r/ExploreLuxor
Stela
Stela Bes Pantee Magical Relief
Egyptian
Object Label
Although the winged god with a lion’s face and legs resembles Bes, this image is a composite of several forces represented by the multiple animal heads on the god’s crown. This multifaceted feline divinity stands over bound captives and animals symbolizing chaos—scorpion, turtle, and, apparently, a lion—because they inhabit the dangerous desert or marshes. The god’s power over chaos suggests hisprotective function.
Originally, water flowed through the opening at the bottom of the stela, providing magical security, curing ailments and preventing harm.
Captain
Egyptian. Magical Relief, 305–30 B.C.E.. Limestone, 31 1/2 x 25 1/2 x 5 in., 238 lb. (80 x 64.8 x 12.7 cm, 107.96kg) with mount: 322 lb. (146.06kg). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.229. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Culture
Egyptian
Title
Magical Relief
Date
305–30 B.C.E.
Period
Ptolemaic Period
Geography
Place made: Egypt
Medium
Limestone
Classification
Sculpture
Dimensions
31 1/2 x 25 1/2 x 5 in., 238 lb. (80 x 64.8 x 12.7 cm, 107.96kg) with mount: 322 lb.
(146.06kg)
Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund
Accession Number
37.229
Catalogue description
Soft limestone stela. The central portion of the piece is occupied by a large four-handed figure of the god Bes. He wears a high crown decorated with various animal heads. His two upper hands support figures which occupy the upper corner of the stela, the left figure being a cynocephalus ape, the right an ibis, emblems of the god Thoth. Behind the body of the god are elongated figures which may be conventionalized serpents. At the feet of Bes are two bound captives. Below these figures is a register with three bound and kneeling captives at each end, the intervening space being filled by three animal figures which appear to be a lobster, crab, and a lion-like animal. There is a semi-circular opening in the middle of this register. It probably served a magical purpose in guarding Egypt from the foreign invaders depicted in the captive figures. The workmanship is good.
Condition: The limestone is extremely soft and is chipping in various places. The base of the piece is badly weathered and there are numerous chips, the head of the ibis being badly chipped.
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at
bkmcollections@brooklynmuseum.org.
The Brooklyn Museum
u/Handicapped-007 — 8 hours ago
Sobek statuette
Object Type
figure
Museum number
EA22924
Description
Bronze figure of Sobek, in anthropomophic human form with crocodile head, wearing the sun-disc with plumes and horns (one damaged).
Cultures/periods
Ptolemaic (?)
Late Period (?)
Findspot
Found/Acquired: Egypt
Africa: Egypt
Materials
bronze
Dimensions
Height: 15 centimetres
Width: 4.20 centimetres (max)
Depth: 4.38 centimetres
Location
Not on display
Condition
incomplete - one horn damaged
Subjects
ancient egyptian deity
Associated names
Representation of: Sobek
Acquisition name
Purchased from: Raymond G B Sabatier
Acquisition date
1890
Department
Egypt and Sudan
BM/Big number
EA22924
Registration number
1891,0511.20
Conservation
Treatment: 29 Apr 1976
The British Museum
u/Handicapped-007 — 7 days ago
Mummy Mask
Mummy Mask
332 BC - 30 BC
1973.2.419
On display
Information
Gilded cartonnage mummy mask in a fragmentary state but beautifully detailed. The face is gilded, as is some detail on the decoration, the facial features painted in black. On the crown of the head is a magnificent representation of the vulture goddess Nekhbet, her wings are outstretched and patterned. The body is detailed with a stippled pattern. There is a pattern of red and blue rosettes in a band across the back of the headdress.
CONDITION NOTE 1998: Incomplete, old insect damage, very fragmentary, large areas of loss, loose frags., flaking and lifting dec., poorly supported with tissue and wadding, label adhered, cracked, surface dirt. Conserved for display in 2017.
Circular auction sticker stuck to left part of wig annotated with pencil numbers 629/7. Purchased at Sotheby's, London, 29 June 1922 (MacGregor Collection) Lot 629: Five painted wood Fragments from mummy-cases, all of later period, one with a long inscription relating to a priest of Osiris; also two gilded Cartonnage Heads from mummy-cases, one in very damaged condition, the other well preserved.
Specifications
Accession number
1973.2.419
Collection type
Religion
Culture
Ptolemaic
Place made
Africa: Northern Africa: Egypt
Date made
332 BC - 30 BC
Collector
William MacGregor
Place collected
Africa: Northern Africa: Egypt
Date collected
1922 before
Materials
Gold; Paint; Cartonnage
Measurements
Overall: 405 mm x 245 mm x 177 mm
Credit line
Gift of the Trustees of the Wellcome Collection
Legal status
Permanent collection
Provenance
Henry Solomon Wellcome, Previous owner, Purchased, Owned from: 1922-06-29, Donation, Owned until: 1936-06-25
Wellcome Historical Medical Museum, Donor, From Henry Solomon Wellcome, Owned from: 1922-06-29, Donation, Owned until: 1971
Sotheby's, Auction House, Commissioned, Sold, Owned until: 1922-06-29
MacGregor, William, Previous owner, Purchased, Sold, Owned until: 1922-06-29
Location
On display: World Museum, Level 3, Ancient Egypt Gallery
Publications
Catalogue of the MacGregor Collection of Egyptian Antiquities (Sotheby's 26 June - 6 July 1922), Sotheby's (Percy Newberry), 1922, Page: 81 [629]
Egyptian Treasures in Europe volume 4: National Museums & Galleries on Merseyside, Liverpool, Dirk van der Plas (ed), 2001, Page: 1973.2.419
"The Early Egyptian and Sudanese Collections of Sir Henry Wellcome", in: African Arts, vol. 58, no. 1 (Spring 2025) pp. 44-63, Kenneth Griffin, 2025
National Museums Liverpool
u/Handicapped-007 — 3 days ago
Amulet
Faience djed-pillar
Accession Number
AB3
Current Location
House of Death (ground floor), Amulets case, Shelf 2
Period
Late Period
Dynasty
Twenty-sixth Dynasty
Material
Faience
Weight (grams)
2 grams.
