Third Intermediate Period

Takabuti is the most famous Ancient Egyptian icon in Ireland. She has been on display at the Ulster Museum for over a century.

Takabuti

Takabuti was a young Theban woman who died in her twenties or early thirties towards the end of Ancient Egypt’s 25th Dynasty, c. 755-656 B.C. The daughter of a Priest of Amun named Nespara and a woman named Tasenirit, Takabuti is believed to have been a married woman who lived and died in Thebes. She...

Wooden figure of a woman playing a harp

Wooden figure of a woman playing a harp

This wooden painted figure of a woman playing a harp, dates from the Third Intermediate Period, c.1070-664 B.C. She stands 26cm tall and 6.5cm wide, and currently resides in the British Museum. Music played a very important part in ancient Egyptian life. From all periods there are scenes in temples and tombs showing musicians playing....

Hathor suckling the Kushite Queen Nefrukakashta

Hathor suckling the Kushite Queen Nefrukakashta

Gilded silver amulet shows the Kushite Queen Nefrukakashta being embraced and nursed by a goddess, probably Hathor.Nubian, Napatan Period, reign of Piankhy (Piye), c. 743–712 B.C.From el-Kurru, Ku 52 (tomb of Queen Nefrukekashta)Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. 24.928 The goddess wears the vulture headdress and a crown consisting of a diadem with bovine horns and...

Shrine Amulet. British Museum. EA59402

Shrine Amulet

Green glazed steatite amulet in the form of a naos or a shrine. A naos (Greek ναός “temple, shrine”) is the descriptive name given to Egyptian hieroglyph Gardiner O18 (see below). Within the inner shrine, an aegis of a leonine (lion) goddess remains. Each side of the shrine is decorated with representations of the leonine...

Gold Vase with the Royal Cartouches of Psusennes I and Henuttawy

Gold Vase with Cartouches of Psusennes I and Henuttawy

This gold vase or bowl of Psusennes I with carved stripes on the body reveals the fine taste and skills of the craftsmen of the period. It bears four cartouches engraved on it, saying “The Adoratress of Hathor Henuttawy, Mother Divine of Khonsu, Aakheperre chosen of Amun, Psusennes beloved of Amun.” It is unclear if...

Gold Sandals of King Shoshenq II

Gold Sandals of Shoshenq II

Gold sandals found on the mummified body of the king Shoshenq II. Ensured that the king would be shod like the gods in the afterlife. Shoshenq II was the only ruler of the 22nd Dynasty whose tomb was not plundered by tomb robbers. His final resting place was discovered within an antechamber of Psusennes I’s...

Humanoid Heart Scarab

Humanoid Heart Scarab Amulet

The so-called “heart scarabs” had to protect the heart of the deceased. According to ancient Egyptians, the heart contained the intellect and emotions. For this reason, it should have been preserved in the Afterlife as well. Heart scarabs were very popular amulets. Positioned on the chest of the mummy, they usually take the shape of...

Detail of the Coffin of Priestess Iawttayesheret

Coffin of Priestess Iawttayesheret

This is the coffin lid of a woman named, Iawttayesheret (also known as Tayesheret), who lived during Egypt’s 25th Dynasty, c. 722-655 B.C. Iawttayesheret was the daughter of Padikhnum and Tadiaset. Iawttayesheret held the title of The Divine Adoratrice of Amun, which was a title given to those secondary to the God’s Wife of Amun....

Chantress of Amun-Ra, Tentosorkon

Chantress of Amun-Ra, Tentosorkon

Lady of the House; Chantress of Amun-Ra, Tentosorkon, as appearing in her Papyrus (Book of the Dead), discovered in Thebes. c. 945 B.C. British Museum. EA9919,2 The name means ‘The (female) servant of Osorkon’. Tentosorkon (That of Sorkon), a name of Libyan origin which appeared around the 21st dynasty in the Delta, and was popularised...

Solid gold statuette of the god Amun.

Gold statue of the god Amun

This is a solid gold statue of the god Amun (imn) and is truly one of a kind. As a pure gold figure of the god, this figure is an example of those golden figures of gods and goddesses that would have been the centrepiece of prayers and rituals within the temples throughout the age...