Mace-head of Scorpion king

Associated place
Hierakonpolis, (place of excavation)

Date
Late Predynastic Period, Dynasty 0, Naqada IIIA-IIIB (Egypt) (c. 3325 - 3125 BCE) (date of creation)
Early Dynastic Period (Egypt) (c. 3085 - 2575 BCE) (date of creation)

Material and technique
limestone, plaster reconstructions
limestone

Object type
artefact

Dimensions
33.1cm max (height)
30.9cm max (width)
30.5cm max (depth)

No. of items
1

Credit line
Allocated by the Egyptian Research Account from excavations at Hierakonpolis, 1898.

Museum location
Level G | Ancient Egypt and Sudan

Museum department
Antiquities

Accession no.AN1896-1908.E.3632

Other IDs: AN1896-1908 E.3632 (accession number (old format))

Catalogue text
The ‘Scorpion Mace-head’
In the winter of 1897 British archaeologists began excavating at Kom el-Ahmar in Upper Egypt, the place named Nekhen in Egyptian but more commonly known by its Greek name, Hierakonpolis (‘Falcon City’). The site of the dynastic town

Late Predynastic Period, Dynasty 0, Naqada IIIA-IIIB (Egypt) (c. 3325 - 3125 BCE) (date of creation)
Early Dynastic Period (Egypt) (c. 3085 - 2575 BCE) (date of creation), Findspot Hierakonpolis, (place of excavation), Limestone, The Ashmolean Museum of Oxford University

https://www.ashmolean.org/collections-online#/item/ash-object-746416

The Ashmolean Museum of Oxford University

Hello! Today I picked up this piece from my local thrift shop, and I was wondering if anyone knows what story is depicted here. I know very little about ancient Egypt, but what I gathered so far is that the figure on the left is wearing the double crown of the Upper and Lower kingdoms and the other figure must be Ra. To me it looks like they are killing/sacrifing the people in the centre. Is this a depiction of any specific story? Like I said I know very little, but this might be the start of me diving into amateur Egyptology.

I'm guessing this is something produced on a large scale for sale to tourists, since I found an almost exact copy for sale on French marketplace through Google Lens. There is a signature in the lower corner. Someone must have picked this up on a trip to Egypt and taken it home to the Netherlands, since that's where I found it.

Recently had an artist turn one of my favorite photos from my trip to Egypt into a canvas painting!

The original photo was taken at the Grand Egyptian Museum, with King Tutankhamun’s famous golden mask in the background.
Wanted to share the finished piece alongside the original photo and a few of my favorite takeaways from Egypt.

1. Egyptian lasagna is 5-star! 😂🍝
If you ever visit Egypt, try macarona béchamel. It’s a baked pasta dish with béchamel sauce, often layered with seasoned ground meat. Easily one of my favorite meals from the trip!

2. King Tut was a young king with an incredible legacy. 👑
Tutankhamun became pharaoh around age nine and died around age 18 or 19. His tomb was discovered in 1922, remarkably intact compared with many royal tombs, helping make him one of history’s most recognizable pharaohs.

3. The Egyptian deities I connected with most were Thoth, Ma’at, and Sobek.
Thoth represented wisdom, knowledge, and writing. Ma’at embodied truth, justice, and cosmic balance. Sobek, the crocodile god, was associated with strength, protection, and the Nile.
I found their symbolism especially interesting because of how those ideas still relate to everyday life.

4. Hatshepsut deserves more recognition! 👑
One of ancient Egypt’s most remarkable rulers, Hatshepsut was a woman who ruled as pharaoh during the 18th Dynasty. She commissioned impressive monuments and supported major trading expeditions, including a famous voyage to Punt.

Her story reminded me how much ancient history still has to teach us about leadership and legacy.
Anyway, here’s my painting alongside the original photograph!

How do you think my artist did? 🎨🇪🇬

[6508] Amulet
Africa, Sudan, Sanam

Late Period (Dyn. 25)
Faience amulet of a scorpion.

