Origin: Egypt Circa: 7 th Century BC Dimensions: 25.75" (65.4cm) high x 9.5" (24.1cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Late New Kingdom Medium: Pink  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 7 th Century BC Dimensions: 25.75" (65.4cm) high x 9.5" (24.1cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Late New Kingdom Medium: Pink Granite Pink granite Bas relief fragment with a figure in profile to the right, the votary wearing long striated wig and broad wesekh-collar. A fragmentary hieroglyphic inscription above reads: "...Mistress of the gods...every joy...". - (FF.076)   « Less

Origin: Egpyt Circa: 1600 BC to 1100 BC Collection: Jewelry Style: Egyptian Scarab Rings Medium: Gold, Amethyst The sacred beetle of ancient Egypt, the scarab is an  More »

Origin: Egpyt Circa: 1600 BC to 1100 BC Collection: Jewelry Style: Egyptian Scarab Rings Medium: Gold, Amethyst The sacred beetle of ancient Egypt, the scarab is an emblem of the creator, Khepera. The word kepher denotes Being, Existence, Creation, or Becoming, and the god Kephera is the self-existent maker of all things. The worship of the scarab, which is symbolic of resurrection and fertility, dates from the earliest period of civilization in Egypt. Carved scarabs served two major functions: as amulets with protective and religious powers, and as personal seals, which designated the property and authority of the individual whose name was placed upon them. In both cases, the power ascribed to the scarab was very great—in life they served as the signature of their owner and were thought to bring prosperity, and in the afterlife they ensured rebirth through eternity. - (CK.0579)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 525 BC to 343 BC Dimensions: 7.75" (19.7cm) high Collection: Egyptian Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Faience Perhaps no single object  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 525 BC to 343 BC Dimensions: 7.75" (19.7cm) high Collection: Egyptian Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Faience Perhaps no single object epitomizes the spirit of Ancient Egypt better than the ushabti. Shaped like a divine mummy, the ushabti evokes the magical side of the Egyptian belief in an afterlife, while the pick and hoes clutched in the hands, as well as the seed bag slung over his shoulder, recall the rural, agrarian culture of the land. The word ushabti (supplanting the older term shawabti) literally means “the answerer.” The function of these little figures is described in Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead: “O this Ushabti! If (the deceased) is called upon to do hard labor in the hereafter, say thou: I am here.” The ushabti was expected to answer the call to work in place of the deceased, and this passage was frequently inscribed on the figures themselves. Originally, a single ushabti was placed in a given tomb; but by the New Kingdom, the statues had come to be regarded as servants and slaves for the deceased rather than as a substitute, and many might be found buried together, along with an overseer figure. In the course of Egyptian history, ushabti were created from wood, stone, metal, and faience. In the cultural renaissance of the 26th Dynasty, also known as the Saite Period (the time just before this work was produced), a green faience, the color of the Nile and evocative of the verdant landscape in springtime, was particularly popular. Along the body of this ushabti is inscribed ten rows of hieroglyphic text. Such inscriptions generally offer prayers from the deceased and reveal the ushabti’s readiness to perform labor. To look upon this ushabti is to come face to face with the mystery and magic of Egypt itself. - (X.0160)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 8.0" (20.3cm) high x 2.25" (5.7cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: 26th Dynasty Medium: Bronze This magnificent  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 664 BC to 525 BC Dimensions: 8.0" (20.3cm) high x 2.25" (5.7cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Style: 26th Dynasty Medium: Bronze This magnificent bronze votive sculpture represents Osiris, god of fertility, king of the dead, and ruler of eternity. Many centuries ago, it might have been found inside a temple, placed as an offering to the mighty deity. He is depicted wrapped as a mummy, holding a crook and flail. These two attributes act as scepters symbolic of his divine authority over the forces of nature. He wears the atef crown, featuring a uraeus cobra slithering down the front and a pair of undulating ribbed ram’s horns emerging from the sides, and a false braided beard with a curved tip. This type of beard is a symbol of divinity while the headdress associates the god with the ruling pharaohs. The legend of Osiris states that his brother Seth, overcome by jealousy, murdered him and tore his body into fourteen parts, scattering them across Egypt. Isis, the faithful wife of Osiris, traversed the land and gathered all the parts of his body. She then cast a spell that resurrected her deceased husband for one night, during which their child, Horus, was conceived. Thus, Osiris was the central figure of Egyptian religion, the god who had triumphed over death and therefore offered the hope of rebirth and resurrection to all men. This striking image of the god in his royal mummiform speaks of a universal mystery, the unanswered questions for which no living man has a sure answer. - (X.0339)   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 720 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 7.25" (18.4cm) high Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Bronze At first glance, this  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 720 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 7.25" (18.4cm) high Collection: Egyptian antiquities Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Bronze At first glance, this bronze statuette of Osiris appears to be very unassuming. The god of the Hereafter is represented in the time-honored manner as a figure standing upon an integral base from which protrudes a tang for insertion into a now-missing base. We can, therefore, suggest that this figure was part of a larger group composition which may have included a depiction of an elite member of Egyptian society, in smaller scale, kneeling in obeisance before this god. Osiris is represented as a mummiform figure with his hands protruding from beneath his stylized mummy bandages in order to hold the crook and flail, his traditional attributes. His accessories include a plaited beard which slips down under his chin and an atef-crown, the White Crown of which is flanked on each side by a single ostrich feature representing “truth.” This crown is fronted by a uraeus, or sacred cobra. This object is separated from more routine depictions of Osiris in bronze by the attention paid to the depiction on its back. There in raised relief, is a depiction of his sister and wife, Isis, facing right. She is shown standing on a tall, reticulated base, perhaps intended to suggest her throne. Her striated headdress supports her attribute in the form of a pair of cow’s horns framing a solar disc. Her tightly fitting sheath is ornamented with linear detail, suggesting the pattern textile from which it was woven. She is equipped with wings which she spreads out over the back of her husband in an eternal gesture of protection. Such depictions are exceedingly rare in the repertoire of ancient Egyptian bronze representations of Osiris, but a good parallel is provided by a similarly designed statuette in a private collection in Belgium. On the basis of their styles, such images can be dated to the Late Period.   « Less

Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Middle Kingdom- 2nd Intermediate Medium: Gold The ancient Egyptians maintained that  More »

Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 0.750" (1.9cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Middle Kingdom- 2nd Intermediate Medium: Gold The ancient Egyptians maintained that the sun was propelled across the heavens by means of a scarab, or sacred beetle. With the passing of time, the Egyptians created a series of amulets in the form of this beetle in a great variety of materials, and these were routinely provided with inscriptions in hieroglyphs conveniently accommodated to their stylized flat bottoms. Such scarabs were generally incorporated into finger rings, as here, where they served as bezels. Our scarab is just such a variation. The head with its eyes, the plate, and the clypeus are well articulated. The thorax and elytra, or wing case, are articulated by a double, T-shape incision which surrounds each of these two elements as a framing border. The underside of the scarab contains a design framed by a pattern of interlocking motifs. Within is a single column of four hieroglyphs, namely, a djed-pillar, an “inverted” neb-sign, and two side by side nefer-signs. Such an arrangement is commonly encountered on contemporary scarabs.   « Less

Egyptian Wooden Inscribed Mummy Tag - LO.1182 Origin: Egypt Circa: 200 BC to 200 AD Dimensions: 6" (15.2cm) high x 3.375" (8.6cm) wide Collection: Egyptian  More »

Egyptian Wooden Inscribed Mummy Tag - LO.1182 Origin: Egypt Circa: 200 BC to 200 AD Dimensions: 6" (15.2cm) high x 3.375" (8.6cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Roman, Coptic Medium: Wood   « Less

Origin: Egypt Circa: 100 BC to 30 BC Dimensions: 3.2" (8.1cm) high x 2.50" (6.4cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Ptolemaic Medium: Wood Inscribed with  More »

Origin: Egypt Circa: 100 BC to 30 BC Dimensions: 3.2" (8.1cm) high x 2.50" (6.4cm) wide Collection: Egyptian Antiquities Style: Ptolemaic Medium: Wood Inscribed with the name of Cleopatra. - (FF.116)   « Less

Papyrus Manuscript - CK.0654 Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 11" (27.9cm) high x 6" (15.2cm) wide Collection: Egpytian Medium: Papyrus

Papyrus Manuscript - CK.0654 Origin: Egypt Dimensions: 11" (27.9cm) high x 6" (15.2cm) wide Collection: Egpytian Medium: Papyrus   « Less

Origin: Sinai, Egypt Circa: 600 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 3.375" (8.6cm) high x 3.5 " (8.9cm) wide Catalogue: V1 Collection: Egyptian Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium:  More »

Origin: Sinai, Egypt Circa: 600 BC to 300 BC Dimensions: 3.375" (8.6cm) high x 3.5 " (8.9cm) wide Catalogue: V1 Collection: Egyptian Style: Late Dynastic Period Medium: Bronze This thick-snouted fish with a long dorsal fin, pairs of ventral fins front and back, and a bipartite tail is a member of the Mormyrus genus, more commonly termed the Oxyrhynchus fish in Egyptological literature. The more common name of this fish is that of the village of Oxyrhynchus situated in the Egyptian Faiyum, the agriculturally-rich region to the southwest of modern Cairo. Hollow cast in bronze with details rendered as linear adjuncts, the fish rests on an elaborate base, evocative of a cult statue. Its ventral fins are each affixed to one of two papyrus umbels mounted to the front and back. The fish wears as an attribute the horns of a cow fronted by a sun disc. The ancient Egyptian traditions which grew up around the Oxyrhynchus fish are varied and complex. The best known, preserved by Plutarch, a Greek priest of the oracle of Apollo at Delphi writing in the second century A.D., in chapter 72 of his monumental opus De Iside recounts how the citizens of Oxyrhynchus engaged in a bloody confrontation with the citizens of neighboring Kynopolis because the citizens of Kynopolis ate the Oxyrhynchus fish. That account in Plutarch differs from the two ancient Egyptian accounts of this fish, both of which are associated with the god Osiris. As one recalls, Osiris and his brother, Seth, became embroiled in a conflict for power with the result that Seth triumphed over Osiris. In so doing, he dismembered the body of Osiris and scattered it far and wide. Isis, the dutiful wife and, incidentally, sister of Osiris, gathered up the pieces and reassembled them, but not before the Oxyrhynchus fish ate his phallus. The phallus was necessary for the posthumous conception of Osiris’s son and heir, Horus. In another version of the myth, the Oxyrhynchus fish emerged from the wounds of Osiris himself. Whatever the truth in these matters might be, the Oxyrhynchus fish was inextricably associated with the god Osiris and revered by the ancient Egyptians. That reverence explains why this fish wears as attributes the sun disc and cow horns, associating it with Isis in her role as the reviver of her husband Osiris.   « Less