Luxor Museum, Egypt

Luxor Museum is an archaeological museum in Luxor (ancient Thebes), Egypt. It stands on the corniche, overlooking the west bank of the River Nile.

Among the items on display are grave goods from the tomb of the 18th dynasty pharaoh Tutankhamun (KV62) and a collection of 26 New Kingdom statues that were found buried in the Luxor statue cache in the nearby Luxor Temple in 1989.

The royal mummies of two pharaohs - Ahmose I and Ramesses I - were also put on display in the Luxor Museum in March 2004, as part of the new extension to the museum, which includes a small visitor centre.

A major exhibit is a reconstruction of one of the walls of Akhenaten's temple at Karnak. One of the featured items in the collection is a calcite double statue of the crocodile god Sobek and the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep III.

Facade of the Luxor Museum
The Luxor Museum is an Egyptian museum opened in 1975. It is located on a cornice along the Nile.

The museum was conceived by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, which hired Dr. Mahmud El Hakim, a top Egyptian architect, to create the plans in 1962.
The installation of the museum art works came later and was finished between 1972 and 1975.

Interior of the Luxor Museum
Among the items on display are grave goods from the tomb of the 18th dynasty pharaoh Tutankhamun (KV62) and a collection of 26 New Kingdom statues that were found buried in the Luxor statue cache in the nearby Luxor Temple in 1989.

The royal mummies of two pharaohs – Ahmose I and Ramesses I – were also put on display in the Luxor Museum in March 2004, as part of the new extension to the museum, which includes a small visitor centre.
A major exhibit is a reconstruction of one of the walls of Akhenaten's temple at Karnak.
One of the featured items in the collection is a calcite double statue of the crocodile god Sobek and the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep III.

Statue of the God Amun
Limestone, New Kingdom, 1347 - 1336 BCE. Karnak Temple.

The God Amun was a local deity. Here he is represented with the facial features of king Tutankhamun in whose reign the sculpture was made.
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Head of the statue of King Amenhotep I
Sandstone. 18th Dynasty, New Kingdom, 1525 - 1505 BCE. Karnak Temple Cachette.

Amenhotep I was the son and successor of King Ahmose, the founder of the XVIII Dynasty.
The few records found about his 13-year reign testify him as a successful ruler who achieved great results in foreign policy and removed the threat of an Asiatic invasion into Egypt forever. He pursued the enemy forces far into the north, possibly also to the east, where he may even have crossed the Euphrates. Similarly in the south, according to a statement by his successor, Egyptian forces penetrated as far as the Third Cataract, to remove the threat of Nubian attack.
After his death he shared a mortuary temple, and possibly a tomb, with his mother, though the tomb's location is unknown.
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Statue of Amenhotep II
Red granite. 18th Dinasty, Karnak.

This statue, of which only the upper part remains, has the characteristic features of Amenhotep II, an identification confirmed by the inscription carved on the back pillar. The king wears the double crown and false beard of royalty; the complete statue would most likely have shown him in a seated position.
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Statue of King Amenhotep III
Quartzite. New Kingdom, XVIII Dynasty, 1405 - 1367 BCE.

Amenhotep III succeeded the throne of his father Thutmose IV.
His reign was a period of prosperity and artistic splendor of Ancient Egypt, when the state reached the heights of its international and cultural influence.
The successor of the pharaoh was his son Amenhotep IV, who later changed his name to "Akhenaton".
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Head of a colossal statue of Amenhotep III, wearing the Red Crown of Lower Egypt
Quartzite. New Kingdom, 1403 - 1365 BCE. Height 1.24 m (4 ft), width 0.94 m (3 ft), depth 1.1 m (3.6 ft).

Found in 1964 in the funerary temple of Amenhotep III in Thebes West, the head was damaged in the 1980's by fire and was broken into multiple pieces. It was recently restored by the members of The Colossi of Memnon and Amenhotep III Temple Conservation Project in cooperation with the Ministery of Antiquities, brought to the Luxor Museum on 20 February 2016, and placed facing its southern companion in red granite.
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Head of King Amenhotep III
Granite. Qurna. New Kingdom, 1403 - 1365 BCE.

This magnificent head of Amenhotep III was once part of a colossal statue, it is believed to be one of the series of colossal statues that decorated the funeral temple of the king in western Thebes.
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King Amenhotep IV with double crown
Sandstone. 1365 - 1360 BCE. East Karnak.