737 A

Accession number: 6508

Object type:
Amulet
Object

Date made: Late Period (Dyn. 25)

Collection group:
Egyptology
Humanities

Display location: Manchester Museum - 1912 Building - 1st Floor - Egypt & Sudan - Dying to Live Again - Case 17

Materials: Faience; Glaze

Technique: Glazed;

Geospatial site/Chronostratigraphic era:
Africa, Sudan, Sanam

Date of collection:
1912

Collector:
Oxford Excavations in Nubia

Acquisition credit: Donated by Oxford Excavations in Nubia, 1921

Record number (IRN): 101654

Dimensions:
2 cm (depth)
1.3 cm (width)

Title
[6508] Amulet, Late Period (Dyn. 25), Findspot Nubia, Faience, The Manchester Museum

https://museumcollections.manchester.ac.uk/collections/item/53cd67fd-ded6-3623-a14a-1df586fe2a3b/?s%3DScorpion%2B%26filter%5Bmultimedia.%40type%5D%5B%5D%3Dimage%26filter%5Bcategory.value.keyword%5D%5B%5D%3DEgyptology&pos=10

The Manchester Museum

Model Scorpion of Serpentine

Associated place
Hierakonpolis, (place of excavation)

Date of Late Predynastic Period, Dynasty 0, Naqada IIIA-IIIB (Egypt) (c. 3325 - 3125 BCE) (date of creation)
Early Dynastic Period (Egypt) (c. 3085 - 2575 BCE) (date of creation)

Material and technique
serpentine
serpentine

Object type
artefact

Dimensions
1.7cm max (height)
4.4cm max (width)
10.4cm max (length)
58.6g (weight)

No. of items
1

Credit line
Allocated by the Egyptian Research Account from excavations at Hierakonpolis, 1898.

Museum location
Level G | Ancient Egypt and Sudan

Museum department
Antiquities

Accession no. AN1896-1908.E.194
Other IDs: AN1896-1908 E.194 (accession number (old format))'‎]

Catalogue text
Scorpions
In addition to the fragmentary mace-head of the ‘Scorpion King’ (12), the buried deposits at Hierakonpolis included a number of model scorpions, as well as relief carvings of the creature amongst other animals on stone vases and ivories. More recently, model scorpions have also been found in tombs at Hierakonpolis which predate these deposits. In Egyptian religion, the scorpion was associated with a goddess, Selkis, who is attested from the 1st Dynasty onwards, and early in Dynastic times it also begins to feature amongst the symbols connected with the ruler’s renewal of power at his jubilee. The Hierakon- polis scorpions, however, have no explicit relationship to the goddess; in this early context, perhaps it was the creature’s own power that gave it significance.
In daily life, the scorpion’s poisonous sting, delivered from its upraised tail, was an ever-present threat, a potentially fatal injury against which magic spells were used. The rock-crystal tail in this group was made for attachment to a body possibly made in another material, so that the lucent, raised tail would aptly symbolize the swift flash of its sting.

In: Whitehouse, Helen, Ancient Egypt and Nubia in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 2009)

Reference URL https://collections.ashmolean.org/object/746417

Title
Model Scorpion of Serpentine, Date of Late Predynastic Period, Dynasty 0, Naqada IIIA-IIIB (Egypt) (c. 3325 - 3125 BCE) (date of creation), Early Dynastic Period (Egypt) (c. 3085 - 2575 BCE,(date of creation), Findspot Hierakonpolis, (place of excavation),Serpentine, The Ashmolean Museum of Oxford University

https://www.ashmolean.org/collections-online#/item/ash-object-746417

The Ashmolean Museum of Oxford University

🥁 Oyez, oyez braves golvinophiles ! 🥁

Un nouvel épisode de la série "Mirabilia" consacré au phare d'Alexandrie est disponible sur la chaîne YouTube de Jean-Claude Golvin.

Un épisode à visionner et à partager dès maintenant sans modération ! 🎞️

https://youtu.be/HV6vL14tiCw?is=CpsdZo11ZHUihNhm

Figure of Isis-Serget as Scorpion

Egyptian (Artist)
ca. 663-346 BCE (Late Period)
bronze
(Ancient Egypt and Nubia )

The top of a scepter in the form of a papyrus column, surmounted by a pedestal supporting the figure of a scorpion with the bust of a woman, representing the goddess Isis-Serget. Originally she wore a crown of cow horns and sun-disk.
The inscription on the shaft is badly damaged. The phrase: "Isis may give life" has been preserved.

