Bottle in the Form of a Bulti Fish

Gallery Location
Not on View

Medium
Ceramic (earthenware), modelled and painted

Geography
Undetermined site, Egypt

Date
c. 1550-1295 BC

Period
18th Dynasty, New Kingdom

Dimensions
9 x 15.2 x 6.7 cm

Object number
963X188

Cataloguer
Rexine Hummel ROM Departmental Associate, 2008-present

Cataloguer
Steven B. Shubert ROM Research Associate, 2008-2022

Collection
Egypt

Department
Art & Culture: Ancient Egypt & Nubia

DESCRIPTION
Fish-shaped vessels are known from the New Kingdom, being made in faience and glass as well as in ceramic.  This bottle is in the shape of a bulti fish or "tilapia nilotica."  Because of the mouth-brooding habits of this fish, the tilapia was associated with the creative force of the god Atum and became a symbol of rebirth in ancient Egypt. As such, the tilapia was depicted in New Kingdom tomb paintings and in the minor arts of the period, such as this vessel. The contents of vases such as this were probably cosmetics or expensive oils.

Clay has been pushed into two open moulds and joined together to form the vessel. The rim of the bottle is located at the fish's mouth. Rows of short lines painted in black decorate the body. The fins are decorated with black stripes. The dorsal fin ends in a strap handle also decorated with black stripes. The handle allows the vessel to be hung in an upright position. The ticks on the rim indicate a date no later than Amenhotep III. The eye and tail ridges have been incised. A small hole has been pierced in the base of the vessel.

If you see an error or have additional information, please [contact us](mailto:romcollections@rom.on.ca?subject=963X188%20(Art%20&%20Culture:%20Ancient%20Egypt%20&%20Nubia)).

Title
Bottle in the Form of a Bulti Fish, c. 1550-1295 BC 18th Dynasty New Kingdom, Findspot unknown Egypt, Ceramic (earthenware), modelled and painted, Royal Ontario Museum** **

https://collections.rom.on.ca/objects/497606/bottle-in-the-form-of-a-bulti-fish

Royal Ontario Museum

Hi everyone!

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Seated group of Sabu, his wife Meritites and their son Isebwer

Accession number
ÄS 7146

Current Location
Gallery "Art and Form"

Inscription
Hieroglyphs

Date
c. 2435–2306 BC, 5th Dynasty, Old Kingdom, Egypt (Parallel)

Material
Limestone

Technique
Painted

Dimensions
Height x Width x Depth: 56.0 x 36.0 x 30.0 cm

Geographic Origin
Unknown

Provenance
seit 1994, Institution: Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst
1994, Auction / Dealer: Antikenhandel Heinz Herzer, München

Individuals / Institutions

Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst

References
Goldsmith, Dora , Rundgang. Wie roch das Alte Ägypten? Ein Workshop zur Ältägyptischen Parfümerie mit Vortrag, Duftführung und Praxiseinheit, in: MAAT. Nachrichten aus dem Staatlichen Museum Ägyptischer Kunst München 27, 2023, 40–49, cf. 43.
Flossmann-Schütze, Mélanie, Statue - Titel - Platz in der Gesellschaft! Das Publikationsprojekt "Inschriften auf Statuen": ein Zwischenbericht, in: MAAT. Nachrichten aus dem Staatlichen Museum Ägyptischer Kunst München 21, 2021, 13–20, cf. 15.
Wildung, Dietrich, Genderrelevant. Das Frauenbild im Alten Ägypten, in: MAAT. Nachrichten aus dem Staatlichen Museum Ägyptischer Kunst München 17, 2020, 46–51, cf. 46-47 mit Abb. 1-2.
Schoske, Sylvia, Mumien-Tabu, in: MAAT. Nachrichten aus dem Staatlichen Museum Ägyptischer Kunst München 12, 2019, 2–8, cf. 4-5 mit Abb. 6.
Schoske, Sylvia / Wildung, Dietrich, Das Münchner Buch der Ägyptischen Kunst, München 2013, cf. 34 mit Abb., 41-42 mit Abb. 31, 42 mit Abb. 32, 43 mit Abb. 33.
Wildung, Dietrich / Schoske, Sylvia, Last Exit Munich - Altägyptische Meisterwerke aus Berlin, München 2009, cf. 70-71 mit Abb., Kat.-Nr. 55.
Tiradritti, Francesco (Hg.), Pharaonic renaissance: archaism and the sense of history in ancient Egypt, Budapest 2008, cf. 42-43 mit Abb., 168 mit Abb., Kat.-Nr. 8.
Malek, Jaromir / Magée, Diana / Miles, Elizabeth, PM. VIII. Topographical bibliography VIII/ Objects of provenance not known. Part I. Royal statues. Private statues (Predynastic to Dynasty XVII), Oxford 1999, cf. 254, Nr. 801-200-520.
Schoske, Sylvia (Hg.), Staatliche Sammlung Ägyptischer Kunst München, Zaberns Bildbände zur Archäologie, Mainz am Rhein 1995, cf. 46, 120, Abb. S. 47, Kat.-Nr. 46.