The early representation of Amenhotep IV are executed in an exaggerated style in contrast to the idealized images of earlier kings.
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Head of a statue of Akhenaten
Sandstone. 1365 - 1360 BCE. East Karnak.

Amenhotep IV ruled about 1353 to 1336 BCE.
Until the fifth year of his reign, he was known under the name Amenhotep IV, which in translation from the ancient Egyptian means "Amon is pleased." Having throwing a challenge to the established religious tradition, the King has defined a new religion, that believed that there is only one God - the Sun God Aten. In this regard, he changed his name to Akhenaten, which means "Useful for Aten".
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Double statue of the Goddess Mut and God Amon
Calcite (alabaster). 19th Dynasty, 1290 - 1224 BCE, Reign of Ramesses II.

The statue has inscription representing the titles of the King User-Maat-Ra, Setepen-Ra beloved of Mut, Lady of Heaven - Ramesses II (User-Maat-Ra Setepen-Ra).
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Statue of Amun and Mut
Granite. Karnak Temple. New Kingdom, 1224 BCE.

A group of statues representing the god Amun and his wife the goddess Mut on the throne of King Seti I.
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Cobra
Grey granite. Headless statue of Amun-Re Kamutef, from Luxor Temple Cachette. 25th Dynasty, 689 - 664 BCE, Reign of Taharqa. Height of cobra 1.59 m (5.2 ft).

The statue represents a cobra standing on a pedestal with a body twice coiled upright behind.
The body is decorated with the emblem of the goddess Neith.
The pedestal is decorated with inscriptions bearing the name of Taharqa, beloved of Amun-Re-Ka-Mutef.
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Statue of the Goddess Hathor
Diorite. 18th Dynasty, 1405 - 1367 BCE. Karnak, Cachette.

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King Horemheb kneeling before Atum
Carved in Diorite. Atum is 1.71 m (5.6 ft) high and Horemheb is 0.83 m (2.7 ft). 18th Dynasty, 1338 - 1308 BCE.

The statues of Horemheb and Atum fit into recesses in the base (maybe to make moving the tableau easier).
Horemheb is holding two spherical vessels and is wearing the Nemes headdress, uraeus, royal beard, shendyt-kilt and sandals. The inscriptions say King Lord of the two lands (Djeser-Khepru-Re Setep-en-Re Heka-Maat).
Atum is sitting on a throne wearing the double crown, long wig and a curved beard. His right hand is holding an Ankh.
Each side of the throne is decorated with two Nile God which represent the unification of upper and lower Egypt, the lily on the right and the papyrus on the left.
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Statue of a diminutive Horemheb standing before Amun
Diorite. 18th Dynasty, 1338 - 1308 BCE. Luxor Temple. Heigh 1,52 m (4.9 ft).

Amun is wearing the characteristic crown with two tall feathers. Amun's hand is resting on Horemheb's crown.
Horemheb is wearing the Nemes headdress, Uraeus on his forehead and is holding a crook against his chest - the left hand is holding a scroll.
The throne has a papyrus thicket surrounded by a patterned freeze. The back of the pillar is inscribed with a column of hieroglyphs flanked by two palm-leaves. The text reads «live the perfect god, images of Ra, king of upper and lower Egypt, lord of the two lands, lord of action, Djeser-Khepru-Ra Setep-en-Ra, son of Ra, of his body his beloved Horemheb-Mery-Amun given life like Ra eternally».
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Statue of Horemheb (partly broken)
Diorite. 18th Dynasty.

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Statue of the goddess Iwnit
Diorite. 18th Dynasty, 1405 - 1367 BCE, Reign of Amenhotep III.

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Head of the Army General Nakhtmin
Calcite (alabaster). 18th Dynasty, New Kingdom, 1336 - 1327 BCE.

Nakhtmin who lived during the reign of King Ay, successor of Tutankhamun, was holding important titles such as the Prince, Royal Scribe, and General. Nakhtmin was a serving officer in the Army who was also a significant figure at the court during the reign of Tutankhamun.
This head is a part of a fragmentary monolithic pair statue of husband and wife,represents Nakhtmin, a royal scribe and army general under Tutankhamun and his successor, Ay. Along the right-hand side of his wig can be seen the remains of the ostrich-plume fan, that served as a symbol of his rank. Nakhtmin was heir apparent, and possibly the son of Ay, but was supplanted by Horemheb, who may have had this statue destroyed.
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Statue of the military commander Nebra, holding a standard
Sandstone. 19th Dynasty.