Number of Elements
1
Measurements
Height: 28mm | Width: 12mm | Depth: 8mm
Description
This is a faience djed-pillar amulet, which Margaret Murray dated to the Twenty-sixth Dynasty. The djed-pillar was said to be the backbone of Osiris. The word in Egyptian means 'to be enduring'. The djed-pillar is a common amulet from the Old Kingdom. This examples is probably from Abydos. The object was gifted to the University of Wales, Aberystwyth by John Bancroft Willans, a subscriber of the Egypt Exploration Fund/Society, who received the object in 1903. It was subsequently gifted to the Egypt Centre in 1997.
Bibliography
Andrews, Carol 1994. Amulets of ancient Egypt. London: The British Museum Press.
Other Identity
17 (Margaret Murray list)
Previous Owners
Egypt Exploration Society | John Bancroft Willans (1881–1957) | Aberystwyth University
Acquisition
Gift, Aberystwyth University (24 Mar 1997)
Last modified: 27 Mar 2026
u/Handicapped-007 — 24 hours ago
Model
model group; boat; figure
Object Type
model group
boat
figure
Museum number
EA34273
Description
Wooden model of boat under oars: the hull, carved from solid wood, is unusually narrow in proportion to length, painted red; bow and stern slightly raised, stern curled over and notched to receive steering-oar. Deck slightly hollowed out to leave gunwales but cambered so that crest of camber is slightly higher than gunwales and has traces of white paint and redthwarts; on the raised fore-deck is the usual narrow central strip of wood, once painted red, which may represent the end of the long hogging-beam (?) running the length of the boat, the rest of which will once have been shown in paint. The stern deck is raised but lacks a centre strip. The gunwales, which were also painted red, are pierced with eight holes a side, most probably for loops to take the oars. On the starboard quarter just abaft the steering-post is a deep notch which presumably was not part of the original design; possibly a section of wood or filling has fallen out. There is no mast or rigging. Steering-post with steering-oar attached. The steering-post had been broken off short and has now been replaced in its correct position, though it is not certain that the present post is original. The steering-oar is painted white/red/white with red blade crossed by two black lines; there is a small hole in the upper part of the blade. The tiller is absent. The smaller spare steering-oar has a tiller which may be modern. At intervals along the deck are seven pairs of white-painted blocks of wood as seats for the rowers. The oars for rowing, of which only five originals now exist, have the looms painted white/red/white like the steering-oar; the blades are red. Two unpainted oars have almost certainly been added in modern times. In the bow stands the pilot with arms outstretched as if holding a sounding-pole horizontally; behind him is the cloaked squatting figure of the owner. On the main deck are the figures of fourteen rowers, seven standing and seven seated, but it is certain that not all these figures belonged originally to this boat; either the standing figures or the seated figures belong to it, but not both. The fact that there are seven pairs of wooden seats indicates that the original crew consisted of seven seated rowers a side, of which half remain, and that the standing men are the intruders. Five oars are preserved and are fastened to the wrists of the rowers by modern thread. In the stern stands the helmsman with arms in the attitude of steering; his right hand is pierced to take the tiller. The members of the crew are painted with red bodies, black wigs, and white skirts, and three of them have fabric cloaks as well. The hands in some cases show the thumbs, but the fingers are not indicated. The face of the owner was once red, but only a little paint remains; hair black, painted cloak white. Squatting figure of owner cut in one piece; holes of uncertain purpose have been drilled on his left side behind his legs and on the shoulder. The arms of the crew are pegged to the shoulders and in five cases the left hands are pierced, presumably for the ancient thread which once secured the oars to the rowers. Four of the standing figures have their legs cut off at the ankle, as if their feet were at a lower level than the existing deck, i.e. at the level of a real deck; all the seated rowers show their feet. All figures have the lower part of their legs separated. The central strip in the bow is secured by three pegs.
Cultures/periods
12th Dynasty
Findspot
Found/Acquired: Egypt
Africa: Egypt
Materials
wood
Type series
Reisner Type II
Technique
painted
pierced
carved
Dimensions
Length: 166.50 centimetres
Width: 22.20 centimetres
Depth: 10.80 centimetres
Curator's comments
In its present condition the model has been restored, and it is not quite certain whether the present steering-oar originally belonged to this boat; the existence of a second steering-oar which came with this boat and which, though smaller, is painted in exactly the same way as the one on the model makes it uncertain which of the two was original; only one can bereferred to this boat, which is a type which carries only one set of steering-gear; one oar may have come from another boat in the same tomb.