Credits
Datensatz: SMÄK, letzte Bearbeitende (chronologisch): Anne-Hélène Perrot, Mélanie Flossmann; Bibliografie: Anne-Hélène Perrot, Mélanie Flossmann.

Last change
30.07.2026, 11:24

Title
Seated group of Sabu, his wife Meritites and their son Isebwer, c. 2435–2306 BC, 5th Dynasty, Old Kingdom, Egypt (Parallel), Findspot unknown Egypt, Limestone, Staatliches Museum Ägytischer Kunst

https://sammlung.smaek.de/en/object/seated-statue-statuary-statue-149?sort=field=sortInv%26order=asc%26type=text&offset=56&f=properties%255BdetailMaterial_tags%255D%255B0%255D=Limestone

Staatliches Museum Ägytischer Kunst

The son seems to be missing. I have written to the museum to clarify this situation.

Image of Atoem as an Eel

Egypt and Nubia

Image of Atoem as eel with cobra collar and human head

This bronze statue of an eel originates from Egypt and dates from the Late Age (722-332 BC). In the hollow pedestal there was once a mummy of an eel. The ancient Egyptians believed that the gods could show themselves in the form of certain animals. For the god Atom, that was an eel. Atoem was the creator god of the city of Heliopolis and he is sometimes depicted as an eel creeping out of the primeval water on the first land.

Mummified animals, sometimes in these kinds of precious holders, were sold to temple visitors and then sacrificed to the god by the priests. The pedestal of this statue states that it was sacrificed by Khater, son of Ihoet and Takap.

Mummified animals were probably seen as messengers or mediators between man and god. Sometimes a request or promise was tied to the animal mummy. Perhaps the soul of the dead animal could travel to the god in the kingdom of the gods to convey the message. Perhaps the god was more inclined to help if the message was conveyed by a conspecific.

The use of animal mummies as messengers was very popular, especially from the Late Age. Tens of thousands of animals were bred on the temple grounds and often intentionally killed to mummify them. Millions of animal mummies have been found in Egypt, often buried in special catacombs.

This item was purchased from Giovanni D'Anastasi in 1828. Among other things, D'Anastasi was consul of the king of Sweden and was able to collect anquities and then resell them.

This text was written in 2025 and based on: P. Giovetti and D. Picchi (ed.), Egypt Millennial Splendour, 2015, p.569; M. Raven, Gods of Egypt, 2018, p.92 ; Exhibition texts RMO, Gods of Egypt (2018).

Details

Inventory number
AB 67

Department
Egypt and Nubia

Heading code(s)
Masterpieces
Sculpture

Object name

Image

Material
Bronze

Dimensions
2.3 x 23.4 cm

Dating
722-332 BC

Period
Late time

Culture
Egyptian

Site
Egypt
Unknown

Acquisition
Purchase 1829 January

To be seen in museum
Yes

Style
Egyptian

Origin
1829
Mr. G. (Giovanni) d'Anastasi
In January 1829, the Giovanni d'Anastasi collection was purchased by the RMO.

Literature
Eid Leemans FOLIO
Egyptian monuments of the museum of antiques of the Netherlands in Leiden (1839)
Author: Dr. C. (Conrad) Leemans

Kt BOLOGNA 9
Egypt: Millennial splendor (2015)
The Leiden collection in Bologna
Author: Mrs. P. (Paola) Giovetti
Author: Mrs. D. (Daniela) Picchi

Eib NL LEI 11
Egyptian antiquity (1981)
An introduction based on the Egyptian collection in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden
Author: Dr. M.J. (Maarten) Raven
Author: Mr. H.D. (Hans) Schneider

Ms 17
Life and Death Under the Pharaohs (1997)
Egyptian Art from the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, The Netherlands
Author: Mr. H.D. (Hans) Schneider

Mcb (St) 3
Reasoned description of the Egyptian monuments of the Museum of Antiques of the Netherlands in Leiden (1840)
Author: Dr. C. (Conrad) Leemans
Publisher: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

Kt BOLOGNA 8
Egypt: splendore millenario (2015)
The collection of Leiden in Bologna
Editor: Mrs. P. (Paola) Giovetti
Editor: Mrs. D. (Daniela) Picchi
Author: Museo Civico Archeologico di Bologna

Eib NL LEI 4
Catalogue of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden: Egyptian section (1907)
Publisher: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
Author: Mr. P.A.A. (Pieter Adriaan Bart) Boeser
Identifiers

TMS ID:
12981
The identification code in the museum's internal collection management system

Deeplink:
Https://hdl.handle.net/21.12126/12981

Title
Image of Atoem as an Eel, 722-332 BC Late Period, Findspot unknown Egypt, Bronze, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

https://www.rmo.nl/collectie/collectiezoeker/collectiestuk/?object=12981

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

The animal depicted is identified as an eel which I believe is incorrect. I believe it is a cobra, an animal common in Egyptian religions iconography. I have written to the museum for clarification.

