r/ancientegypt

The 18-meter Colossi of Memnon are the surviving statues of a giant temple built by Pharaoh Amenhotep III. Due to cracks from an earthquake, one statue made sounds at dawn, which the Greeks linked to the myth of the hero Memnon. This mysterious "singing" stopped after Roman restoration, and two sphinxes from this temple complex now decorate an embankment in St. Petersburg.
Luxor, 2024.

Standing Mummiform Figure of Osiris
664–332 B.C.E.

Caption
Standing Mummiform Figure of Osiris, 664–332 B.C.E.. Bronze, 10 9/16 x 2 15/16 x 1 15/16 in. (26.8 x 7.5 x 5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Collection Fund, 11.664. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery
Not on view

Collection
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Catalogue description
Standing mummiform bronze figure of Osiris. Conventional posture. Hands grasping flail and crook; crown of Upper Egypt with feather on each side; large uraeus, no inscription. Heavy socket on base.

Condition:
Good, left side of base broken, nose slightly scarred. Apparently cast solid. Good routine workmanship.

Title
Standing Mummiform Figure of Osiris

Date
664–332 B.C.E.

Period
Late Period (probably)

Geography
Place made: Egypt

Medium
Bronze

Classification
Sculpture

Dimensions
10 9/16 x 2 15/16 x 1 15/16 in. (26.8 x 7.5 x 5 cm)

Credit Line
Museum Collection Fund

Accession Number
11.664 j

Have information?
Have information about an artwork? Contact us at bkmcollections@brooklynmuseum.org

The Brooklyn Museum

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/5726

Just returned from a trip to Egypt. Blown away by the GEM. Some fascinating exhibits. Although adult size, this armchair must date from the beginning of his reign. The king and queen are standing beneath the rays of the Aten in the Amarna artictic style and their older, aten names, are still visible on the back and arms.

Models for sculptor
limestone, early Ptolemaic period (4th-3rd century BC)

unknown provenance  (inv. no. E 0.9.40015-0.9.40016)                      

Skilled Egyptian sculptors commonly used models on small, easily transportable slabs to practice or teach the art of relief carving. The use of these models dates back to the New Kingdom (16th-12th centuries BC), but became more widespread during the Late Ptolemaic period (7th-1st centuries BC).

The museum possesses two exquisite limestone model slabs of unknown provenance. One shows the profile of a ruler wearing a blue crown and the uraeus, the cobra symbol of royalty. The other model, carved on both sides, depicts the profile of a young ruler, wearing an elaborate wig, a uraeus on his forehead, and a broad, barely visible necklace.

On the back, however, there is a portrait of a female bust with a vulture-shaped headdress, a royal as well as divine attributes.

The three figures on the two slabs are drawn according to the canons of the most ancient period with the head in profile, the eye and the shoulder facing forward, but the stylistic rendering, the rounded face, the thick lips curled upwards, reveal a later execution, from the beginning of the Ptolemaic Period.

Castello Sforzesco

https://www.milanocastello.it/i-musei/galleria-antico-egitto/highlights/modelli-per-scultore

Mummy Portrait of a Woman
A.D. 175–200
Unknown artist/maker
On view at Getty Villa, Gallery 210, Roman Egypt
View full record details

Romano-Egyptian funerary portrait of a woman painted in tempera (pigments suspended in animal glue) on a cedar of Lebanon panel. Although not presenting a psychological depth comparable to the best encaustic portraits, this tempera product is notable for its bright, colorful presentation characterized by a bold linearity quickly executed. Tempera is a fast-drying medium typically applied in a variety of widths and lengths of brushstrokes, and is especially evident in the construction of the eyebrows, eyelashes, and tightly wound black curls of this Antonine lady (AD 98-117).
The shape of the face is composed of a series of arcs beginning at the hairline and continuing down to the mouth and double chin accented by a dimple. The lines on the neck beneath are termed “Venus rings,” and were often used on Roman portraits to communicate the vibrant sexuality associated with that goddess. The subject wears a pink tunic of red madder to indicate her ownership of an elite purple-dyed burial garment trimmed in red ochre. The customary clavi (woven stripes) were apparently painted quickly and somewhat haphazardly, affecting the visual movement of her slightly skewed torso with its sloped shoulders. Her jewelry is distinctive: at the center of her brow is a round hair ornament to which two beads have been attached. From these dangles what is likely intended to represent a quite large pearl. She wears gold hoop earrings of some thickness and elaboration. Her necklaces are typical for the ladies of these portraits: the larger is of an unidentified woven metal with a round gold pendant. The inner necklace is made of alternating pearls and semi-precious stones: emeralds would have been appropriate for this date and are often seen in these portraits. The thick panel is smaller relative to others and has one prominent transverse crack, but is otherwise in good condition. The two plugged dowel holes at the lower edge are of unknown function.
By proof of the triangular stamp on its reverse, this portrait once belonged to the collector and dealer Theodor Graf (1840-1903), and this suggests that it was very likely found at Er-Rubayat (from whence he sourced his collection). The distinctive style of certain features, such as the mouth, eyebrows, eyes, and Venus rings on the neck are very similar to a Portrait of a Man in Vienna, Kunsthistoriches Mus3f eum Inv. x432.