Bibliography:
R. Schulz, 'Die Entwicklung und Bedeutung des Kuboiden Statuentypus' 34 (Hildesheim, 1992.1992). p.756, [101].
Bibliographic references
Glanville 1972 / Catalogue of Egyptian Antiquities in the British Museum II: Wooden Model Boats (19)
Location
Not on display
Condition
Fair. A great deal of paint has worn or been knocked off; half the seated crew are absent, while the standing rowers probably do not belong here. One standing rower has lost his right arm and the feet of the standing rowers, where shown, are only stumps. The starboard bank of oars alone is preserved. A wedge of wood is missing from the right side of the figure of the owner, and, as noted above, there is a large flaw on the starboard quarter. The central strip of wood on the raised fore-deck is broken off at the end of the bow.
Acquisition name
Purchased from: R J Moss & Co
Acquisition date
1901
Department
Egypt and Sudan
BM/Big number
EA34273
Registration number
1901,0311.11
Conservation
Treatment: 31 Mar 2014
The British Museum
u/Handicapped-007 — 2 days ago
Amulet
Amulet uraeus serpent
Accession Number
AB6
Current Location
House of Death (ground floor), Amulets case, Shelf 2
Period
Late Period
Material
Faience
Animal
Snake
Weight (grams)
8 grams.
Number of Elements
1
Measurements
Height: 42mm | Width: 14mm | Depth: 30mm
Description
This faience uraeus serpent amulet is upon a rectangular base with a loop on the back for suspension. The uraeus was the emblem of royalty. It also represented regeneration due to the shedding of its skin. This example is possibly from Abydos. The object was gifted to the University of Wales, Aberystwyth by John Bancroft Willans, a subscriber of the Egypt Exploration Fund/Society, who received the object in 1903. It was subsequently gifted to the Egypt Centre in 1997.
Bibliography
Andrews, Carol 1994. Amulets of ancient Egypt. London: The British Museum Press. Lacovara, Peter, Betsy Teasley Trope, and Sue H. D'Auria (eds) 2001. The collector's eye: masterpieces of Egyptian Art from The Thalassic Collection, ltd, courtesy: Theodore and Aristea Halkedis. Atlanta: Michel C. Carlos Museum, Emory University. [p. 159 for more information on the uraeus amulet]
Other Identity
13 (Margaret Murray list)
Previous Owners
Egypt Exploration Society | John Bancroft Willans (1881–1957) | Aberystwyth University
Acquisition
Gift, Aberystwyth University (24 Mar 1997)
Last modified: 27 Mar 2026
The Egypt Centre
https://egyptcentre.abasetcollections.com/Objects/Details/452?SavedSelections=$Search-Amul$Page-1
u/Handicapped-007 — 1 day ago
Sarcophagus of Harkhebit
Late Period (Saite)
595–526 B.C.
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 123
Horkhebit was a "Royal Seal Bearer, Sole Companion, Chief Priest of the Shrines of Upper and Lower Egypt, and Overseer of the Cabinet" in early Dynasty 26. His tomb was a great shaft over sixty feet deep sunk into the desert and solid limestone bedrock in the Late Period cemetery that covers most of the area east of the Djoser complex at Saqqara. In a huge plain chamber at the bottom of the shaft, a rectangular rock core was left standing and hollowed out to house this anthropoid sarcophagus. When the tomb was excavated by the Egyptian government in 1902, the sarcophagus contained the remains of a badly decomposed gilded cedar coffin, and a mummy that wore a mask of gilded silver, gold finger and toe stalls, and numerous small amulets. Other canopic and shabti equipment accompanied the burial. The finds went to the Egyptian Museum, Cairo, while this sarcophagus was purchased from the Egyptian government by the Metropolitan Museum.
The sarcophagus is one of a group with plump, squarish broad faces, smooth unarticulated bodies, and slightly protruding feet that originate in the Memphite area and date, when their dates can be closely ascertained, to the time from the reign of Psamtik II (ca. 595–589 B.C.) through the reign of Amasis (570-526 B.C.). Several of them may have been produced by the same workshop; this one bears a strong resemblance to one in Leiden datable by his name to the reign of Amasis. Technically the sarcophagus is one of the masterpieces of late Egyptian hard-stone carving. The interiors of the extraordinarily rendered sunk-relief hieroglyphs and figures were left rough and may have been intended to be painted, perhaps in green. The long text on the lid comes from the Book of the Dead.
Overview
Title: Sarcophagus of Harkhebit
Period: Late Period (Saite)
Dynasty: Dynasty 26, mid to late
Date: 595–526 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt, Memphite Region, Saqqara, Late Period cemetery, Tomb of Harkhebit, burial chamber, Egyptian Antiquities Service excavations, 1902
Medium: Greywacke
Dimensions: H. 256.5 cm (101 in.); W. 127 cm (50 in.) at shoulders; th. (of lid and base together) 132.1 cm (52 in.)
