably made for a necklace worn by one of the Kushite kings. Representations show these pharaohs wearing a ram’s-head amulet tied around the neck on a thick cord, the ends of which fall forward over the shoulders. Sometimes a smaller ram’s head is attached to each end. Rams were associated...

Statue of Kushite King

This bronze statuette depicts a king of Kushite origin who ruled Egypt during the 25th Dynasty of the Third Intermediate Period. The Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXV, alternatively 25th Dynasty or Dynasty 25), also known as the Nubian Dynasty, the Kushite Empire, or the Napatans after their city Napata, was Egypt’s final dynasty...

Sphinx of Taharqa

Sphinx of Taharqa

Taharqa, also spelled Taharka or Taharqo (Egyptian: 𓇿𓉔𓃭𓈎 tꜣhrwq, Akkadian: Tar-qu-ú, Hebrew: תִּרְהָקָה, Modern: Tīrhaqa, Tiberian: Tīrhāqā, Manetho’s Tarakos, Strabo’s Tearco), was a Nubian king of the 25th Egyptian Dynasty rulers of the Kingdom of Kush, c.747–656 B.C. The Sphinx of Taharqa is a granite gneiss statue of a sphinx with the face of Taharqa....