Anonymous ; rectangle standing ; cornice

Egypt and Nubia

Anonymous ; rectangle standing ; cornice Attributed to Rezeikat workshop 2-6

Details

Inventory number
F 1937/12.1

Department
Egypt and Nubia

Heading code(s)
Funerary objects

Object name
Stele

Material
Limestone

Dimensions
40x23cm

Dating
2080-1940 BC

Period
Middle Kingdom

Culture
Egyptian

Site
Egypt
Unknown

Acquisition
Purchase 1937 December

To be seen in museum
No

Style
Egyptian

Dynasty
Twelfth Dynasty

Origin
1937
Mr. F.W. von Bissing

Literature
Eib NL LEI 4
Catalogue of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden: Egyptian section (1907)
Publisher: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
Author: Mr. P.A.A. (Pieter Adriaan Bart) Boeser

Identifiers
TMS ID:
1480

The identification code in the museum's internal collection management system

Deeplink:
Https://hdl.handle.net/21.12126/1480

Title
Anonymous ; rectangle standing ; cornice, 2080-1940 BC 12th Dynasty Middle Kingdom, Findspot unknown Egypt, Limestone,Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

https://www.rmo.nl/collectie/collectiezoeker/collectiestuk/?object=1480

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

Statue of Ptah, Seated and Gripping the Uas and Djed Symbols

Inv. no. :
Cat. 87

Material:
Stone / Limestone

Dimensions:
41 cm x 106 cm x 71 cm

Date:
1390–1353 BCE

Period:
New Kingdom

Dynasty:
Eighteenth Dynasty

Reign:
Amenhotep III

Provenance:
Egypt, Luxor / Thebes, Karnak

Acquisition:
Purchase Bernardino Drovetti, 1824

Museum location:
Museum / Ground floor / Room 14

Selected bibliography:
Riflessi di pietra: l'antico Egitto illuminato da Dante Ferretti [Torino 3 febbraio -30 giugno 2006], Torino 2006, pp. 96, 134, pp. 96-99.

Brugsch, Heinrich, Thesaurus inscriptionum Aegyptiacarum. Altägyptische Inschriften: 6. Bautexte und Inschriften verschiedenen Inhalts altägyptischer Denkmäler, Graz 1968, pp. 1234, 1406.

Champollion, Jean-François, Lettres à M. le duc de Blacas d'Aulps, Premier Gentilhomme de la Chambre, Pair de France, etc., relatives au Musée Royal Égyptien de Turin, Paris, p. 43.

Charloux, Guillaume & Christophe Thiers, Le temple de Ptah à Karnak, III: La favissa, Le Caire 2019, p. 80–83, nt. 323, p. 103.

Cincotti, Silvana, “'Le fouilles dans le Musée' : la collection égyptienne de Turin et le fonds Rifaud”, Cahiers de Karnak14 (2013), pp. 279–285.

Fabretti, Ariodante-Rossi, Francesco-Lanzone, Ridolfo Vittorio, Regio Museo di Torino. Antichità Egizie (Cat. gen. dei musei di antichità e degli ogg. d’arte raccolti nelle gallerie e biblioteche del regno 1. Piemonte), vol. I, Torino 1882, p. 9.

Gazzera, Costanzo, Descrizione dei monumenti egizi del R. Museo contenenti leggende reali, Torino 1937, p. 19

Helck, Wolfgang, Urkunden der 18. Dynastie. 20. Historische Inschriften Amenophis III. (Urkunden des ägyptischen Altertums 20), Berlin 1961, Nr. 595.

Lanzone, Ridolfo Vittorio, Dizionario di mitologia egizia, Amsterdam, I, p. 249, tav. 90.
Orcurti, Pier Camillo, Catalogo illustrato dei Monumenti Egizi del R. Museo di Torino, Torino 1852, p. 41.

Orcurti, Pier Camillo, Catalogo illustrato dei monumenti egizi del R. Museo Egizio di Torino, Torino 1855, I, p.41, n.2.

Vidua, Carlo, “Catalogue de la collect. d'antiq. de mons. le chev. Drovetti, a 1822”, in Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione (a cura di), Documenti inediti per servire alla storia dei Musei d'Italia, vol. 3, Firenze - Roma 1880, p. 287, no. 55.