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1907
Object Number: 07.229.1a, b
Curatorial •
Title: Sarcophagus of Harkhebit
Period: Late Period (Saite)
Dynasty: Dynasty 26, mid to late
Date: 595–526 B.C.
Geography: From Egypt, Memphite Region, Saqqara, Late Period cemetery, Tomb of Harkhebit, burial chamber, Egyptian Antiquities Service excavations, 1902
Medium: Greywacke
Dimensions: H. 256.5 cm (101 in.); W. 127 cm (50 in.) at shoulders; th. (of lid and base together) 132.1 cm (52 in.)
Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1907
Object Number: 07.229.1a, b
Curatorial Department: Egyptian Art
Translation
Box (same text on both sides, except for the ending)
Revered before Ptah-Sokar, royal sealbearer, sole companion, chief overseer of the national shrines of Upper and Lower Egypt, chamberlain Harkhebit, justified, possessor of reverence, son of the god’s scribe Padi-Hor (left), born of Ta-senet-en-Hor (right).
Lid, upper left
Recitation: I will be the protection of the burial of the Osiris chamberlain Harkhebit, justified. Figures: Hapi, Qebeh-senuf, He Who is Under his Moringa Tree, Anubis.
Lid, lower left
Recitation by Nephthys: (2) I have encircled my brother, Osiris chamberlain (3) Harkhebit. Your flesh will not be bent.
Lid, upper right
Recitation: I will be the protection of the burial of the Osiris chamberlain Harkhebit, justified. Figures: Imseti, Dua-mutef, He Who Sees his Father, Farsighted Horus.
Lid, lower right
Recitation by Isis: (2) Osiris chamberlain Harkhebit, (3) I am your sister Isis. I will be your protection.
Text in the center (Spell 72 of the Book of the Dead)
Recitation by the Osiris chamberlain Harkhebit: Hail to you, lords of order, free (2) of disorder, who are alive forever, to the limits of eternity! You should reveal the world to me, since I am effective (3) in what you do, I am in control of your magic, I am recognized as you are. You should save (4) me from the aggressive crocodile in this doubly-ordered land. You should give me my mouth that I might speak (5) with it.
Offerings will be given to me in your presence, because I know you, I know (6) your names. I know the name of that great god to whose nose you give sustenance: Tekemu (7) is his name; he opens the region below the eastern horizon of the sky; he opens the region below the western horizon (8) of the sky. I depart when he departs, I proceed when he proceeds, and vice-versa. You will not remove me from your starry path. The Rebel will not gain control (9) of me. I will not be rejected at your gate. You will not close your doors on me.
My bread is in Pe; (10) my beer is in Dep. I have taken possession of the temple that my father Atum gave me. He established (11) for me an earthly house, with barley and emmer in it without number, and festival is made in it for me by my son (12) of my body. May you give me invocation offerings of bread and beer, cattle and fowl, alabaster and clothing, incense and oil, every good and pure thing on which a god lives.
I will be set forever (13) in any form I desire. I go downstream to the Field of Reeds, I go upstream to the Field of Offering. I am the Double Lion.
James P. Allen 2004
Provenance
Excavated at Saqqara by the Service des Antiquités de l'Egypte, 1902. Purchased from the Egyptian Government, 1907.
References
Lythgoe, Albert M. 1907. "Recent Egyptian Acquisitions." In The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 2, no. 12 (December), pp. 193–94, fig. 1.
Russmann, Edna R. 1973. "The Statue of Amenemope-em-hat." In Metropolitan Museum Journal, 8, cf. p. 37, n. 13.
Metropolitan Museum of Art 1977. Ancient Egypt in the Metropolitan Museum Journal, 1–11. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 103, n. 13.
Arnold, Dieter 1997. "The Late Period Tombs of Hor-khebit, Wennefer and Wereshnefer at Saqqara." In Études sur l'Ancien Empire et la nécropole de Saqqâra dédiées à Jean-Philippe Lauer. Montpellier: Université. Paul Valéry - Montpellier III, pp. 31–3; 40–3, figs. 1–5.
Jansen-Winkeln, Karl 2014. Inschriften der Spätzeit, Teil IV: Die 26. Dynastie, 2 vols. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, pp. 908-909.
Trismegistos. no. 90677.”
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
u/Handicapped-007 — 8 days ago
Amulet of Amun
PLACE CREATED Sudan, Africa
CULTURE Nubian
PERIOD Napatan
DATE 722-332 BCE
MEDIUM Silver, gilding
CREDIT LINE Egyptian Purchase Fund
DIMENSIONS 4 1/2 x 1in. (11.4 x 2.5 cm)
OBJECT NUMBER 2006.036.001
Label Text
Amun, "the king of the gods", was worshipped by both the ancient Egyptians and the ancient Nubians. His cult center in Nubia at the "holy mountain" of Gebel Barkal was second in size only to the great temple of Amun at Karnak. As in Egypt, Amun was closely connected with kingship, and Nubian rulers were frequently called "beloved of Amun". This remarkable amulet would have undoubtedly been worn by a Nubian king or queen. Similar pendants have been recovered from the royal tombs at Kurru and Nuri in Sudan, and Nubian royalty is often depicted wearing similarly impressive decorations. On the back of the figure is a loop for a chain so that the amulet could be worn around the neck. The figure shows the god Amun with his crown surmounted by two ostrich plumes. At his neck he wears a pendant of the rising sun placed within a shrine. His broad hips and low-slung kilt are characteristic of similar Nubian figures. He is shown with his proper right leg advanced, unlike most Egyptian figures, in which the proper left leg steps forward. It is made of gilded silver, which reflects the belief that the bones of the gods were silver and their flesh gold.
