martes, 31 de enero de 2017

Amulet of a fish


Amulet of a fish
Crudely carved bone amulet in the form of a fish, with head, eye and fins marked by incised lines. The tail segment is missing. The oxyrhynchus fish was considered sacred and gave its name in the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods to the city at the modern site of el-Bahnasa.
GOVERNORATE OF MINIYA: EL-BAHNASA
ROMAN PERIOD
From the division of finds excavated at Oxhyrhynchus by Dr. Grenfell and Dr. Hunt in 1903-1904. Given to the museum by the Egypt Exploration Fund.
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND
http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/record.aspx?id=2232

Amulet of a frog


Amulet of a frog
Schematically cut green stone amulet in the form of a frog, a popular amulet from predynastic times onwards.
OLD KINGDOM ?
...
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND
Inventory number 1882:3133
http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/

Amon

Statuette of Amun
Period: Third Intermediate Period
Dynasty: Dynasty 22
...
Date: ca. 945–712 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt; Possibly from Upper Egypt, Thebes, Karnak
Medium: Gold
Dimensions: h. 17.5 cm (6 7/8 in); w. 4.7 cm (1 7/8 in); d 5.8 cm (2 1/4 in); weight 0.9 kg. (2 lbs)
Credit Line: Purchase, Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1926
Accession Number: 26.7.1412

Description
The god Amun ("the hidden one") first came into prominence at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. From the New Kingdom onward, Amun was arguably the most important god in the Egyptian pantheon. As a creator god, Amun is most often identified as Amun-Re (in the typical Egyptian blending of deities, Amun is combined with Re, the principal solar god). His main sanctuary was the immense temple complex at Karnak on the east bank of the Nile at the southern edge of modern Luxor.
In this small representation, Amun stands in the traditional pose with the left leg forward. He is identified by his characteristic flat-topped crown, which originally supported two tall gold feathers, now missing. He wears the gods' braided beard with a curled tip and carries an ankh ("life") emblem in his left hand and a scimitar across his chest. On pylons and temple walls of the New Kingdom, Amun-Re is often depicted presenting a scimitar to the king, thus conferring on him military victory.
This statuette, cast in solid gold, is an extremely rare example of the sculpture made of precious materials that, according to ancient descriptions, filled the sanctuaries of temples. The figure could have been mounted on top of a ceremonial scepter or standard. If traces on the back are rightly interpreted, it was fitted with a loop that could have been employed for attachment, even possibly to an elaborate necklace. For the Egyptians, the color of gold and the sheen of its surface were associated with the sun, and the skin of gods was supposed to be made of gold.
The soft modeling of the torso, the narrow waist, and the facial features are typical of the art of the Third Intermediate Period. This era marks the decline of centralized power in Egypt, but it is also a time of great artistic achievement. Works in metal (gold, silver, and, above all, bronze) reached especially high levels, as attested by the Museum's statuette.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/26.7.1412/

Amulet


AMULET
This amulet, which was purchased in the art trade in 1948, is composed of two figurines on a socle: a bird divinity with a human head and a naked infant holding the right hand towards the mouth. It's probably the goddess Isis who protects her child Horus. The goddess is wearing a wig on which a metal (?) element was fixed which is now missing. On the back, there is a ring for attaching the piece to a necklace.
Horus, Isis
KMKG - MRAH
http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/
B. Hornemann, Types of Ancient Egyptian Statuary, Munksgaard 1966, V 1305