This statue was found at the fortress of Zawiet um el-Rakhem, built to protect the western border of Egypt from the Libyans. Nebre was the commander of this fortress under Ramesses II.
In one hand, he holds his staff of office, topped by the head of Sekhmet, lioness-headed goddess of war.
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Statue of Ramesses III
Greywacke. 19th Dynasty, New Kingdom, 1185 - 1153 BCE, Karnac. The statue was discovered during excavations in the Temple of Mut, Eastern Thebes.

In this beautiful sculpture, which was most likely a cult statue, Ramesses III, last great warrior king of the New Kingdom, wears a short wig surmounted by the double crown and a pleated garment fronted by large trapexoidal panel.
In front of him was once a figure of the mummiform god Osiris, only traces of which remain against his torso.
A prince, Pareherwenemef, who was commander of the army and the king's fan-bearer, is depicted on one side of the statue, behind the left leg of his father.
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Standing statue of King Ramesses VI, presenting a statuette of Amun-Ra
Green schist. 20th Dynasty, New Kingdom, 1150 - 1145 BCE. Karnak.

The reign of Ramesses VI was uneasy. Already in the first year of his reign, Egypt experiences threats of a new Libyan war that caused various internal riots.
During the reign of Ramesses VI, Egypt has completely lost its foreign possessions, except for Nubia.
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Statue of a prisoner
Grey granite. New Kingdom. Qasr el-Koba (Cairo).

A prostrate enemy is shown here, his hands tied uncomfortably behind his back in the typical posture of the subjugated prisoner.
His features and hairstyle identify him as a native Syria-Palestie.
The inscription bears an offering prayer, dedicated to a man named Peninhery.
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Statue of Amenhotep, son of Hapu
Grey granite. 18th Dynasty, New Kingdom, 1430 - 1350 BCE.

Amenhotep, son of Hapu, is known to Egyptian history as a wise and honorable official under the King Amenhotep III, and also as a man of exceptional honesty and talent.
He was awarded such honorary titles as Royal Scribe, Scribe of Recruits (a post with military responsibilities) and Overseer of All the Works of the King. Besides this he was also an Architect, responsible for the construction projects entrusted to him by Amenhotep III.
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Statue of King Mentuhotep III as Osiris
Sandstone. Middle Kingdom, 11th Dynasty, 2010 - 1998 BCE. Monthu Temple, Armant.

Statue showing the King Mentuhotep III as Osiris with a tall crown, long beard and an full-length cloak.
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Headless statue of Mentuhotep in the form of a scribe
Gray granite. 12th Dynasty, Middle Kingdom, ~ 1800 - 1700 BCE. Gray granite.

Mentukhotep was the Vizier and Prime Minister under the reign of King Senusret I (Sesostris I).
He possessed the exclusive power given to him by the King and subsequently some scholars even identified his personality with the biblical Joseph.
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Statue of God Sebek and King Amenhotep III
Calcite (alabaster). New Kingdom, 1390 - 1352 BCE.

The statue was found in the the Sobek temple at Dahamsha during 1967 by workers digging of the Armant Canal in a shaft closed by the sandstone slab - the slab slid into place on two bronze wheels.
Sobek is seated in a human form with the crocodile head and his right hand holds the Ankh giving life to the youthful Amenhotep III. The King is wearing the Nemes headdress, with the uraeus and royal beard.
The statue was later usurped by Ramesses II. The back is carved with 5 vertical hieroglyphics lines showing the King Ramesses's name and titles.
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Goddess Sekhmet
Sekhmet, in Egyptian mythology, is the Goddess of War and at the same time the Goddess of Healing. She is depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness, the most dangerous predator known to the Egyptians.

Sekhmet protected the Pharaohs, leading them to the war. She is called "the terrible eye of Ra". Hot winds and sunrays were considered as the breath of Sekhmet.
There is an ancient Egyptian belief that in the ancient times her breath formed the desert. In the explanation of ancient mythology by means of the natural elements, Sekhmet is identified with a "Sun Burst".
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Statue of Sesostris I in the form of Osiris
Limestone. Temple of Amon in Karnak. 12th Dynasty, Middle Kingdom, 1971 - 1926 BCE. Limestone.