Exhibition History
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, 2006 - December 1, 2014
African Cosmos: Stellar Arts, Michael C. Carlos Museum, January 31 - June 21, 2015
MCCM Permanent Collection Reinstallation, July 8, 2015 - Present
Published References
Ancient Treasures IV (New York: Antiquarium Ltd, 2006), 6.
Michael C. Carlos Museum: Highlights of the Collections (Atlanta: Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2011), 26.
Marjorie M. Fisher, et al., Ancient Nubia: African Kingdoms on the Nile (Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2012), 126, figure 83.
TERMS
PROVENANCE
Said to be ex private collection, United Kingdom, acquired during diplomatic service in Sudan, early 1970s. Ex coll. Michael Hedqvist [Phoenix Ancient Art SA], Geneva, Switzerland, acquired from Swiss art market, 2001. With Joseph Coplin (1965-2022) and Robin Beningson [Antiquarium, Ltd.], New York, New York, from 2005. Purchased by MCCM from Antiquarium, Ltd.
STATUS On view
COLLECTIONS Ancient Egyptian, Nubian, and Near Eastern
The Michael C. Carlos Museum at Emory University
https://collections.carlos.emory.edu/objects/13675/amulet-of-amun
u/Handicapped-007 — 13 days ago
Statuette
Bes Figure (Forgery)
1850 AD before
M1151
On display
Information
Silver figure of Bes standing and holding a shield. Seen by Revd. Greville Chester and identified as a forgery.
Formerly in the Joseph Sams collection (ms cat. p. 16, no. 56). 3 3/4 inches tall.
Specifications
Accession number
M11510
Collection type
Religion
Culture
Egyptian
Place made
Africa: Northern Africa: Egypt
Date made
1850 AD before
Collector
Joseph Mayer
Place collected
Africa: Northern Africa: Egypt
Date collected
1850 before
Materials
Silver
Measurements
Overall: 95 mm x 55 mm
Credit line
Gift of Joseph Mayer
Legal status
Permanent collection
Provenance
Joseph Mayer, Donor, Purchased, Donation, Owned until: 1867
Joseph Sams, Previous owner
Location
On display: World Museum, Level 3, Ancient Egypt Gallery
Publications
Catalogue of Antiquities from Ancient Egypt, Joseph Sams, 1839, Page: 16 [56]
Catalogue of the Egyptian Museum, No. VII, Colquitt Street, Liverpool, Joseph Mayer, 1852, Page: 19 [210]
World Museums Liverpool
https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/bes-figure-forgery
u/Handicapped-007 — 2 days ago
[7931] Mummy mask, Object, Registered, Africa, Egypt, Upper Egypt, Thebes (Luxor)
New Kingdom (Dyn. 18)
Mummy mask for a woman, made of linen and plaster with a painted surface. The face is gilded, with eyes of inlaid stone. The woman wears a head-dress of vulture feathers over a tripartite wig or head-dress, which is now white but has traces of dark paint. The neck and chest of the mask are covered by several rows representing a beaded broad collar.
Masks of this type are rare. They were produced at Thebes (modern Luxor) at the very beginning of the New Kingdom, when Egypt was reuniting itself after a period of warfare and political upheaval. This woman was probably from a high-ranking noble family with close links to the king.
Acc. no. 8106 is broken tab from the bottom of this mask
Manchester Museum
u/Handicapped-007 — 8 days ago
Isis and Horus
ECM.6008-2017
Parts
Object number
ECM.6008-2017
Object type
statuette/figurine
Identification
Description
large Isis and Harpocrates
Description
Material
bronze
Field collection
Collection place
Egypt
u/Handicapped-007 — 10 days ago
Statuette of Hathor
664–30 BCE OR 664–330 BCE
Egypt, Late period (715–332 BCE), Dynasty 26 or later
Medium
Bronze, solid cast
Measurements
Overall: 18.8 x 3.4 x 4.4 cm (7 3/8 x 1 5/16 x 1 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of John L. Severance1942.773
Location
107 Egyptian
Provenance
Purchased from R.H. Blanchard, Blanchard's Egyptian Museum, Cairo, by John L. Severance
Citations
Catalogue of the John L. Severance Collection: Bequest of John L. Severance, 1936. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1942. Mentioned: p. 86, cat. no. 262 archive.org
Wunderlich, Silvia. "Department of Egyptian Art: Bronzes." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 29, no. 9 (November 1942): 158-159 Mentioned: p. 158 www.jstor.org
Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 Reproduced: p.429; Mentioned: p.429-30
Exhibition History
Exhibition of the John L. Severance Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 12, 1942-March 14, 1943).
CMA 1942, no. 262
Cite this Page
{{cite web|title=Statuette of Hathor|url=https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.773|author=|year=664–30 BCE OR 664–330 BCE|access-date=04 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Cleveland Museum of Art
u/Handicapped-007 — 9 days ago
stela (sculptor's model? trial piece?)with Sobek and a King
Object Type
stela (sculptor's model? trial piece?)