domingo, 29 de enero de 2017

Statue of Queen Ankhnes-meryre II and Her Son, Pepy II







Statue of Queen Ankhnes-meryre II and Her Son, Pepy II
Pepy II became king as a small child, so his mother acted as regent. This statue conveys her role, evoking the typical Egyptian pose of a mother nursing a child. Pepy is shown as a miniature king rather than a child and, instead of nursing him, the queen holds him protectively as he clasps her hand. Each figure looks straight ahead and has its own inscription, as if it were a separate statue.
MEDIUM Egyptian alabaster
DATES ca. 2288-2224 or 2194 B.C.E.
DYNASTY VI Dynasty
PERIOD Old Kingdom
DIMENSIONS 15 7/16 x 9 13/16 in. (39.2 x 24.9 cm)
https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/3446
Seated alabaster statue of Queen Cnh-n.s’-Mry-rc holding in her lap a small figure of King Nfr-k3-rc (Pepy II) on simple block throne; inscription in one column and one row at Queen’s feet, one column at King’s feet. Condition: Practically perfect. Very slight chips, apparently recent, along right edge of inscription at Queen’s feet; left arm of Queen apparently broken off in antiquity and reassembled, considerably weathered, large fragment missing from arm to wrist. Opening in the forehead of Queen presumably for head of the Vulture headdress which is missing. Various brown deposits on back of throne and organic deposits in the hieroglyphs and in details of bodies. Crack runs almost midway through the headdress and face of Queen probably a natural cleavage in the stone. Two drill marks behind Queen’s feet.

Shawabty of a woman

S
hawabty of a woman
Egyptian
New Kingdom, Dynasty 20
1186–1070 B.C.
Findspot: Egypt, Abydos, Cemetery G
Dimensions
Hieght: 15 cm (5 7/8 in.)
This shawabty of reddish clay is shaped as a mummiform figure. The front of the body and the face have remnants of yellow paint, while the sides and back are white and a tripartite wig black. Somewhat awkwardly rendered arms are crossed over the chest, right over left. Surfaces are somewhat worn. A rim of clay at the outer edges reflects manufacture by mold.
An ancient Egyptian shawabty is a funerary figurine that was intended to magically animate in the Afterlife in order to act as a proxy for the deceased when called upon to tend to field labor or other tasks. This expressed purpose was sometimes written on the shawabty itself in the form of a “Shawabty Spell,” of which versions of various length are known. Shorter shawabty inscriptions could also just identify the deceased by name and, when applicable, title(s). However, many shawabtys carry no text at all. The ideal number of such figurines to include in a tomb or burial seems to have varied during different time periods.
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/shawabty-of-a-woman-133627
Provenance
From Abydos, cemetery G. 1900: excavated by William Matthew Flinders Petrie and Arthur Cruttenden Mace for the Egypt Exploration Fund, assigned to the Egypt Exploration Fund in the division of finds by the government of Egypt, received by the MFA through subscription to the Egypt Exploration Fund. (Accession Date: November 1, 1900)
Credit Line
Egypt Exploration Fund by subscription

Statue of Lady Sennuwy













Statue of Lady Sennuwy
Egyptian
Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, reign of Senwosret I
1971–1926 B.C.
Findspot: Nubia (Sudan), Kerma, Tumulus K III, hall A
Dimensions
Framed (The object sits on epoxy bed /structural steel pallet tubing): 21.6 x 62.2 x 116.2 cm (8 1/2 x 24 1/2 x 45 3/4 in.) Mount (Steel channel base with cross bracing 3" x 3/16"): 30.5 x 62.2 x 116.2 cm (12 x 24 1/2 x 45 3/4 in.) Overall (steel pallet and object, weighed): 170.2 x 116.2 x 47 cm, 1224.71 kg (67 x 45 3/4 x 18 1/2 in., 2700 lb.) Weight (Object and steel pallet with attaching steel base, estimate): 1319.97 kg (2910 lb.) Weight (Object (calculated by subtracting estimate of pallet weight)): 1079.56 kg (2380 lb.)
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/statue-of-lady-sennuwy-141967
Egyptian officials of the Middle Kingdom continued the practice of equipping their tombs with statues to house the ka of the tomb owner and to provide a focal point for the offering cult. Highly ranked officials also dedicated statues of themselves at sanctuaries of gods and deified ancestors. Following the experimental and idiosyncratic interlude of the First Intermediate Period, sculptors once again produced large-scale stone statues, returning to the basic forms and poses established in the Old Kingdom.
This elegant seated statue of Lady Sennuwy of Asyut is one of the most superbly carved and beautifully proportioned sculptures from the Middle Kingdom. The unknown artist shaped and polished the hard, gray granodiorite with extraordinary skill, suggesting that he was trained in a royal workshop. He has portrayed Sennuwy as a slender, graceful young woman, dressed in the tightly fitting sheath dress that was fashionable at the time. The carefully modeled planes of the face, framed by a long, thick, striated wig, convey a serene confidence and timeless beauty. Such idealized, youthful, and placid images characterize the first half of Dynasty 12 and hark back to the art of the Old Kingdom. Sennuwy sits poised and attentive on a solid, blocklike chair, with her left hand resting flat on her lap and her right hand holding a lotus blossom, a symbol of rebirth. Inscribed on the sides and base of the chair are hieroglyphic texts declaring that she is venerated in the presence of Osiris and other deities associated with the afterlife.
Sennuwy was the wife of a powerful provincial governor, Djefaihapi of Asyut, whose rock-cut tomb is the largest nonroyal tomb of the Middle Kingdom. Clearly, the couple had access to the finest artists and materials available. It is likely that this statue, along with a similar sculpture of Djefaihapi, was originally set up in the tomb chapel, although they may also have stood in a sanctuary. Both statues were discovered, however, far to the south at Kerma in Nubia, where they had been buried in the royal tumulus of a Nubian king who lived generations after Sennuwy’s death. They must have been removed from their original location and exported to Nubia some three hundred years after they were made. Exactly how, why, and when these pieces of sculpture, along with numerous other Egyptian statues, found their way to Kerma, however, is still unknown.
Provenance
From Nubia (Sudan), Kerma, K III hall A. 1913: Excavated by the Harvard University-Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition; assigned to the MFA by the government of the Sudan. (Accession Date: July 2, 1914)