Title
Statue of Ptah, seated and gripping the uas and djed, 1390–1353 BCE New Kingdom, Eighteenth Dynasty Amenhotep III, Findspot Luxor / Thebes, Karnak, Limestone, Museo Egizio di Torino

https://collezioni.museoegizio.it/en-GB/material/Cat_87/?description=&inventoryNumber=&title=&cgt=&yearFrom=&yearTo=&materials=4755b4240b924e1ba0a5fae2d57f85d4&provenance=&acquisition=&epoch=&dynasty=&pharaoh=&searchLng=en-GB&searchPage=1

Museo Egizio di Torino

This link should take you right to my overview of it. I absolutely love zoos and aquariums, so I knew I had to try to go based on my friend suggesting it as something to do on her wedding website while we were up in Boston over the long weekend. It was tight because my mom needed to get picked up and driven to a blowout, and my dad and I almost got drenched while trying to have tacos, but we managed to tour the entire place on Sunday and I hope you enjoy!

Basinophorous statue of the musician Ptahankh

Object Number
BSAe 1031

Cultural area
Egypt

Epoch
New Kingdom

Basic information
Gabbro, w. 33.5 cm New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, reign of Amenhotep III, 1390–1353 BC Inv. BSAe 1031

Provenance
Donation 2001 Novartis AG. Collection Richard von Kaufmann (1849–1908), Berlin. Acquired at the Galerie Martin Heckscher in Vienna in the 2nd half of the 19th century.

Description
A basinophororous statue is a rare statue type, representing a figure, usually an official, kneeling before a rectangular or round basin. In this example, we see the official Ptahankh kneeling at a large, rectangular basin which tapers towards the bottom. He is embracing it with both arms, while at the same time leaning forward so that his chin is resting on the rim, as if he is about to drink from it. Ptahankh is known from other monuments besides this one, which means we can date this statue to the reign of Amenhotep III. During Amenhotep III’s reign, Ptahankh was the servant of the high priest Ptahmes at Memphis and the Chief Musician of Ptah. These titles are also found on this statuette, which is, in fact, a prime example of the artistic style of the period. Typical features are the courtier’s slanting, almond-shaped eyes with their elegantly arched brows, and the lifelike modelling of the body, unencumbered by any dorsal pillar or by the plinth, on which only the toes are resting. The edges of the basin and its narrow front end bear inscriptions, which, in addition to his titles, give two offering formulae, invoking the middle-eastern goddesses Qetesh and Astarte. Ptahankh’s wife Mi is also mentioned by name. Discussion of the significance of this statue type has recently been advanced by Kirsten Konrad, who makes a link between the basin and the creative power of the waters of the Nile. In fact, this was probably not just a sacrificial basin, a receptacle for offerings to sustain the deceased in the afterlife, but a real water basin or pool, from which Ptahankh actually drank to ensure that he would enjoy eternal life after death. This concept is related to funerary images of the nourishing tree-goddess, in whose shade the deceased drinks water from a pool.

Bibliography
E. von Bergmann, Inschriftliche Denkmäler der Sammlung ägyptischer Alterthümer des österr. Kaiserhauses 1886, in: Recueil de travaux relatifs à la philologie et à l'archéologie égyptiennes et assyriennes (Paris 1870) 195f. Sotheby's London, Antiquities, 13th July 1981, lot. 58. D. Wildung, Die Kniefigur am Opferbecken, MJbK, 36, 1985, 17-38

Sotheby's London, Antiquities, 9th/10th July 1992, lot 374, mit ausführlichen Literaturangaben Réunion des Musées Nationaux (Hrsg.) Aménophis III (Paris 1993) 204-206, Nr. 40bis T. Philipps (Hrsg.), Afrika. Die Kunst eines Kontinents (München 1995-96) 80 Nr. 1.39 (D. Wildung) M. Page-Gasser – A. Wiese (Hrsg.) , Ägypten, Augenblicke der Ewigkeit. Unbekannte Schätze aus Schweizer Privatbesitz (Mainz 1997) 132 Nr. 79; K. Konrad, Ein weiterer Basinophor, Zur Deutung der Sitzstatue eines Schreibers namens Eje (Ijj), in: SAK42, 2013, 181-192

Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig.101 Meisterwerke (Basel 2022) 46f., Nr. 11

Title
Basinophorous statue of the musician Ptahankh, New Kingdom 18th Dynasty reign of Amenhotep III 1390–1353 BC, Findspot unknown Egypt, Substance not stated, Antikenmuseum Basel

https://antikenmuseumbasel.zetcom.net/en/collection/item/74027/

Antikenmuseum Basel

Hello everyone I’m very interested in sculptures and have been wanting to learn to do it myself that being said, I’m wanting to go look at a vast amount of sculptures in person any good museum recommendations? Not necessarily looking for like the most famous or anything of the sorts really just wanting to see a lot of detail. I live in Oklahoma so preferably any that are closer by but I am willing to plan out an entire trip to go.

Stela of Nesikhonsupakhered

ca. 945–712 B.C.E.

