Tutankhamun’s golden mask is one of the most well-known and revered artifacts of ancient Egypt, both historically and globally. Tutankhamun’s burial death mask, from the Egyptian pharaohs of the 18th dynasty (1332-1323 B.C.E).
One of the world’s most popular Egyptian artifacts is the funerary mask of King Tutankhamun. The mask weighs 24 pounds of pure gold. It also has inlays of blue glass, lapis lazuli, and other semiprecious stones.
The mask covered the head and face of the young king’s mummy. Archaeologist Howard Carter discovered it in 1922. The artifact is believed to be a realistic portrait of the king. It is now on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The Palette of Narmer is considered one of the world’s oldest historical records. It dates back to the 31st century BC and features some of the first known hieroglyphic drawings. The palette is a 23-inch-long, dark green schist stone. Artisans fashioned it into a ceremonial, shield-shaped tablet to commemorate King Narmer’s rise to power.
The sculpture shows Narmer winning the battle to unify Upper and Lower Egypt. The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, has a reproduction of this artifact.
The Rosetta Stone is an important ancient Egyptian artifact dating back to the time of Pharaoh Ptolemy V. The Rosetta Stone is a representation of the law that grants the Royalty of this Pharaoh to control people. An irregularly shaped stone with inscriptions written in three different written languages, old Greek, Egyptian hieroglyphics, and Egyptian demotic, all with the same meaning.
A French officer, Pierre-François Bouchard, discovered the Rosetta Stone in 1799 AD during Napoleon Bonaparte’s expedition in Egypt. It was instrumental in solving the hieroglyphics riddle for the first time in 2,000 years.
The Rosetta Stone’s inscription features the name of King Ptolemy within a cartouche. This clue led French scholar Jean-François Champollion to begin deciphering the ancient Egyptian language.
Archaeologists found the Rosetta Stone 35 kilometers north of Alexandria, near the village of Rosetta. The British Museum in London now displays the stone. The inscription on the stone is a decree from a council of priests. It affirms the royal cult of 13-year-old Ptolemy V on the first anniversary of his coronation in 196 B.C.E.
The Bust of Nefertiti is a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian sculpture and one of the finest examples of art from any era. Nefertiti’s name means “a beautiful lady has come.” She had a huge influence on religion and society during the reign of her heretic husband, Pharaoh Akhenaten.
The limestone bust is a confirmed, true-to-life portrayal of extreme beauty. The unique crown she wears helps confirm this. The bust represents the climax of the Amarna era of Egyptian art. It is now on display at the Neues Museum in Berlin.
The Statue of King Chephren is one of the most intriguing popular Egyptian artifacts. It was carved from a single piece of diorite stone. Diorite is the second-hardest stone on Earth, after diamond. We do not know how the ancient Egyptians created this statue.
The statue is a life-size depiction of the fourth Dynasty’s third ruler. King Chephren built the second-largest pyramid in Giza. His pyramid is only smaller than his father’s, King Khufu. The statue was found at Chephren’s Valley Temple in Giza, his mummification temple.
Today, the statue is on display at the Egyptian Museum. Tourists visit the discovery site and throw coins to make wishes. The Great Sphinx of Giza is also a popular Egyptian artifact. It depicts King Chephren’s head on a lion’s body. The Sphinx was carved from a single, massive piece of limestone. The ancient Egyptians worshipped the Sphinx. They considered it the living image of the god Rehorakhti.
An ivory statue of King Khufu (Cheops) is one of the smallest and most precious artifacts ever found in ancient Egypt. At just 7.5 centimeters (3 inches), it is the only known depiction of him. Khufu was the ruler who built the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Archaeologists found the statue at the ancient necropolis of Abydos. They discovered it in the southern corner of the Temple of Osiris. The statue was headless when they found it; they found the head two weeks later. A serekh name on the statue’s left shoulder identifies it as King Khufu. The statue is now housed in Cairo’s Egyptian Museum.
This statue is one of the most popular Egyptian artifacts. It shows Pharaoh Ramesses II as a young king. He wears a Khepresh crown and holds the Heqa scepter. The statue is life-size.
It dates back to the 19th Dynasty of the New Kingdom (1279-1213 B.C.). The statue is made from a single block of granodiorite stone. Archaeologists discovered it at the Temple of Amon in Karnak.
The statue is now at the Great Egyptian Museum of Turin in Italy. It has been there since 1824. The king wears a long royal robe and a starched kilt for wartime. The statue is beautifully preserved. It shows the peak of ancient Egyptian art and beauty. The artifact is in superb shape.
This is one of the most magnificent popular Egyptian artifacts. It is a statuette of the god Amun, weighing about two pounds. It is made of solid gold and is now on display at the Metropolitan Museum. Amun stands in the classic posture with his left leg forward. His flat-topped crown, which once held two tall gold feathers, is now missing.
He has the braided beard of the gods and a scimitar across his chest. Amun-Re often gave the king a scimitar on New Kingdom temple walls and pylons, granting him military success. This gold figurine is an incredibly rare example of expensive metal sculpture. It once graced temple sanctuaries. The figure may have topped a scepter or a standard. A tripartite loop on Amun’s cap indicates that someone suspended it, possibly a temple celebrant or a divinity figure. The Egyptians associated gold’s brightness with the sun. They believed the gods’ skin was gold.
The soft body modeling and tiny waist are typical of Third Intermediate Period art. This period was a time of immense creative success. Metalwork (gold, silver, and especially bronze) was of exceptional quality, and this Amun figure proves it.
The Enduring Significance of Abydos Abydos holds a unique status in Egypt. Indeed, it is...
We’ve put together a variety of Egypt tour packages that include visits to ancient temples, tombs, and museums, as well as all of Egypt’s other attractions. On one of our Nile Cruise Tours, visit Luxor and Aswan for their breathtaking sites, and Cairo for its world-class museums and infinite ancient Egyptian antiquities.
These guys put together an amazing itinerary that allowed me see the sunrise at the sun festival in Abu Simbel, King Tut’s tomb, and mask! That was just the tip of the iceberg. Aswan, Kom Ombo, Edfu and Luxor. So much visited with plenty of rest time. An amazing trip
I can’t recommend them enough. I got into Cairo on a 12-hour layover at 2:00 AM. By 3:15 Hani and his driver were meeting me at the airport. For the next five hours we strolled through lovely downtown Cairo & over the Nile, wandered through (friendly, well-organized) Tahrir Square, toured
Fantastic tour. We were picked up at the airport early in the morning (6 am), and were dropped off in the evening after discovering amazing Cairo. The guide was knowledgeable and took us to many hidden places, which we wouldn’t have found without him. Thank you!
On a recent trip, I had 8 hours from the time I landed in Cairo to when my next flight was scheduled to leave. Luckily, I arrived in the morning and left in the afternoon, so, not being one to sit around an airport for 8 hours, I visited the
I am tempted to say “my friend Hani” runs an amazing service, because that is how he makes you feel. I first went on the 9-hour layover tour in summer 2011. Hani and driver picked me up at the airport at 3am, and by the time I left at noon
