Although the coffin belongs to an Ancient Egyptian man named Pa-Di-Tu-Amun, the coffin lid was originally made for a female priestess, with the titles “mistress of the house, chantress of [Amun]”. The feminine quality of the art is still noticeable. Acquired in Egypt during the 1920s, by the Swedish scientist Olof Vilhelm Arrhenius, this Third...
Scaraboid amulet of a cute little hedgehog. Hedgehogs were common on amulets in the New Kingdom (1500s–1000s BC) and can also be seen on the backs of seals and scaraboids. Although never very common, hedgehog amulets have a long history in ancient Egypt, with their popularity peaking in the New Kingdom. These amulets functioned as...
At the time of her unwrapping, the mummy of Neskhon [ns-ḫns(w)] (also rendered Neskhons or Nesykhonsu), struck early observers as unusually lifelike. The softness of her features, the fullness of her body, and her well-endowed bust led archaeologists to suggest that she had either borne children or was pregnant at the time of her death....
The Sarcophagus lid of Tjentwerethequa, “Priestess of Amun”. Third Intermediate period, Early 22nd Dynasty, c. 1000- 901 B.C. It is believed that Tjentwerethequa’s grandson, Lufenamun, a senior priest of Amun-Re, belonged to the priesthood entrusted with the reburial of Egypt’s ancient kings. Their sacred duty was to conceal the rulers of old within hidden caches,...
This papyrus belonged to the Mistress of the House and Chantress of Amun, Tanetshedkhons, a Theban noblewoman of the 21st Dynasty. The scroll is inscribed with portions of two funerary texts known as the “Litany of Re” and the “Amduat,” or “Book of that which is in the Underworld.” The “Amduat”, like the “Book of...
The mummy of Queen Henuttawy was found in the Deir el-Bahari Royal Cachette (TT320). She was the wife of Pinedjem I of the 21st Dynasty. The whole body of mummy of Queen Henuttawy was colored in yellow, while the cheeks and lips were painted red to improve her appearance. The head is adorned with an...
Light blue faience ushabti of Queen Henuttawy wife of Pinedjem I. One column of painted inscription down front of body; painted flail grasped in each hand. At knees glaze is cracked or more probably the ushabti has been broken and put together. It depicts a small mummiform figure. Arms are crossed opposite, right over left,...
Although this example is uninscribed, its size and style identify it as a “heart” scarab, meant to be placed within the wrappings of the mummy. Many such scarabs bear the text of Chapter 30B of the Book of the Dead, in which the owner asks his or her heart not to testify against them at...
The pectoral of Psusennes I is framed by alternating precious stones, topped by a cavetto cornice, and with a row of alternating djed pillar and tit (Isis knot) symbols at the bottom, below a row of sun-discs. A winged scarab can be seen in the middle, and a cartouche of the king above and below,...
A bronze statuette of the anthropomorphic god Anubis facing a kneeling worshiper. He has the head of a jackal and the body of a human male. The piece has been cast in three sections and then joined. The eyes of Anubis are inlaid with gold and there are traces of gilding on the shoulders, wrists,...