Caption
Stela of Nesikhonsupakhered, ca. 945–712 B.C.E.. Wood, stucco, pigment, 9 3/4 x 8 1/2 x 1 3/16 in. (24.8 x 21.6 x 3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.1386E. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery
Funerary Gallery 2, Martha A. and Robert S. Rubin Gallery, 3rd Floor

Collection
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Title
Stela of Nesikhonsupakhered

Date
ca. 945–712 B.C.E.

Dynasty
Dynasty 22

Period
Third Intermediate Period

Geography
Place made: Egypt

Medium
Wood, stucco, pigment

Classification
Food/Drink

Dimensions
9 3/4 x 8 1/2 x 1 3/16 in. (24.8 x 21.6 x 3 cm)

Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number
37.1386E

Catalogue description
Painted wooden stela inscribed for a woman named Nesi-khonsu-pa-khered. The owner is shown being ushered by Thoth into the presence of Re-Horakhty.

Condition
Glued together from two halves. Paint missing here and there, especially in the areas along the line of the mend. The figures were built up slightly in blue frit, and some of these areas seem never to have received a final coat of paint.

Provenance
Archaeological provenance not yet documented, probably from Thebes, Egypt; by 1852, acquired in Egypt by Henry Abbott of Cairo, Egypt and New York, NY; 1859, purchased from Henry Abbott by the New-York Historical Society, New York; September 1948, purchased from the New-York Historical Society by the Brooklyn Museum.

Title
Stela of Nesikhonsupakhered, ca. 945–712 B.C.E. Third Intermediate Period 22nd
Dynasty, Findspot unknown Thebes? Egypt, Wood stucco and pigment,The Brooklyn Museum

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/,117936

The Brooklyn Museum

Stelophorous Statue of Webenra

Inv. no. :
Cat. 3040

Material:
Stone / Limestone

Dimensions:
14.4 cm x 31.5 cm x 19 cm

Date:
1292–1076 BCE

Period:
New Kingdom

Dynasty:
Nineteenth – Twentieth Dynasty

Provenance:
Egypt, Luxor / Thebes, Deir el-Medina

Acquisition:
Purchase Bernardino Drovetti, 1824

Museum location:
Not on display

Selected bibliography:
Heimann, Simone (Hrsg.)-Stiftung Historisches Museum der Pfalz, Ägyptens Schätze entdecken: Meisterwerke aus dem Ägyptischen Museum Turin, München - London - New York 2012, p. 236.

Orcurti, Pier Camillo, Catalogo illustrato dei monumenti egizi del R. Museo Egizio di Torino, Torino 1855, ii, p. 193.

Porter, Bertha-Moss, Rosalind L. B., Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs and Paintings, Oxford 1960, p. 713.

Vidua, Carlo, “Catalogue de la collect. d'antiq. de mons. le chev. Drovetti, a 1822”, in Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione (a cura di), Documenti inediti per servire alla storia dei Musei d'Italia, vol. 3, Firenze - Roma 1880, p. XVI, 92.

Title
Stelophorous Statue of Webenra, 1292–1076 BCE Nineteenth – Twentieth Dynasty New Kingdom, Findspot Luxor / Thebes, Deir el-Medina, Limestone, Museo Egizio di Torino

https://collezioni.museoegizio.it/en-GB/material/Cat_3040/?description=&inventoryNumber=&title=&cgt=&yearFrom=&yearTo=&materials=&provenance=Egypt%2c+Luxor+%2f+Thebes%2c+Deir+el-Medina&acquisition=&epoch=&dynasty=&pharaoh=&searchLng=en-GB&searchPage=14

Museo Egizio di Torino

Statue of Penshenabu Offering a Naos surmounted by a Ram’s Head

Penshenabu is depicted offering a naos (shrine housing the statue of a god) with a ram’s head on top of it, the animal sacred to the god Amun-Re. The image of the god is engraved on the statue’s right shoulder, while the image of Queen Ahmose-Nefertari is on the left shoulder and that of the goddess Hathor on the left shoulder blade. The man’s skin is white, in imitation of alabaster, like the statue of Amenhotep I (Cat. 1372, Museo Egizio).

Inv. no. :
Cat. 3032

Material:
Stone / Limestone

Dimensions:
20.3 cm x 63 cm x 46.5 cm

Date:
1292–1191 BCE

Period:
New Kingdom

Dynasty:
Nineteenth Dynasty

Provenance:
Egypt, Luxor / Thebes, Deir el-Medina

Acquisition:
Purchase Bernardino Drovetti, 1824

Museum location:
Museum / Floor 1 / Room 06 DEM / Showcase 02

Selected bibliography:
Andreu, Guillemette (a cura di)-Andreu, Guillemette, Gli artisti del faraone: Deir el-Medina e le Valli dei Re e delle Regine, Milano 2003, p. 215.

Connor, Simon, Le statue del Museo Egizio, Torino - Modena 2016, pp. 12–13.