Full Artwork Details
Title:
Mummy Portrait of a Woman
Artist/Maker:
Unknown
Date:
A.D. 175–200
Medium:
Tempera on wood
Dimensions:
Object: 28.2 × 14.5 cm (11 1/8 × 5 11/16 in.)
Place:
Egypt (Place Created)
Culture:
Romano-Egyptian
Object Number:
79.AP.129
Department:
Antiquities
Classification:
Painting
Object Type:
Panel

History of this Artwork

Provenance

before 1903
Theodor Graf, AustrianAustrian, 1840 - 1903(Vienna, Austria)
sold to Alfred Emerson.

before 1922 -
Alfred Emerson(Paris, France)

- 1932
Private Collection
[sold, Gemalde alter und neuer Meister : hellenistische Portrats aus dem Fayum, Miniaturen, Stiche, Skulpturen, Arbeiten in Silber und Gold..., Dorotheum Kunstabteilung, Vienna, November 24, 1932, lot 33.]

- before 1933
Flinker Collection(Vienna, Austria)

- 1942
Private Collection(New York, New York)
[sold, American Furniture, Kende Galleries, New York, September 26, 1942, lot 167, to Joseph Brummer.]

1942 - 1947
Joseph BrummerHungarian, 1883 - 1947
by inheritance to his heirs, 1947.

1947 - 1949
Estate of  Joseph BrummerHungarian, 1883 - 1947
[The notable art collection belonging to the estate of the late Joseph Brummer, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, May 11, 1949, lot 45.]

- 1964
Ernest BrummerHungarian, 1891 - 1964(New York, New York)
by inheritance to his wife, Ella Brummer, 1964.

1964 - 1979
Ella Baché Brummer
[sold, the Ernest Brummer Collection, Galerie Koller, Zurich, October 16-19, 1979, lot 4, to the J. Paul Getty Museum.]

Bibliography

Buberl, Paul. Die griechisch-ägyptischen Mumienbildnisse der Sammlung Th. Graf. Vienna: 1922, p. 55, no. 46.
Dorotheum, Vienna. Sale cat., November 24, 1932, lot 33.
Drerup, Heinrich. Die Datierung der Mumienportraets. Paderborn: 1933, pp. 47-48, 66, no. 34; pl. 20 b.
Kende Galleries, New York. Sale cat., September 26, 1942, lot 167.
Parke-Bernet, New York. Sale cat., Joseph Brummer Coll., Part II, May 11-14, 1949, p. 10, lot 45.
Hahl, Lothar. "Zur Erklaerung der niedergermanischen Matronendenkmaeler," Bonner Jahrbucher 160 (1960), pp. 9-49, p. 20, no. 55.
Parlasca, Klaus. Mumienportraets und verwandte Denkmaeler. Wiesbaden: 1966, p. 75, n. 96.
Galerie Koller, Zurich. Sale cat., The Ernest Brummer Collection, October 16-19, 1979, p. 21, no. 4.
Parlasca, Klaus. Ritratti di Mummie. Repertorio d'arte dell'Egitto greco-romano (A. Adriani, ed). 2 ser. Vol. III. (Roma : "L'Erma" di Bretschneider, 1980), p. 60, no. 644; pl. 152.3.
Thompson, David L. Mummy Portraits in the J. Paul Getty Museum (Malibu: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1982), pp. 58-59, no. 12, ill.

Parlasca, Klaus. "Ein spaetroemischer bemalter Sarg aus Aegypten im J. Paul Getty Museum," Alexandria and Alexandrianism, pp. 155-169. Malibu: 1996, p. 167; fig. 6.

Borg, Barbara. Mumienportra¨ts: Chronologie und kultureller Kontext (Mainz: Ph. von Zabern, 1996), p. 47, 59, 87, 105, 168, 171, 192; pl. 74,2.
Maram, Eve. "Dialoguing with My Demon." Psychological Perspectives 59, no. 1 (2016), pp. 24, ill.
Hope, Deborah. "Pearls Found in Ancient Greek and Roman Contexts in the Mediterranean." Mediterranean Archaeology 32/33 (2019/2020), p. 92 (cat. B-IMP38).
Barr, Judith. “From All Sides: The APPEAR Project and Mummy Portrait Provenance.” In Mummy Portraits of Roman Egypt: Emerging Research from the APPEAR Project. Marie Svoboda and Caroline R. Cartwright, eds. (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2020) https://www.getty.edu/publications/mummyportraits/part-one/11/, figs. 11.2; 11.5.
The J. Paul Getty Museum. "Faces of Roman Egypt" [exh.] Published via Google Arts & Culture (2021), https://artsandculture.google.com/story/YQVRtpUvIK_TtA (acc. April 7, 2021), ill.
Leonard, Benjamin. "At Face Value." Archaeology (January/February 2022), pp. 40-1, ill.
Marlowe, Elizabeth. "The long, winding, and bumpy road: seeing museum antiquities as colonial legacies." The Routledge Handbook of Classics, Colonialism, and Postcolonial Theory. Katherine Blouin and Ben Akrigg, eds. (London: Routledge, 2025), p. 457, ill.

Exhibition

Fayum Portraits: Painted Portraits from Roman Egypt
A list of the locations of this exhibition
The J. Paul Getty Museum (Malibu)March 24, 1981 - December 1, 1997

The Getty Museum Collection

https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/103TQE?tab=exhibitions

Fragment of the Book of the Dead of Pashed
papyrus, New Kingdom, XIX dynasty (13th-13th century BC), unknown origin (n. inv. E 0.9.40322)

The fragment of papyrus that belonged to the scribe Pashed reports in an elegant hieroglyphic the formulas for going out during the day, which Egyptologists called the Book of the Dead. Appeared at the beginning of the New Kingdom and in use until the Ptolemaic Era, the Book of the Dead consists of a series of magical-ritual formulas (192 in all) that helped the deceased to overcome the obstacles present in the journey full of dangers towards the new eternal life, in the afterlife. The formulas of the text could be written not only on the papyrus scrolls, which were placed inside the sarcophagus, but also partly on the sarcophagi, on the walls of the tomb themselves and on some of the objects of the funeral kit.

Castello Sforzesco

https://www.milanocastello.it/i-musei/galleria-antico-egitto/highlights/frammento-del-libro-dei-morti-di-pashed

The ceiling is still a masterpiece, even after thousands of years. 💛

I tried to snap this shot from way back with my Android, then tweaked it to bring out the real colors.

After former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser built the Aswan High Dam, many Egyptian temples and monuments were threatened with submersion, most notably the temples of Abu Simbel. Therefore, they were completely dismantled and relocated 65 meters higher and 200 meters further back from the shore. The last image shows how the original site would have appeared underwater and how it would have appeared in its new location.

The reconstruction of the Abu Simbel temples was carried out with a very strict engineering margin of error of no more than ±5 millimeters.

A giant rock dome was constructed to protect the temple while simultaneously recreating the shape of the original mountain, as the temple is essentially carved into a mountain.

They also preserved the phenomenon of the sun's alignment with the face of Ramses, with a slight variation of only one day due to the temple's increased height.

Some broken sections of the temple's facade were placed in their original positions after the relocation because the goal was to preserve history as it was, not to beautify or repair it.

Incidentally, the dismantling and relocation of the temple was part of a campaign led by Egypt and UNESCO to save Egyptian antiquities. 50 countries donated to the campaign, but Egypt bore the greatest financial burden, and the workers were Egyptian.

Baboon with the statue of a king
18th Dynasty, reign of Amenhotep II, ca. 1454–1419 BC

In Egyptian religion the baboon with raised paws depicted the animal worshipping the rising sun. The erect baboon dwarfs the king (Amenhotep II?), wearing a short kilt and the royal head-cloth with uraeus-serpent, who stands in front of it. The king’s hands lie flat on his kilt in a gesture of prayer.

Time:
18th Dynasty, reign of Amenhotep II, ca. 1454–1419 BC

Object Name
Statue

Culture
Egyptian

Location of discovery:
Memphis (presumably)

Material/technology:
Rose granite

Dimensions:
H 130 cm, W 42 cm, D 63 cm, G (incl. base) 487 kg

Copyright
Art History Museum, Egyptian - Oriental Collection

Invs.
Egyptian Collection, INV 5782

Kunsthistorisches Museum

https://www.khm.at/en/artworks/baboon-with-the-statue-of-a-king-324283

Cartonnage mask of a female mummy
First Quarter Second Century

Time:

1. Quarter 2. Century AD

Object Name
Mummy mask

Culture
Egyptian - Roman

Location of discovery:
Balansura (Upper Egypt)

Material/technology:
Painted stucco, linen

Dimensions:
H 40 cm, W 26 cm, D 65 cm

Copyright
Art History Museum, Egyptian - Oriental Collection

Invs.
Egyptian Collection, INV 6608

Provenance
1900 Purchase of Th. Count

Kunsthistorisches Museum

https://www.khm.at/en/artworks/kartonagemaske-einer-weiblichen-mumie-316961-1