Museum number
EA27390
Description
Limestone sculpture of a Ptolemaic king standing beside the god Sobek, both with traces of blue paint outlined around their body.
The king is shown on the right side and wears the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. A fragmentary uraeus cobra is visible above his forehead, the head of the cobra now missing. His eyes are narrow with heavy ridges, and hehas a short nose and small mouth. His face is soft and fleshy in appearance. The upper body of the king is bare, with soft modelling of the musculature of the chest and abdomen. He wears a short shendyt kilt, and his left leg advances forward ahead of the right. There are small traces of gilded detail across the body and crown, particularly at the chin, and in the folds of the arms and legs.
The god Sobek is shown on the left side and wears the solar disc with a large uraeus cobra depicted in the lower half. Below this he wears a long smooth wig. The snout and teeth of the deity are visible, and clear traces of gilded detail are visible across his face. His upper body is bare with a plain broad collar worn around the neck. He wears a short kilt, holds his arms by his sides, and advances forward with the left leg mirroing the striding pose of the king. Further traces of gilded detail are visible along the sides of the arms and upper body.
On the reverse, the uneven stone surface has several gouges and scratches. The top right corner of the stone slab has broken off, and there are small chips and scratches to the stone surface between the king and deity, and around the edges of the base.
Cultures/periods
Ptolemaic
Findspot
Found/Acquired: Egypt
Africa: Egypt
Dimensions
Height: 39 centimetres
Thickness: 11 centimetres
Width: 23 centimetres
Curator's comments
This object has been described as a statue (PM VIII), a dyad slab (Stanwick 2002) or as a stela. The piece could be considered as a sculptor’s model or trial piece, used by the sculptor to practice or perfect their carving skills and as an aid to ensure the production of an even two or three-dimensional sculpture; however, this is perhaps less likely considering the small traces of surviving paint which suggest that the entire background behind both figures was originally painted blue, while both figures were gilded. There does not appear to be any inscription across the obverse, but it is possible that there was once an inscription across the now damaged reverse. The stone slants forward, thus the figures appear at a bent angle particular when viewing the objects from either side.
The god Sobek had various cult centres within the Fayum and south in Upper Egypt, as well as the double temple of Kom Ombo in Aswan that was rebuilt by Ptolemy XIII and shared by both Sobek and the god Horus.
Further Bibliography:
Musée de l'Ephèbe, 1998. La gloire d'Alexandrie : Le Cap d'Agde, Musée de l'Ephèbe, 29 août - 29 novembre 1998 p. 179-18, no. 128.
P. Stanwick, 2002. Portraits of the Ptolemies, p. 70, 110-111, no. 70.
H.Kockelmann, Der Herr der Seen, Sümpfe und Flussläufe, ÄA 74, Wiesbaden 2017, p. 268, Pl. 27
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about curator's comments
Published:
PM viii, p. 195.
Cleopatra's Egypt, Brooklyn 1988, p. 106 [16] = Kleopatra, Mainz 1989, pp. 108-109 [14].
Le gloire d'Alexandrie, Paris 1998, pp.179-180 [128].
Stanwick, Portraits of the Ptolemies, 2002, pp.70, 110-111 [70].
Bibliographic references
Brooklyn 1988 / Cleopatra's Egypt: Age of the Ptolemies (no. 16)
Location
Not on display
Exhibition history
2006-2007, Frankfurt, Museum Alter Plastic, Egypt, Greece and Rome
2015-2016 12 Dec-14 Feb, London, BM, Room3, Crocodile Mummy
2025-2026 6 Oct-19 Jan, New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Divine Egypt
Condition
fair
Subjects
ancient egyptian deity
Associated names
Representation of: Sobek
Acquisition date
1896
Department
Egypt and Sudan
BM/Big number
EA27390
Registration number
1896,0511.50
Conservation
Treatment: 29 Sep 2015
Treatment: 23 Jul 1988
Treatment: 11 Dec 1998
The British Museum
u/Handicapped-007 — 7 days ago
Stela with Sobek
Object Type
stela
Museum number
EA1325
Description
Round-topped sandstone stela with Caesarion offering to deities: at the top, below a winged sun disc with pendent uraei, wearing sun-discs and flanking a scarab, symbol of the newly-risen sun, is a double offering scene framed by two was sceptres and the sign for 'heaven'. At the right a pharaoh wearing the Double Crown, who is unnamed since the two cartouches are empty, presents two cos lettuces to the ithyphallic fertility god, Min, whose favourite food they were. As usual, Min wears two plumes on his head and a flail floats over his upraised arm. The hieroglyphs name the god specifically as Min of Coptos. Behind him, separated by his cult fetish and the further epithet 'Possessor of Joy', stands his consort at Coptos, Great Isis the divine mother, wearing vulture headdress and cow's horns and disc, and carrying a papyrus sceptre and 'ankh'. In the other scene the unnamed king offers wine to Geb, prince of the gods, who wears the White Crown of Upper Egypt, and to crocodile-headed Sobek, who is specifically said to be a guest in Min's temple. Both gods carry was sceptres and 'ankhs'.