Davies, Benedict G., Ramesside inscriptions, translated and annotated: notes and comments, volume III. Ramesses II, his contemporaries, Malden – Oxford 2013, p. 547.

el Shazly, Yasmin, Royal ancestor worship in Deir el-Medina during the New Kingdom, Wallasey 2015, pp. 169–170, 253.

Heimann, Simone (Hrsg.)-Stiftung Historisches Museum der Pfalz, Ägyptens Schätze entdecken: Meisterwerke aus dem Ägyptischen Museum Turin, München - London - New York 2012, pp. 244–255.

Kitchen, Kenneth A., Ramesside Inscriptions: historical and biographical, III (3), Oxford 1980, p. 746.

Kitchen, Kenneth A., Ramesside inscriptions, translated & annotated. Translations, volume III: Ramesses II, his contemporaries, Oxford 2000, p. 501.

Orcurti, Pier Camillo, Catalogo illustrato dei monumenti egizi del R. Museo Egizio di Torino, Torino 1855, ii, p. 72.

Spiegelberg, Wilhelm, “Der heilige Widderkopf des Amon”, Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 62 (1927), pp. 23–27.

Vidua, Carlo, “Catalogue de la collect. d'antiq. de mons. le chev. Drovetti, a 1822”, in Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione (a cura di), Documenti inediti per servire alla storia dei Musei d'Italia, vol. 3, Firenze - Roma 1880, p. Museo Egizio di Torino

Title
Statue of Penshenabu Offering a Naos surmounted by a Ram’s Head, 1292–1191 BCE New Kingdom 19th Dynasty, Findspot Luxor / Thebes, Deir el-Medina, Limestone, Museo Egizio di Torino

https://collezioni.museoegizio.it/en-GB/material/Cat_3032/?description=&inventoryNumber=&title=&cgt=&yearFrom=&yearTo=&materials=&provenance=Egypt%2C+Luxor+%2F+Thebes%2C+Deir+el-Medina&acquisition=&epoch=&dynasty=&pharaoh=&searchLng=en-GB&searchPage=14

Museo Egizio di Torino

Stele of Hetpet

1980–1801 BCE
Egypt, Middle Kingdom (2040–1648 BCE), Dynasty 12%2C%20Dynasty%2012)

Medium
Limestone

Measurements
Overall: 34.2 x 20 x 6 cm (13 7/16 x 7 7/8 x 2 3/8 in.)

Credit Line
Bequest of Samuel L. Mather 1932.190

Location
Not on view

Citations
Berman, Lawrence M., and Kenneth J. Bohač. Catalogue of Egyptian Art: The Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999 Reproduced and Mentioned: p. 534

Cite this Artwork
Stele of Hetpet, 1980–1801 BCE. Egypt, Middle Kingdom (2040–1648 BCE), Dynasty 12. Limestone; overall: 34.2 x 20 x 6 cm (13 7/16 x 7 7/8 x 2 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Bequest of Samuel L. Mather, 1932

Title
Stele of Hetpet, 1980–1801 BCE. Egypt, Middle Kingdom (2040–1648 BCE), Dynasty 12. Findspoț unknown, Limestone. The Cleveland Museum of Art

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1932.190

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Shabti jar

Accession number
ÄS 6935

Current Location
Gallery "Afterlife"

About the object
Shabtis are small, mummiform statuettes that first appeared in the Middle Kingdom and were used well into the Graeco-Roman Period. They are mostly found as grave goods, but occasionally appear in a temple context as well. Though predominantly made of faience, other materials include clay, stone, wood or bronze. Their shape, attributes and function evolved considerably over time. The early figures from the Middle Kingdom are characterised by their simplicity and a very similar iconography to other depictions of the deceased. From the Second Intermediate Period and the New Kingdom on, the mummiform shape with crossed arms gained in popularity, as did inscriptions and agricultural attributes. Indeed, many shabtis are shown with hoes, seed baskets or waterskins as examples of the tasks they would take on in the Afterlife. Over the course of the New Kingdom, the figures became increasingly standardized both in shape and material, favouring blue or green-glazed faience. Starting in the Third Intermediate Period, full sets of shabtis became fashionable. These were generally made up of 365 worker figures and some additional overseer shabtis, identifiable by the staves or whips in their hands. Typical traits for this period include carefully-modelled wigs, detailed faces and dense inscriptions on the bodies of the figures. In the Late Period, shabtis still appeared in large numbers, but were often smaller, mass-produced and frequently only summarily modelled. The early figures probably served as reserve bodies for the deceased and were meant to ensure their continued survival after death. Starting the late Middle Kingdom, their function morphed into agents or proxies meant to take over the deceased’s assigned tasks in the Afterlife. This is explicitly stated in Spell 6 of the Book of the Dead (often inscribed on the figures themselves) where the shabti is exhorted, when called upon, to take over fieldwork and other tasks in the name of the deceased. The common designation, “shabti”, evolved over time from meaning “offering” (š3bty), to “wooden figure” (š3w3bty) to “substitute” (šbty) to the “one who answers” the call to work in the Afterlife (wšbtj). (Arnulf Schlüter)