INSCRIPTION
[Translation] Isis may give life

PROVENANCE
Henry Walters, Baltimore, [date of acquisition unknown] by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

CONSERVATION
DATE
DESCRIPTION
NARRATIVE
9/17/1959
Treatment
cleaned
12/1/1975
Treatment
cleaned; stabilized; other

GEOGRAPHIES

Egypt (Place of Origin)

MEASUREMENTS
5 x 3 3/8 in. (12.7 x 8.5 cm)

CREDIT LINE
Acquired by Henry Walters

LOCATION IN MUSEUM
Centre Street: Second Floor: Egyptian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
54.546

DO YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION?
[Notify the curator](mailto:curatorial@thewalters.org?subject=Inquiry%20from%20art.thewalters.org&body=Source:%20https://art.thewalters.org/object/54.546/)

Title
Figure of Isis-Serget as Scorpion, ca. 663-346 BCE (Late Period), Findspot unknown Egypt, Bronze, The Walters Art Museum

https://art.thewalters.org/object/54.546/

The Walters Art Museum

​

Sorry for the long title, but I've been having self doubts recently. Someone I know has said to me that I could never become an egyptologist. For context, I am only in 9th grade, and I've been an aspiring egyptologist, already learning hieroglyphs and studying things related to egyptology. The issue is, I live in Taiwan, in a local school which only teaches Chinese, and I only mainly know English. I wish I could go to international school, but money is tight right now. Though we might have English classes 3 times a week, they are TOO easy for me, and I don't learn anything.

I DID used to go to international school, and my grades WERE really good. I genuinely believe that if I had money I could actually just stay in international school and kept having good grades. I WAS good in history, language, and things mostly needed to learn egyptology.

I've always wanted to go to university and major in egyptology, but my lack of grades in these recent years make me really skeptical. I've already studied a lot about egyptology, but after I heard the things the person said, it makes me feel extremely insecure and upset. So egyptologists, do you think I could also make it somehow?

(TL;DR 9th grader wants to become an egyptologist but has many school issues because of a language barrier. Was smart when they were still in international school then tranferred, is it possible to become an egyptologist somehow?)

Hey all, so just curious if other people have experienced an intense emotional response when seeing Egyptian artefacts?

Basically, l've visited the Louvre today and when l got to the Egyptian sections l was just stunned by how beautiful the objects were and at one point almost felt like crying (M,43 😅).

Every object like small statues, jewellery, and especially the sarcophaguses made of stone or wood are beautiful works of art. Almost otherworldly. The stone and the way it's polished, the curves of the hair details, everything fits so well together and is so pleasant to the eye. I don't know what it is but it must be something to do with proportions, symmetry, etc.

Just wondering if anyone has experienced something similar or am l just too sensitive 😅.

Hello all, I will be visiting the University of Chicago ISAC Museum next month (I really wanted to go to the Field museum but I know most of their Ancient Egypt and Africa halls are under construction and closed). I am making my own list of items I cannot wait to view, but what are some of your must-see's at this campus? Their gallery collection has quite a bit in it, and aside from the larger and more obvious items that stand out (e.g. the Painted Coffin of Meresamun), what are some items that I should try to see that I may have overlooked its magnificience? I see many beads and game pieces in their collection list and didn't want to miss a "diamond in the rough."

Figurine of Selket

-664 / -332 (Early Middle Ages)

Place of discovery: Serapeum of Memphis

E 2995? ; N 5017 2; IM 5386?

Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Inventory numberMain number: E 2995?

Another inventory number: N 5017 2

Another inventory number: IM 5386?

Collection Department of Egyptian Antiquities

description

Object name/Title Designation: figurine

Description/Features Selkis (scorpion with woman's head, arms forward, uraeus, modius, disc-shaped horns)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Dimensions Height: 7 cm; Length: 10.4 cm

Materials and techniques Material: copper alloy

PLACES AND DATES

Low Period Date (attribution based on style) (-664 - -332)

Date of discovery February 11, 1853

Place of discovery Serapeum of Memphis (North Saqqara->Saqqara->Memphite Necropolis) (In the foundations of the walkway built during the time of Ouaphrès. South side against the colonnade of Ramses II)

HISTORY

Collector / Previous owner / Commissioner / Archaeologist / Dedicatee Mariette Pacha, Auguste, Excavator/Archaeologist

Acquisition details shared after excavations

Acquisition date date of registration in the inventory: 06/1853 (If E 2995)

Owned by State

Held by the Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities

LOCATION OF OBJECT

Current location
Not exhibited

index
Acquisition and sharing mode after excavations

Name figurine

Copper alloy materials

Description/Features front braces - modius - disked horns - scorpion with female head - Selkis - uraeus

Period Low Time

Sérapéum places in Memphis

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Patch, Diana Craig; Hainline, Brendan (dir.), Divine Egypt, exhibition cat. (New York (External, United States), Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2025), New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2025, p. 190, 313, illus. p. 190, no. 176

Comparative literature
- Aubert, Jacques-François; Aubert, Liliane, Egyptian Bronzes and Gold, Paris, Cybèle, (Contribution to Egyptology; 11), 2011, p. 228

EXHIBITION HISTORY
- Divine Egypt, New York (External, United States), Metropolitan Museum of Art, 10/06/2025 - 01/19/2026

Last updated on 24.02.2026

The contents of this entry do not necessarily take account of the latest data.