Cultures/periods
Roman Period
Production date
30BC
Production place
Made in: Egypt (?)
Africa: Egypt
Findspot
Found/Acquired: Coptos (historic - city)
Materials
sandstone
Technique
incised
Dimensions
Height: 90 centimetres (module)
Height: 75.50 centimetres (stela)
Width: 56 centimetres (module)
Width: 53 centimetres (stela)
Depth: 24 centimetres (module)
Depth: 11 centimetres (stela)
Inscriptions
Inscription type: inscription
Inscription script: Demotic
Inscription translation: Titles/epithets include : Min of Coptos Titles/epithers include : Possessor of Joy
Inscription note: Incised. Empty cartouches are frequently encountered in Ptolemaic royal scenes and the unnamed ruler does display the typical Ptolemaic physiognomy, but a fixed date is provided by the text in demotic, the third and most cursive of the Egyptian scripts, incised in thirty-one red-filled lines beneath the figured scene. It is a legal contract and so is dated exactly as a contract written on a demotic papyrus would be. It begins with the regnal year with month and day: 'Year 22 which is the equivalent of year 7, first month of the pr.t-season (Tybi), day 22', which in the Gregorian calendar is 19 January 30 BC. It continues 'of the female pharaoh, the bodily daughter of kings who were on their part kings born of kings, Cleopatra the beneficent father-loving goddess and of pharaoh Ptolemy called Caesar, the father- and mother-loving god'. Thus the unnamed pharaoh is Caesarion. Note: The date is read as such by S. P . Vleeming, 'Studia Demotica' 5 (2001), No. 158, p. 132. Farid, Fünf Demotische Stelen, 36-37, reads ‘1st month of the inundation (Ax.t)’ and comes to the date 21 September 31 BC.
Inscription subject
legal
Curator's comments
The contract is an agreement drawn up in perpetuity between a guild of thirty-six linen manufacturers (who are all individually named) and their families and, in the first instance, two high-ranking priestly officials of Coptos, concerning the expenses of the local Apis bull. The sacred animal of Min was also a bull, so assimilation between it and the more famousApis would not have been difficult. In the second instance the agreement is with the guild of local embalmers and concerns payment for the embalming of the Apis and other local sacred animals, for the training of the embalmers and the cost of clothing their children and wives. The guild of linen manufacturers is to be paid in gold and wine. Just as though the text were written on a papyrus, it is signed by its scribe and there is even a list of witnesses' names at the end. There can be no doubt that this stela was set up in the house used by guild members, where it would have served as a visible reminder of their agreed rights. Thus far similar texts have been found only on papyrus.
Bibliography:
A. Farid, 'Fünf demotische Stelen aus Berlin, Chicago, Durham, London and Oxford mit zwei demotischen Turinschriften aus Paris und einer Bibliographie der demotischcn Inschriften' (Berlin, 1995), 32-76;
S. Walker & P. Higgs [eds.], 'Cleopatra: Regina d'Egitto' (Milan, 2000), p.127 [II.13] = S. Walker & P. Higgs [eds.], 'Cleopatra of Egypt' (London, 2001), pp. 174-175 [173];
B. Porter & R. Moss, 'Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings' II (2)(Oxford, 1972), p. 295;
S. P .Vleeming, 'Studia Demotica' 5, No. 158, pp. 131-45.
H.Kockelmann, Der Herr der Seen, Sümpfe und Flussläufe, ÄA 74, Wiesbaden 2017, p. 331, Pl. 34
Bibliographic references
Quirke 1990 / Who were the Pharaohs? A History of their Names with a List of Cartouches (p43)
Walker & Higgs 2001 / Cleopatra of Egypt: from History to Myth (173)
Location
Not on display
Exhibition history
Exhibited:
2001 9 Aug-2002 25 Feb, Chicago, Cleopatra
2006-2007 17 Oct-Jan, Hamburg, Bucerius Kunst Forum, Cleopatra
2013 28 June-6 Oct, Bonn, Cleopatra Eternal Diva.
2015, 19th June - 5th Sept. Wrexham County Borough Museum. Egyptian Written Culture.
2016 12 Mar-8 May, Carlisle, Tullie House, Writing for Eternity
2016 20 May-4 Sept, The Salisbury Museum, Writing for Eternity
2016 16 Sept-10 Jan 2017, Abergavenny Museum, Writing for Eternity
2017 21 Jan-21 May, Museum of Hartlepool, Writing for Eternity
Condition
fair
Subjects
ancient egyptian deity
Associated names
Named in inscription & portrayed: Min
Named in inscription & portrayed: Isis
Named in inscription & portrayed: Sobek
Named in inscription & portrayed: Geb
Named in inscription: Cleopatra the Great
Representation of: Caesarion
Acquisition name
Purchased from: R J Moss & Co
Acquisition date
1901
Acquisition notes
The ‘British Museum Trustees Report’ lists Memphis as provenance, whereas Budge’s British Museum Guide (Sculpture) (1909), mentions Karnak as place of origin. The latter is followed by PM II2, 295. Based on the content, however, Farid (1995) convincingly claims that a provenance in Coptos is beyond doubt. This has been followed since.