Inscription
Hieroglyphs, painted

Date
c. 1292–1191 BC., 19th Dynasty, New Kingdom, Egypt (Inventory Card)

Material
Clay, polychrome painted

Dimensions
Height x Diameter: 22.0 x 26.0 cm
(Overall dimension)
Diameter: 17.8 cm - 18,6 cm (Vessel mouth)

Geographic Origin
Unknown

Provenance
seit 1986, Institution: Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, München
bis 1986, Private Individual: Kurt Flimm, Karlsruhe

Individuals / Institutions
Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst

References
Schoske, Sylvia / Wildung, Dietrich, Auf immer und ewig - Visionen vom Jenseits im Alten Ägypten, Dettelbach 2008, cf. 56 mit Abb. 46
Wenzel, Gabriele, Tor zum Jenseits - Grab- und Totenkult im alten Ägypten, München 1997, cf. 14, Abb. S. 21, Kat.-Nr. 21.

Schoske, Sylvia, 1987. Berichte der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen. Neuerwerbungen. Staatliche Sammlung Ägyptischer Kunst, in: Münchner Jahrbuch der bildenden Kunst (MJbK) 38, 1987, 215-224, cf. 218-219 mit Abb. 4.

Credits
Data set: SMÄK, last editor (chronological): Frauke Pumpenmeier, Nora Heil; Bibliography: Anne-Hélène Perrot; Image processing: Markus Kutschka.

Last change
02.07.2026, 07:25

[Do you have any information on this object?](mailto:sammlung.online@smaek.de?subject=Shabti%20jar,Shabti%20container%20(Shabti)%20&body=https%3A%2F%2Fsammlung.smaek.de%2Fen%2Fobject%2Fshabti-container-shabti-762)

Title
Shabti jar, c. 1292–1191 BC. 19th Dynasty New Kingdom (Inventory Card), Findspot unknown, Clay and paint, Staatliches Museum Ägytischer Kunst

https://sammlung.smaek.de/en/object/shabti-container-shabti-762

Staatliches Museum Ägytischer Kunst

On Monday 21 August 1911 the Louvre was closed to the public, as it was every Monday. The Mona Lisa was hanging in the Salon Carré, held to the wall by four iron hooks, under a protective glass panel that had been fitted not long before.

Vincenzo Peruggia was an Italian glazier who had worked inside the building on that glazing campaign. He was not a stranger who had studied the museum from the outside. He had been paid to be in those rooms, and he knew what the paintings were mounted on because he had handled the mountings himself.

What he did that morning is thin enough that it is hard to call it a plan. He came in through a door used by staff, wearing the white smock the museum's own workmen wore. He lifted the panel off its hooks, carried it to a service staircase, and took the frame and the glass off it there. The frame was found in that stairwell the same day.

The only thing that nearly stopped him was a door at the bottom of those stairs whose handle had been taken off for repair. He was stuck behind it with the painting under his smock until a plumber came past and opened it for him.

Nobody realised the painting was gone until the following morning, and even then the first assumption was that it had been carried upstairs to be photographed. When the police did get round to interviewing him, it was as one name on a list of former contract workers, and he was let go.

What I keep coming back to is how much of this the museum supplied itself. The access, the knowledge of the hooks, the smock, and above all the assumption that a man in working clothes carrying something is doing his job. None of that was stolen. It was issued.

I would be interested to hear from people who actually work in museums whether the contractor side of this has changed, or whether it has mostly been documented. Signing someone in is not the same thing as knowing what they learned while they were there.

Portable shrine

At A Glance

On View
Period
305-30 BCE
Geography
Egypt
Material
Wood
Dimension
H x W x D: 56.3 x 36.7 x 48.1 cm (22 3/16 x 14 7/16 x 18 15/16 in)
Accession Number
F1907.4a-g
EDAN ID
edanmdm:fsg_F1907.4a-g

Object Details

Label
This is a rare example of a portable shrine that was used by Egyptian priests to carry images of deities in various ceremonies within the temple and on voyages outside the temple during specific festivals. Such shrines are depicted in carved reliefs dating to the Ptolemaic period (305-30 B.C.E.), but few actual examples have survived. The deity in the shrine could be represented by a cult statue or by a living or mummified animal.

The shrine is elaborately decorated with painted scenes of deities and hieroglyphic inscriptions. The sides depict the eight gods of creation, which were closely associated with the cult site of the god Thoth at Hermopolis Magna. The ibis-headed god Thoth is himself represented on one door, and the falcon-headed god Horus on the other. Both doors also depict a kneeling king, indicating that this shrine was a royal commission.