lunes, 16 de enero de 2017

Goddess of Upper Egypt

Goddess of Upper Egypt

Period:
New Kingdom
Dynasty:
Dynasty 18
Date:
ca. 1550–1295 B.C.
Geography:
From Egypt
Medium:
Ivory
Dimensions:
10.6 cm (4 3/16 in)
 
 
 
Metmuseum.org

Head of a Statue of Amenemhat III

Head of a Statue of Amenemhat III
Period:Middle KingdomDynasty:Dynasty 12Reign:Amenemhat IIIDate:ca. 1859-1813 B.C.Geography:From Egypt, AswanMedium:GranodioriteDimensions:H. 11.6 cm (4 9/16 in.); W. 14.3 cm (5 5/8 in.)
Fragments of the body found with this head indicate that the complete statue was seated, likely one of the modestly sized royal sculptures donated to Egyptian temples by Middle Kingdom kings. Amenemhat III here wears a nemes headdress, a folded and pleated piece of cloth generally reserved for the pharaoh. The head is made of a type of limestone rarely used in ancient Egyptian artworks.
http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/view?exhibitionId=%7B36BFD863-BD71-4D58-B1B2-F3F865084DBB%7D&oid=591284

Goddess of Lower Egypt

Goddess of Lower Egypt
Period:New KingdomDynasty:Dynasty 18Date:ca. 1550–1295 B.C.Geography:From EgyptMedium:IvoryDimensions:H. 11 cm (4 5/16 in)
http://metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/560965?sortBy=Relevance&ft=12th+dynasty+egypt&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=6

domingo, 15 de enero de 2017

Ba bird

Ba bird
Egyptian
Late Period
760–332 B.C.
...
Dimensions
9.5 x 3.2 x 5.7 cm (3 3/4 x 1 1/4 x 2 1/4 in.)
Accession Number
72.4952
Medium or Technique
Painted wood
Not On View
Collections
The Ancient World
Classifications
Tomb equipment

Painted. Color strong. White body and face, brown wings, green headdress and beard. Claws carved. Stands on thin plank, with hole running up from below. Quite good condition. Solid under body.
Provenance
By 1836: Robert Hay Collection, Linplum, Scotland; 1863: to his son, Robert James Alexander Hay; 1868-1872: Way Collection, Boston (purchased by Samuel A. Way through London dealers Rollin and Feuardent, 27 Haymarket); 1872: given to the MFA by Samuel's son, C. Granville Way.
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/ba-bird-336150