Department
Egypt and Sudan
BM/Big number
EA1325
Registration number
1901,0311.3
Conservation
Treatment: 24 Apr 2000
Treatment: 03 May 2000
Treatment: 10 May 2013
The British Museum
u/Handicapped-007 — 6 days ago
Bes Amulet
ECM.1540-2010
Parts
Object number
ECM.1540-2010
Object type
Jewellery
Identification
Description
amulet - Bes
Other number
263(?)
Description
Dimensions
Height: 8.6cm
Width: 2.9cm
Material
Faience
Physical description
Large amulet of the god Bes, well modelled in green faience, bow legged, lion's mask, naked except for high feather headdress. Feet on pval base; suspension loop behind headdress
History and association
Associated person
Myers, William Joseph, 1858 - 1899 (Compiler)
Field collection
Collection place
Egypt
Eaton College
u/Handicapped-007 — 12 days ago
Statuette
Sobek on modern mount
Inventory number
Main number: E 10915
Collection
Department of Egyptian Antiquities
Description
Object name/Title
Denomination: figurine
Description/Feature
Sobek (crocodile, atef crown)
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Dimensions Height: 16 cm; Length: 12.4 cm
Materials and techniques Material: copper alloy
Secondary material: gold
Technique: round bump, veneer (traces of gold plating on the eyes)
PLACES AND DATES
Date Low Period (-664 - -332)
HISTORY
Collector / Previous owner / Commissioner / Archaeologist / DedicateEM. Sivadjian, Mihran, Seller; Antique Dealer / Art Dealer
Acquisition details purchase
Acquisition date committee/commission date: 27/06/1901
Date of the council: 01/07/1901
Owned by State
Held by Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities
LOCATION OF OBJECT
Current location
Sully, [AE] Room 336 - The Nile, Showcase 7
Index
Acquisition method of purchase
Namefigurine
Materialsor - copper alloy
Plating techniques - round-hump
Description/FeaturesSobek - crocodile - atef crown
PeriodBasse Epoch
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hornemann, Bodil, Types of Ancient Egyptian Statuary, 6, Copenhagen, Munksgaard, 1969, sheet 1623
Last updated on 02.07.2025
The contents of this entry do not necessarily take account of the latest data.
Permalink: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010007005
JSON Record: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010007005.json
The Louvre Museum
u/Handicapped-007 — 6 days ago
Shabti
Shabti of Mut-hetep-it
1069 BC - 945 BC (Dynasty 21)
16.4.61.49
On display
Information
Inscribed: "The illuminated one, the Osiris, the Lady of the house and chantress of amun, Muthetept, justified".
Described by Charles Gatty in 1877 as being inscribed for "Muhotep, who is described as a singing woman of the temple of Amun".
Information
Inscribed: "The illuminated one, the Osiris, the Lady of the house and chantress of amun, Muthetept, justified".
Described by Charles Gatty in 1877 as being inscribed for "Muhotep, who is described as a singing woman of the temple of Amun".
CONDITION NOTE 1998: Pitted, surface cracked, chipped, concretions, surface dirt.
Specification
Accession number
16.4.61.49
Collection type
Religion
Culture
Third Intermediate Period
Place made
Africa: Northern Africa: Egypt: Thebes
Date made
1069 BC - 945 BC (Dynasty 21)
Collector
Hermann Philip
Place collected
Africa: Northern Africa: Egypt: Thebes
Date collected
1850 - 1860
Materials
Egyptian Faience
Measurements
Overall: 87 mm x 28 mm x 18 mm
Note
Previously in the collection of Dr Herman Philip and Mrs Dora Philip of 32 Gayfield Square, Edinburgh.
Credit line
Gift of Mr William Crosfield, 1861
Legal status
Permanent collection
Provenance
Crosfield, William Henry, Donor, Purchased, Owned from: 1861-04-13, Sold, Owned until: 1861-04-16
Hermann Philip, Previous owner, Purchased, Donation, Owned until: 1861-04-13
Location
On display: World Museum, Level 3, Ancient Egypt Gallery
Publications
Catalogue of the Mayer Collection Part 1. The Egyptian, Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities. Second and Revised Edition, Charles Gatty, 1879, Page: 45 [241].
Would Museums Liverpool
https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/artifact/shabti-of-mut-hetep-it
u/Handicapped-007 — 3 days ago
Mummy mask
ECM.6275-2017
Parts
Object number
ECM.6275-2017
Object type
Mummy mask
Identification
Description
mummy mask with gilded face
Comments
James Schools displays
Description
Material
cartonnage
Field collection
Collection place
Egypt
Eton College
u/Handicapped-007 — 10 days ago
Votive bronze figure of Amon-Re
Object number
ECM.1531-2010
Object type
statuette/figurine
Identification
Description
Amon-Re
Other number
245
Description
Dimensions
Height: 19.6cm
Width: 3.7cm
Material
Metal
bronze
Physical description
Votive bronze figure of Amon-Re shown standing, wearing high plumed crown, divine beard, broad collar and shendyet-kilt; left foot to the fore, left hand forward to grasp sceptre, now missing; on rectangular tanged base
History and association
Associated person
Myers, William Joseph, 1858 - 1899 (Compiler)
Field collection
Collection place
Egypt
Erin College
u/Handicapped-007 — 12 days ago