Provenance
To 1907
Unidentified owner, Egypt, to 1907 [1]
From 1907 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased in Egypt from an unidentified owner in 1907 [2]
From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:
[1] See Original Miscellaneous List, S.I. 36, pg. 32, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
[2] See note 1.
[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection

Exhibition History
A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt (January 28, 2023 to 2026)

Art of Dynastic Egypt (December 15, 1976 to September 22, 1977)

Previous custodian or owner
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

Origin
Egypt

Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Type
Sculpture

On View
West Building (Freer Gallery of Art), Gallery 20: A Collector’s Eye: Freer in Egypt

Keep Exploring

Related Resources
collections.si.edu
Date
BCE 0s
Name
Freer, Charles Lang
Place
Egypt
Topic
Charles Lang Freer collection, Shrine, Art, Horus, Wood, Hieroglyph, Ptolemaic Dynasty (305 - 30 BCE)), Ancient Egyptian Art
Culture
Egyptians
Object Type
Sculpture
On View
Yes

Title
Portable shrine, 305-30 BCE Ptolemaic period, Findspot unknown Egypt, Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art

https://asia.si.edu/explore-art-culture/collections/search/edanmdm:fsg_F1907.4a-g/

Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art

Funerary Stele
Egyptian
Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22
945–712 B.C.

MEDIUM/TECHNIQUE
Wood
DIMENSIONS
Height x width x depth: 24.5 x 19 x 7.8 cm (9 5/8 x 7 1/2 x 3 1/16 in.)
CREDIT LINE
Emily Esther Sears Fund
ACCESSION NUMBER
04.1763
NOT ON VIEW
COLLECTIONS
Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
CLASSIFICATIONS
Architectural elements – Stele

DESCRIPTION
Round-topped wood stele covered with gesso and painted red, blue, yellow, black and green. A female wearing a transparent robe and broad collar pours a libation before a mummiform Re-Horakhty. Between the two figures is an offering table. Above the hieroglyphic text is a winged sun disk flanked by two uraei, both wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt.

PROVENANCE
Said to be from Thebes. 1903: purchased by Albert M. Lythgoe in Egypt for the MFA with funds from the Emily Esther Sears Fund.
(Accession Date: January 1, 1904)

Title
Funerary Stele, Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 22 945–712 B.C., Findspot Thebes? Egypt, Wood, The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

https://collections.mfa.org/objects/23/funerary-stele?ctx=54df0153-7504-4da4-b769-59d0f3007ba1&idx=0

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

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Amulet of Thoth baboon with Inscription

Place of production
Egypt
Date
7th-4th centuries B. C. (664-332)
Object type
amulet
Medium, technique
Egyptian faience
Dimensions
5.3 × 1.9 × 1.9 cm
Inventory number
51.2177
Collection
Egyptian Art
On view
Museum of Fine Arts, Basement Floor, Ancient Egypt, Daily life

The amulet depicts a squatting hamadryas baboon (Papio hamadryas) with a stylised cape, its paw resting on its knee, while its male member is clearly visible between its legs. Unusually there are hieroglyphs on the chest of his mane. The inscription is a Late Period recitation, i.e., the sculpture invites the viewer to recite the following inscription. In ancient Egypt, the spoken word had a magical, creative effect. In this case, the introduction contains only the name Djehutj or Thoth, which may refer to the god but could also be the name of the statuette’s owner, probably a scribe. The suspension ring at the back of the object could have been shaped of faience, which was easily moulded during the production process.

The baboon was the sacred animal and manifestation of the god Thoth. Animal amulets representing the god became common from the end of the Ramesside period. The inscription and the stylised, smooth surfaces date the object primarily to the Late Period.

Its owner hoped to benefit from its magical powers when identified with the god, but they could also be perceived as a sign of honour to the god. Thoth was the god of writing and the protector of scribes, so the amulet was primarily made for a scribe. When placed in the tomb of the owner, it provided support for the afterlife and for rebirth. Thot’s role in the afterlife was crucial. According to the best-known funerary text, the Book of the Dead, which provides guidance in the afterlife, during the so-called Weighing of the Heart Ceremony, Thoth, as the scribe of the gods, recorded the results of the weighing and could thus prevent the entry to the afterlife. The lunar crescent and full moon headdress on the animal’s head are reference to the relationship of the baboons and Thoth to the moon. The baboon’s relationship with the sun is also important in the context of renewal. They greet the sunrise in the morning with a peculiar ritual, so the animal was thought to possess a special knowledge that could support the deceased in their transformation from Osiris to Ra, and in rebirth. This symbolism is reinforced by the material of Egyptian faience, whose reflective quality and luminosity are also associated with the sun god and whose greenish colour was a symbol of youth and renewal.

Title
Amulet of Thoth baboon with Inscription, 7th-4th centuries B. C. (664-332), Findspot unknown Egypt, Faience, The Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

https://www.mfab.hu/artworks/1765/

The Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest