Among the earliest treasures glimpsed by Howard Carter when he first peered into the antechamber of KV62 on 4 November 1922 lay a vessel of almost poetic delicacy: a chalice carved from a single piece of translucent alabaster, shaped as a white lotus in full bloom. Dating to the reign of Tutankhamun (c. 1332–1323 B.C.),...
Inside his innermost coffin Tutankhamun was buried with six collars, each with falcon heads at the ends, this amazing Usekh was found draped over the king’s thighs. A rainbow of colors: This broad collar has 11 main sections made of gold, as well as a counterweight or (mankhet). It is standard collar of tubular beads...
King Tutankhamun was buried with no fewer than five senet game boxes. Senet was an ancient Egyptian board game popular with all classes. Archaeological evidence reveals that senet was played by both royalty (as demonstrated by this elaborate ivory set) and commoners (crude boards scratched in rock). The course of the game was thought to...
Fashioned from translucent alabaster and poised upon a square, pool-like plinth, this miniature barque ranks among the most exquisite treasures of Tutankhamun’s tomb. Howard Carter discovered the piece in the annexe, still entwined with garlands of faded blossom; suggesting it once served as a festive centrepiece, perhaps holding scented oil or water to complete the...
King Tutankhamun would symbolically trample on his enemies when he wore his sandals. This unique sandals are also adorned on the top and bottom by the nine bows, symbols of the traditional enemies of Egypt. This pair of sandals is made of leather and has depictions of enemies on the soles. Four human figures portraying...
Tucked into the sandstone flank of the Valley of the Kings, KV 62 is hardly more than a corridor, a stair and a single painted chamber, but what a chamber! Built in haste for the boy-king who is thought to have died unexpectedly, Tutankhamun’s tomb became, thanks to Howard Carter’s discovery on November 4th, 1922,...
The gold diadem of Tutankhamun was designed to secure the wig of the king during ceremonies and to protect his forehead in the hereafter. It is a multicolored masterpiece, decorated with gold cloisonnés inlaid with circles of carnelian and edged with inlays of turquoise, lapis lazuli, and blue glass. At the center front are the...
In this exquisite pectoral, a winged large scarab beetle riding on a sacred barque flanked by the goddesses Isis and Nephthys with their arms outstretched as a sign of protection. The scarab serves a double function: as a heart scarab and as the ba of the sun god lighting the way to the underworld. The pectoral...
This perfume vase of King Tutankhamun is made of four pieces of alabaster cemented together. The idea conveyed by its symbolism is that the Nile will provide the king and queen, whose names are inscribed on the vase, with its contents. The vulture with the so-called Atef crown on its head represents either goddess Mut...
This is one of the couches of King Tutankhamun. It is in the form of the goddess Mehet-weret, the cow goddess of the sky whose name means “great flood”. Three ritual funerary couches were found in the antechamber of Tutankhamun. They are made of stuccoed gilded wood in the form of sacred animals whose eyes...
