From the Land of the Pharaohs

On a second visit to the Cleveland Museum of Art, I began with the ancient Egyptian gallery.  The material there is not arranged chronologically but by theme.  Here are a few of the items in the collection...

This sculpture is of a court official presenting a statue of the god Thoth in the form of a baboon to the Pharaoh Amenhotep III.  It dates back to around 1370 B.C. during the period known as the New Kingdom.

This portrait of the Pharaoh Userkaf is from around 2450 B.C. and is one of the few surviving images of an Old Kingdom ruler.

From around 1840 B.C. during the Middle Kingdom is this statue of Pharaoh Amenemhat III.

On this image of Amenhotep III the crown was originally painted blue and the headband yellow.

This relief carving was taken from the tomb of the chief physician of Pharaoh Ramesses II.  It dates from around 1270 B.C. during the New Kingdom.

This is the coffin of Bakenmet, a priest of Amen. It is considered one of the finest examples of a painted wooden coffin.

The coffin of a woman named Nesylchonsu was found next to it.  It is thought that they were husband and wife.

This mummy case dates from the late Ptolemaic or early Roman era.  It is made of cartonage, a material similar to papier-mache, except that it is made from linen instead of paper.

 

Nefertiti was the wife of the Pharaoh Akhenaten.  You are probably familiar with the famous bust of her in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin.

(image taken from the web)

However this image of Nefertiti in the Cleveland Museum of Art is nothing like the beautiful woman portrayed in the Berlin bust.

It is not meant to be realistic.  The features are exaggerated to distinguish the queen from ordinary people.

These figurines are known as "shawabtys".  It was believed that in the afterlife they would magically work for the deceased so that he or she could enjoy an eternity of relaxation.

This statue is hollow and was used to hold the mummified remains of a cat.

During the era when Egypt was a Roman province, realistic funerary portraits were sometimes placed in the mummy case.  These two examples were actually painted on the linen wrappings of the mummies.

There is much more to come in future posts from the Cleveland Museum of Art!