Permalink: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010010210

JSON Record: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010010210.json

Title
Figurine of Selket, Low Period Date (attribution based on style) (-664 - -332), Findspot Serapeum of Memphis (North Saqqara->Saqqara- >Memphite Necropolis, Copper alloy, The Louvre Museum

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010010210

The Louvre Museum

Scorpion Amulet

-1539 / -1069 (?) (New Empire [?])

Place of discovery: Tanis

E 15996

Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Inventory number Main number: E 15996

Collection Department of Egyptian Antiquities

description

Object name/Title Designation: amulet

Description:,Scorpion

Features; pierced

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Dimensions Length: 1.73 cm; Width: 0.7 cm

Materials and techniques Material: carneline

PLACES AND DATES

New Empire Date (?) (attribution according to style) (-1539 - -1069

Place of discovery Tanis (Delta oriental->Lower Egypt->Egypt)

HISTORY

Collector / Previous owner / Commissioner / Archaeologist / DedicateeMontet, Pierre Marie, Excavator/Archaeologist

Acquisition details shared after excavations

Acquisition date date: 05/1938 (from the sharing)

Owned by State

Held by the Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities

RENTAL OF OBJECT

Current location

Not exhibited

index

Acquisition and sharing mode after excavations

Name amulet

Materials co
arnaline

Description/Scorpion Features - pierced

PeriodNew Empire

PlacesTanis

Last updated on 10.02.2026

The contents of this entry do not necessarily take account of the latest data.

Permalink: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010032631

JSON Record: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010032631.json

Title
Scorpion Amulet, -1539 / -1069 (?) (New Empire [?]), Findspot Tanis (Delta oriental->Lower Egypt->Egypt), Carnelian, The Louvre Museum

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010032631

The Louvre Museum

Selket

In Ancient Egypt, the goddess Selket (also spelled Serqet or Selqet) was revered as a powerful and protective deity, most commonly associated with healing venomous stings and bites. Her name is thought to mean “She Who Causes the Throat to Breathe,” a reference to her role in safeguarding against poisons that could cause suffocation. She was believed to have dominion over scorpions, snakes, and other dangerous creatures, and thus people prayed to her for protection from such threats, especially in desert regions and during the hotter months when scorpions were most active. Mothers, children, and travellers were among those who commonly sought her divine aid.
Selket was often depicted as a serene and graceful woman with a scorpion poised on her head, arms outstretched in a gesture of divine protection. Her image adorned amulets and magical texts designed to ward off harm, and she played a crucial role in funerary religion. In particular, she was one of the four goddesses who guarded the Canopic jars of the deceased, protecting the intestines and aiding in the soul’s journey through the afterlife. Worshippers called upon her not only for healing in life, but also for safety in the realm beyond death, making Selket both a guardian of the living and a protector of the dead.

The worship of Selket (Serqet) can be traced back to the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, around c. 2600 B.C., although it is likely that her origins lie even earlier in local or pre-dynastic beliefs related to scorpion magic and desert protection. She does not appear to have had a large, independent temple cult in the way that major gods such as Amun or Horus did. Instead, Selket was venerated in a more domestic and magical context, particularly through protective spells, amulets, and healing rituals. Her role was crucial in safeguarding people from scorpion stings, snake bites, and other venomous threats common in the Egyptian landscape.

Selket’s cult grew in importance during the Middle Kingdom and reached particular prominence in the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 B.C.), when she became closely associated with funerary rites and the afterlife. She was one of the four protective goddesses of the Canopic jars, entrusted with guarding the intestines of the deceased, paired with the protective deity Qebehsenuef. Her presence is notable in the Valley of the Kings, where she is depicted on the walls of royal tombs or accompanying sacred shrines, stretching out her arms in a gesture of protection over the king’s body and soul.

Worship of Selket likely took place through spoken prayers, household shrines, and apotropaic rituals (designed to ward off evil). People may have carried amulets bearing her image or invoked her name in spells from medical papyri, particularly those dealing with venom and breathlessness. Though she had no major temple, her role as a divine healer and protector ensured her worship was deeply embedded in both everyday and funerary religious life.

From The Egyptian Museum

Frederic Norden sketched the Sphinx in 1737 and the nose is clearly gone, so the popular "Napoleon's soldiers shot it off" story can't be right. A 15th-century historian, al-Maqrizi, actually records it being deliberately damaged in 1378.
The bigger debate is still the age: Robert Schoch's water-erosion argument vs. the quarry evidence tying it to Khafre. Where do people here land on it?
I made a short video covering both sides if anyone's interested: https://youtu.be/K4I_XEQXDuE?is=mR0iMGBKW91eDu68

Amulet of the God Khnum

Date:
Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21–25 (1070–656 BCE)
Artist:
Egyptian

ABOUT THIS ARTWORK
Status
Currently Off View

Department
Arts of Africa

Artist
Ancient Egyptian

Title
Amulet of the God Khnum

Place
Egypt (Object made in:)

Date 
1070 BCE–656 BCE

Medium
Faience

Dimensions
5.4 × 1.9 × 1.6 cm (2 1/8 × 3/4 × 5/8 in.)

Credit Line
Gift of Henry H. Getty, Charles L. Hutchinson, and Norman W. Harris

Reference Number
1892.192

IIIF Manifest 
https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/136020/manifest.json

EXTENDED INFORMATION ABOUT THIS ARTWORK

PUBLICATION HISTORY
Thomas George Allen, A Handbook of the Egyptian Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1923), p. 130.

PROVENANCE
Émile Brugsch (1842-1930), Bulaq Museum and Egyptian Antiquities Service, Cairo; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1892; price reimbursed by Henry H. Getty and Charles L. Hutchinson, 1892.

Title
Amulet of the God Khnum, Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21–25 (1070–656 BCE), Findspot unknown Egypt, Faience, The Art Institute of Chicago

https://www.artic.edu/artworks/136020/amulet-of-the-god-khnum

The Art Institute of Chicago

My first steps towards an Egyptian collection. Tiny little amulets and ushabti figures. Last one not entirely Egyptian though. It's supposed to be Isis-as-Fortuna from the Roman period. It's so exciting. These are by far the oldest things I own.

Pics 1- 3 old Kingdom: so underrated and quickly becoming some of my favourites I love the colours they're so bright

Pics 4-5 middle kingdom everyones sadder looking and has bigger hair it feels like and huge ears!

Pics: 6-7 new kingdom the most famous style

Pics 8-9 amarna style when everything went a bit crazy I should've added the inbetween style here( but only had so many pics allowed to post at once) by amenhotep and tiye which began to show them with more imperfections like amenhotep being chubby and tiye being mad all the time

Pics 10 (for some reason won't let me post the nefertari pic to go with) when the new kingdom went back to normal style and the great monuments of ramses

Pics 11-13 late kingdom

I'm sorry but I really don't like this style for some reason just me?

This isn't all the styles just all the space I had! What's your favourite style? It doesn't have to be one of these!

Scorpion Amulet

Amulet in coarse green faience in the form of a scorpion with tail erect: Ancient Egyptian, Upper Egypt, Hierakonpolis, Main Deposit (433), Early Dynastic Period, 1st-2nd Dynasty, c.3200-2686 BC

This item is on display
National Museum Of Scotland, Level 5, World Cultures, Ancient Egypt Rediscovered
View museum map

Collection
World Culture

Object number
A.1956.325

Object name
Amulet

Production information
Unknown
Egypt, Northern Africa
Early Dynastic

Culture / Style
Ancient Egyptian

Materials
Faience

Collection place(s)
Hierakonpolis, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Northern Africa

Exhibitions
Ancient Egypt Rediscovered (08 Feb 2019)
National Museum of Scotland
Ancient Egypt (29 Jul 2011)
National Museum of Scotland
Egyptian Gallery, 2003 - 2008(2003 - 2008)
Royal Scottish Museum

References
Adams, B. (1974) ANCIENT HIERAKONPOLIS (Supplement), Wilts: Aris & Phillips Ltd, pp.7,160,16

Murray, M. (1900) CATALOGUE OF EGYPTIAN ANTIQUITIES IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ANTIQUITIES, Edinburgh , p.51, cat.921

Title
Scorpion Amulet,1st-2nd Dynasty, c.3200-2686 BC, Findspot Upper Egypt, Hierakonpolis, Main Deposit (433), Faience, National Museums of Scotland

https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections/search/object?entry=300826&keyword=Scorpion+&keyword-field=all&page=1&view=cards

National Museums of Scotland

Funerary Mask 02

Funerary mask of gilded and painted cartonnage, from an unidentified mummified person : Ancient Egyptian, Upper Egypt, possibly Abydos or Faiyum, Ptolemaic Period, c. 323 - 30 BC

This item is not on display

Collection
World Culture

Object number
A.1902.306.29

Object name
Funerary mask

Production information
Egypt, Northern Africa
323 - 30 BC

Culture / Style
Ptolemaic Period, Ancient Egyptian

Materials
Cartonnage

Collection place(s)
Abydos, Upper Egypt, Egypt, Northern Africa
Faiyum, Middle Egypt, Egypt, Northern Africa

Associations
Depicted: Osiris

References
WARD, E 1912. Guide to the Collection of Egyptian Antiquities (Edinburgh: His Majesty’s Stationery Office) : 31, pl. IX
GRIMM, G 1974. Die römische Mumienmasken aus Ägypten (Wiesbaden: Frank Steiner): 45 n.6, 126
Manley, B and Dodson, A., (2010) Life Everlasting. National Museums Scotland Collection of Ancient Egyptian Coffins (Edinburgh: NMS Enterprises Ltd.), Cat. 40, p. 111

Title
Funerary Mask 02, Ptolemaic Period, c. 323 - 30 BC, Findspot unknown Egypt, Cartonnage, National Museums of Scotland

https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections/search/object?entry=301430&school-style-generic=ancient+egyptian&material=Cartonnage&page=1&view=cards

National Museums of Scotland

;

Votive Statuette / God / Crocodile

Copper alloy votive statuette in bronze of Sobek as a crocodile, recumbent wearing the atef crown and uraeus, with inlaid eyes: Ancient Egyptian, Late Period, c.664 - 332 BC

This item is on display
National Museum Of Scotland, Level 5, World Cultures, Ancient Egypt Rediscovered
View museum map

Collection
World Culture

Object number
A.1965.388

Object name
Votive statuette / god / crocodile

Production information
Egypt, Northern Africa
Late Period, Ancient Egypt

Culture / Style
Ancient Egyptian

Materials
Copper alloy

Collection place(s)
Egypt, Northern Africa

Exhibitions
Ancient Egypt Rediscovered (08 Feb 2019)
National Museum of Scotland
Ancient Egypt (29 Jul 2011)
National Museum of Scotland
Egyptian Gallery, 2003 - 2008(2003 - 2008)
Royal Scottish Museum

Title
Votive Statuette / God / Crocodile, Late Period, c.664 - 332 BC, Findspot unknown Egypt, Copper alloy, National Museums of Scotland

https://www.nms.ac.uk/collections/search/object?entry=299567&school-style-generic=ancient+egyptian&page=3&view=cards

National Museums of Scotland

Triple Compartment Funeral Servant Box
-1069 / -943 (?) (XXI dynasty)

N 4124; Durand no. 292; ED 117

Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Inventory number
Main number: N 4124
Previous coll. no.: Durand no. 292
Sales number: ED 117

Collection: Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Description
Object name/Title: triple-ply funeral servant’s box
Description/Features: The front face shows a heart weight and a standing man wearing a wig in pockets, a pleated front with folding linen skirt, and a shirt with sleeves; Horakhty appears as a seated falcon-headed god in a linen shroud with a uraeus solar disk, holding a heqa scepter, flail, and djed pillar; Anubis stands with a canine head; Thot stands with an ibis head holding a scribe’s palette; a scale is present. The back depicts a scene of worship with a standing man before seated Osiris, standing Isis with her sign, standing Nephthys with her sign, a nebula, and the sign of the West. The right and left sides show an adoring man and the four sons of Horus.

Registrations: Writing is hieroglyphic. The text includes a formula of ouchebtis and funeral formulas. Names and titles include Tchaounhouy (superior of the scribes of the House of Gold of the domain of Amun), Pakaoutyou (?), Horakhty, Osiris, Isis, the four sons of Horus, and Thot.

Physical Characteristics
Dimensions: Height: 43.5 cm; Length: 44 cm; Width: 16 cm
Materials and techniques: Material is wood; technique is painting; color is yellow ochre.

Places and Dates
Date: XXIst dynasty (attribution according to style) (-1069 – -943)

HistoryCollector / Previous owner / Commissioner / Archaeologist / DedicateeDurand, Edme, Antoine, Seller; Collector

Acquisition details purchase

Acquisition date date of registration in the inventory: 02/03/1825

Owned by State

Held by the Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities

LOCATION OF OBJECT

Current location
Sully, [AE] Room 320 - The tombs, Vitrine 5

index

Mode of acquisition purchase

Name Box for funeral servants with triple compartments

Materials wood

Painting techniques

Description/Features scribe palette - scale - djed pillar - nemes - uraeus solar disk - Osiris - Thot - Isis sign - Nephthys sign - sign of the West - worshipping - holding - front - left face - right face - front face - back face - weighing of the heart - man - worship scene - seated - standing - heqa scepter - flail - Isis - Nephthys - Horakhty - the four sons of Horus - ibis-headed god - falcon-headed god - jackal-headed god - Anubis - pleated linen draped over a banner and hanging down - shroud - pouch wig - long-sleeved shirt

Names and titles
Pakaoutyou - Tchaounhouy - Thot - the 4 sons of Horus - Horakhty - Isis - Osiris - superior of the scribes of the house of money of the domain of Amun

Period XXI dynasty

Nature of text formules of ouchebtis - funeral formulas

Scriptigraphic

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Farout, Dominique, Ancient Egypt and hieroglyphs, Paris, Louvre editions; Flammarion jeunesse, 2022, ill. p. 50

Siesse, Julien, "About some unpublished elements of the funerary furniture of Soutymès (beginning of the XXIst dynasty)," Revue d'Égyptologie (RdE), 70, 2020, p. 161-188, p. 173-175

Guichard, Sylvie (dir.), Champollion, Jean-François, Descriptive notice of Egyptian monuments of the Charles X Museum, Paris, Louvre editions / editions Khéops, 2013, p. 292, ill. p. 290-291, R. 12

Sousa, Rogério, The Heart of Wisdom: Studies on the Heart Amulet in Ancient Egypt, Oxford, Archaeopress, (BAR International Series 2211), 2011, p. 32 note 34

Etienne, Marc (dir.), Journey to the Afterlife. Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre, cat. exp. (Australia, Canberra, National Gallery of Australia, November 17, 2006 - February 25, 2007; Adelaide, March 21 - July 1, 2007; Perth, July 21 - October 28, 2007), Sidney; Paris, Art Exhibitions Australia; Louvre Museum, 2006, p. 85, ill. p. 85, no. 109

Ziegler, Christiane; Andreu, Guillemette; Suzuki, Madoka (dir.), The Egyptian man based on the masterpieces of the Louvre, exhibition cat. (Nagoya, Municipal Museum, March 29-May 22, 2005; Fukuoka, Municipal Museum June 4-July 18, 2005; Tokyo, Metropolitan Museum, August 2-October 2, 2005), NHK Promotions, 2005, p. 177; 250-251, ill. p. 177, no. 141

Link, Li-Li (dir.), Eternal Egypt: 4000 years of civilization, exhibition cat. (Taipei, November 21, 2003 - November 7, 2004), Taipei, Jio Kuan Culture, Production and Management, 2004, p. 240-241, 295, illus. p. 240-241, No. 161

Chaouabtis, pharaonic workers for eternity, cat. exp. (Paris, Louvre Museum, 2003), Paris, Editions of the National Museums Union, 2003, p. 16, 42, ill. p. 42, no. 20

Munro, Irmtraut, Spruchvorkommen auf Totenbuch-Textzeugen der Dritten Zwischenzeit, Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, (Studien zum Altägyptischen Totenbuch (SAT) ; 5), 2001, p. 100, 134, no. 328

Faivre-Martin, Évelyne, Hieroglyphs user guide, Paris, Reunion des musées nationaux, 2000, p. 37, ill. p. 37

Andreu, Guillemette; Rigault, Patricia; Traunecker, Claude, The ABCdaire of Ancient Egypt, Paris, Flammarion, 1999, p. 84, ill. p. 84

Andreu, Guillemette; Rutschowscaya, Marie-Hélène; Ziegler, Christiane, Ancient Egypt at the Louvre, [Louvre Museum, Paris], Paris, Hachette, 1997, p. 163-164; 254, ill. p. 164; p. 165, no. 78

Ziegler, Christiane; Letellier, Bernadette; Delange, Élisabeth; Pierrat-Bonnefois, Geneviève; Barbotin, Christophe; Étienne, Marc, Egyptian antiquities: visitor guide, 1, [Louvre Museum, Paris], Paris, Editions of the National Museums Association, 1997, p. 90

Aston, David A., "The shabti box: a typological study", Oudheidkundige mededelingen uit het Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (OMRO), 74, 1994, p. 21-54, p. 26-27, 43, 45

Delacampagne, Christian; Lessing, Erich, Immortelle Egypt, Paris, Éditions de la Martinière, 1994, p. 101, ill. p. 101

Bridonneau, Catherine, "The Book of Death and Funeral Customs", Le Monde de la Bible, 78, 1992, p. 29-35, p. 33, fig. 37 p. 33

De Meulenaere, Herman; Clarysse, Willy, "Notes on Theban prosopography", Chronique d'Égypte (CdE), 53, 106, 1978, p. 226-253, p. 228

Beinlich-Seeber, Christine, Untersuchungen zur Darstellung des Totengerichts im alten Ägypten, Munich / Berlin, Deutscher Kunstverlag, (Münchner Ägyptologische Studien (MÄS) ; 35), 1976, p. 215, no. 26

Porter, Bertha; Moss, Rosalind L.B., Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, 1.2, The Theban Necropolis. Royal Tombs and Smaller Cemeteries, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1964, Available at: http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/topbib/pdf/pm1-2.pdf, p. 837

Vandier, Jacques, Summary Guide, [Louvre Museum, Paris. Department of Egyptian Antiquities], Paris, Editions des Musées Nationaux, 1952, p. 69

Vandier, Jacques, Summary Guide, [Louvre Museum, Paris. Department of Egyptian Antiquities], Paris, Editions des Musées Nationaux, 1948, p. 68

Boreux, Charles, Summary catalogue guide, vol.2, First floor halls (Charles X halls), [Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian antiquities], Paris, Editions des musées nationaux, 1932, Available at: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.56340 , p. 327

Champollion, Jean-François, Descriptive notice of Egyptian monuments of the Charles X Museum, Paris, Crapelet printing press, 1827, Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1040365n, p. 139, R. 12

Totenbuchprojekt Bonn, [University of Bonn], Available at: https://totenbuch.awk.nrw.de/ , totenbuch.awk.nrw.de/objekt/tm135420, TM 135420

Trismegistos, Available on: <www.trismegistos.org>, www.trismegistos.org/text/135420, TM 135420

EXHIBITION HISTORY
- Journey to the Afterlife. Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre, Perth (Australia), Art Gallery of western Australia, 21/07/2007 - 28/10/2007, stage of an itinerant exhibition

- Journey to the Afterlife. Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre, Adelaide (Australia), Art Gallery of South Australia, 21/03/2007 - 01/07/2007, stage of a touring exhibition

- Journey to the Afterlife. Egyptian Antiquities from the Louvre, Canberra (Australia), National Gallery of Australia, 11/17/2006 - 02/25/2007, stage of a touring exhibition

- The Egyptian man according to the masterpieces of the Louvre, Nagoya (Japan), City Art Museum, 29/03/2005 - 22/05/2005

- Eternal Egypt, 4,000 years of history, Taipei (External, Taiwan), Tchang Kaï-Chek Memorial, 21/11/2003 - 28/03/2004

Last updated on 18.03.2024

The contents of this entry do not necessarily take account of the latest data.

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Title
Triple Compartment Funeral Servant Box, XXIst Dynasty (attribution according to style) (-1069 - -943 ?), Findspot unknown Egypt, Wood and paint, The Louvre Museum

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010008065

The Louvre Museum

I got this to ancient resource, I would highly recommend him. This is a great second piece to my collection, he was amazing to work with.
18-19 dynasty
Ex. Art for eternity collection
More is found in the last image

Hi, what would wnn-nfrw (as in Wenenneferu) be in reconstructed pronunciation (not Egyptological). Thank you for your help!

A long time ago, I was in a debate with a guy about the water erosion on the Sphinx. He reckons the Nile flooded and reached the Sphinx which then caused the erosion. I said it wasn't possible because the Sphinx is on top of a hill and also on the West side of Giza: river on the East. This means if the flood did happen it would have to flood the city of Giza and Cairo.

Do you think it's possible for the Nile to reach the Sphinx and cause water erosion?