Ba figure

Ba-figure
Egyptian
Late Period–Roman Imperial Period
Dimensions
Height x width: 50.7 x 2.8 cm (19 15/16 x 1 1/8 in.)
Accession Number
72.722
Medium or Technique
Stone
Not On View
Collections
Africa and Oceania, The Ancient World
Classifications
Sculpture
Ba-figure made of black, fine-grained stone. It has the face of a human and the body of a bird. The surface is much scratched and incrusted. The details are incised. There is a hole in top of the head. The feet and the tip of the tail are missing.
Provenance
By 1836: Robert Hay Collection, Linplum, Scotland; 1863: to his son, Robert James Alexander Hay; 1868-1872: Way Collection, Boston (purchased by Samuel A. Way through London dealers Rollin and Feuardent, 27 Haymarket); 1872: given to the MFA by Samuel's son, C. Granville Way.
(Accession date: June 28, 1872)
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/ba-figure-132984

Ba bird statuette

Ba bird statuette
Egyptian
Hellenistic Period (Ptolemaic Dynasty)
305–30 B.C.
Dimensions
Height x width x depth: 10.2 x 4 x 9.5 cm (4 x 1 9/16 x 3 3/4 in.)
Accession Number
72.4179
Medium or Technique
Polychrome wood
Not On View
Collections
The Ancient World
Classifications
Coffins and sarcophagi
Brightly painted, soft wood figurine of a ba-bird, originally attached to a piece of furniture, stele, shrine or coffin. Portrayed as a human-headed bird, the ba was a person’s mobile alter-ego, that lived on after death and was free to leave and re-enter the tomb.
Provenance
By 1836: Robert Hay Collection, Linplum, Scotland; 1863: to his son, Robert James Alexander Hay; 1868-1872: Way Collection, Boston (purchased by Samuel A. Way through London dealers Rollin and Feuardent, 27 Haymarket); 1872: given to the MFA by Samuel's son, C. Granville Way
http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/ba-bird-statuette-36496

Estela del mayordomo Anher-hotep

Estela del mayordomo Anher-hotep
Estela rectangular con un relieve muy poco profundo sin restos de pintura. Las cinco líneas horizontales de la parte superior de la estela contienen la fórmula de ofrendas y el nombre del dueño y fundador de la estela. En los tres registros debajo de la inscripción hay tres escenas análogas con una pareja sentada a la izquierda, delante de una mesa de ofrendas, con un hombre con una ofrenda en las manos frente a ellos. El hombre del registro i...nferior a la derecha está despedazando un buey. Los registros representan a las tres generaciones de la familia con el fundador de la estela en el extremo inferior izquierdo.
Abydos
REINO MEDIO
FÓRMULA Htp-di-nsw.t
(1) Ofrenda, que el rey ha concedido a Osiris, señor de Busiris, Jentymentyu, el Gran Dios, señor de Abydos, (2) y Anubis, quien está sobre su montaña, Imyut, el señor de Ta-dyeser, para que pueda conceder una ofrenda funeraria de un millar de panes y cerveza, carne y aves para el venerado mayordomo Anher-hotep (3) y su venerado padre Ay. (Establecida) por su hijo, al cual ellos aman, su primogénito, (4) quien hace que su nombre viva por medio de esta estela para la eternidad, (5) el venerado mayordomo Iy, justo de voz, nacido de Hepu, justo de voz; su esposa a la cual él ama, Senet, justa de voz. (6) Su hijo, al cual él ama, su primogénito, Inheret-hetepu. (7) El venerado mayordomo Anher-hotep. (8) Su esposa, a la cual él ama, Hepu. (9) Su hijo al cual él ama, Mehu.
(10) El venerado Iy.
(11) Su esposa a la cual ama, Senet-anhure.
(12) El carnicero Mentuhotep.
http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/record.aspx…
Hein, I. & H. Satzinger, Stelen des Mittleren Reiches einschließlich der I. und II. Zwischenzeit, Teil II. Corpus Antiquitatum Aegyptiacarum (CAA) 7 (1993) 7-11.
Bergmann, E. von, Übersicht über die ägyptischen Alterthümer (1876), Nr.11.
KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM

sábado, 14 de enero de 2017

Large weight in the shape of a bull


Large weight in the shape of a bull
The weight is shaped as a crouching zebu with its legs tucked underneath it and short horns. The body has been delicately modelled, and other notable aspects are the details of the face and the rendering of the neck. On the inside, close to the break, is a rectangular field indicating the weight of 20 deben in a bold golden inlay. This means that this bull is the largest metal weight in animal form known to us.
Present location PELIZAEUS-MUSEUM [04/030] HILDESHEIM
Inventory number 6249
Dating 18TH DYNASTY
Archaeological Site UNKNOWN
Category WEIGHT
Material LEAD; BRONZE; GOLD
Technique HOLLOW CAST; INLAID
Height 7.2 cm
Width 6 cm
Translation
"[1] 20"
Bibliography•Eggebrecht, A. (Hrsg.), Gewichte in Tiergestalt aus dem alten Ägypten, Hildesheim - Mainz 1992, S. 7-8, Abb. S. 5, S. 6.
•Eggebrecht, A. (Hrsg.), Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim : Die ägyptische Sammlung, Hildesheim - Mainz 1993, Abb. 49.
•Seidel, M., Ein neues Gewicht in Rindergestalt, in: Kessler, D. & Schulz, R. (Hrsg.), Gedenkschrift für Winfried Barta (Münchener Ägyptologische Untersuchungen 4), Frankfurt 1995, S. 353-354, Tf. 1.
globalegyptianmuseum.org

figurine

Present location RIJKSMUSEUM VAN OUDHEDEN [06/001] LEIDEN
Inventory number L.X.5
Dating LATE PERIOD (not before); PTOLEMAIC PERIOD (not after)
Archaeological Site UNKNOWN
Category FIGURINE/STATUETTE
Material LIMESTONE; GOLD
Technique SCULPTURED; GOLD FOILED
Height 22.8 cm
Width 8.5 cm
Depth 13.4 cm
Bibliography•Boeser, P. A. A., Beschrijving van de Egyptische Verzameling XII, Den Haag 1925, nr. 27, pl. VII.
•Schneider, H. D., Life and Death under the Pharaohs, Perth 1997, nr. 107.
•Seipel, W., Ägypten, vol. I, Linz 1989, nr. 465.
globalegyptianmusem.org

miércoles, 11 de enero de 2017

Furniture legs

Furniture legs
A pair of painted wooden legs in the form of lions. Articles of furniture such as beds were dismantled so that they would fit into the small burial chamber with other offerings. Lion legs were popular on Egyptian chairs which normally had backs but no arms and either wooden seats or seat-frames with inlaid panels. These legs probably came from a funerary bed of the Roman Period.
Present location LIVERPOOL MUSEUM [03/061] LIVERPOOL
Inventory number 1978.291.325
Dating ROMAN PERIOD
Archaeological Site UNKNOWN
Category LEG
Material WOOD
Technique TURNED
Height 50 cm
http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/detail.aspx?id=3484
Bibliography•Piotr Bienkowski and Angela Tooley., Gifts of The Nile: Ancient Egyptian Arts and Crafts in Liverpool Museum., 1995., 39; pl.47.

martes, 10 de enero de 2017

Stela of Aafenmut

Stela of Aafenmut

Period:
Third Intermediate Period
Dynasty:
Dynasty 22
Reign:
reign of Osorkon I
Date:
ca. 924–889 B.C.
Geography:
From Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes, Khokha, Tomb of Aafenmut (MMA 832), Pit 2, MMA excavations, 1914–15 (White)
Medium:
Wood, paint
Dimensions:
h. 23 cm (9 1/16 in); w. 18.2 cm (7 3/16 in); th. 3.5 cm (1 3/8 in)
 
 The small wooden stela of Aafenmut is topped by the solar barque in the sky, which is supported by the emblems of the east (on the right) and the west (on the left). The deceased, wearing a wrap-around dress over a tunic, presents incense to the seated sun god, Ra-Harakhty, from whom he is separated by an offering table. 
 
 http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/548518