Senwosret was one of Egypt's greatest kings. The speed and decisiveness which marked his accession were repeated in the frequent and far-ranging military campaigns which he undertook.
He was a great builder and was responsible for one of the most beautiful of all Egypt's buildings, the so-called White Chapel at Karnak, a small chapel which served as a 'way-station' for the god and his priests as they processed round the temple.
He also built what may have been the first 'new town' in history, Itj-tawy.
His immense pyramid complex at El-Lisht was surrounded by the tombs, many of them of considerable splendour, of his great officers of state.
For centuries after his death Senwosret was worshipped as a god. His reputation grew and was conflated with that of his descendant, Senwosret III to produce the composite mythical king Sesostris, whose legend has persisted to the present day.
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Statue of Seti I
Calcite (alabaster). 19th Dynasty, New Kingdom, 1294 - 1279 BCE.

In the early years of his reign he led a number of campaigns into the lands beyond Egypt's frontiers. He was particularly active against the Hittites, a power which was to play an important part in the foreign relations of his son, Ramesses II.
In Egypt itself Seti I continued Horemheb's policy of repairing the ravages of the Amarnan period. Seti I and his successors maintained the position of Thebes as the religious and secular capital of the country.
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Statue of Thai, the scribe
Ebony. The reign of Amenhotep III, New Kingdom, 1388 - 1353 BCE.

This elegant statue is made of ebony, an expensive wood, imported from the south.
The man, depicted here, Thai, was a Royal Scribe and overseer of the stables during the reign of Amenhotep III. He is shown here in the golden collar of honour.
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Officer decorated with the necklace of honour
Sandstone. 18th Dynasty, New Kingdom, 1440 - 1400 BCE. Found Qau el-Kebir.

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Statue of Thutmose III
Graywacke. 18th Dynasty, New Kingdom, 1479 - 1425 BCE. Karnak, Cachette. Height 0.90 m (2.9 ft).

During the 18th Dynasty the inheritance was carried out by the maternal line, so Thutmose III could not claim the royal throne. The legal line of throne heritage belonged to Hatshepsut - the daughter of Thutmose I and regent of Thutmose III. So,Thutmose III ascended the Throne only after her death.
Thutmose III became famous as the King-warrior, who did about 15 military campaigns to Asia. In the South of Egypt, he managed to expand the country's borders, up to the 4th Cataract.
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Statue of Thutmose III
Granodiorite. 18th Dynasty. Deir el-Bahari, Temple of Thuthmose III.

This beautiful statue represents the great warrior king Thuthmose III, seated on a throne.
The inscription gives his titulary and calls him beloved of Amun, god of Thebes and the most important state god of the New Kingdom.
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Ancestor Bust of Pa-en-djerty
Dimensions: Height 36.5 cm (14.4 in).

This sculpture came to light during the clearing of a Theban tomb belonging to Amenmose, who was the Royal Scribe of the Altar of the Two Lands. The name of the tomb owner does not appear on this bust, which depicts his father, Pa-en-djerty.
The face of the bust has a somewhat empty expression and it bears a faint incised line between the upper eyebrow and eyelid. This is stylistically consistent with other statues from the initial two decades of Ramesses the Second's reign. The tripatite wig, which this figure wears, has the style of the Old Kingdom.
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Sphinx making an offering
Calcite. Original sculpture had human arms and a vase. Could be Tutankhamun. From Karnak. 18th Dynasty, about 1350 BCE.

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Mummy of Ahmose I
New Kingdom, 1550 - 1525 BCE.

Ahmose I was the founder of the 18th Dynasty and, consequently, the establisher of the family, which ruled the Egypt for more than two centuries.
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Mummy of Ramesses I
19th Dynasty, New Kingdom, 1292 - 1290 BCE.

For the 140 years, the mummy of Ramesses I rested in the storerooms of the oldest Canadian Niagara Falls Museum, remaining unidentified, since the time its was purchased in the late 1800s.
In 2003, the Museum of Atlanta gratuitously returned the mummy of Ramesses I to Egypt as a gift of goodwill and international cultural cooperation.
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Coffin of Imeni
Middle Kingdom. Dra' Abu el-Naga necropolis.

The box-shaped (exterior) wooden coffin is inscribed for Imeni.
The unusual feature of this coffin is the remarkably well-preserved decoration of all inner walls, which are adorned with the 'Coffin Texts' and polychrome representations of the ideal burial equipment.
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Octagonal pillar of Antef II
Limestone. 11th Dynasty, Middle Kingdom, First Intermediate Period.

Wahankh Antef II (also Inyotef II and Intef II) was the third ruler of the 20th Dynasty of Egypt during the First Intermediate Period. He reigned for almost fifty years from 2112 BCE to 2063 BCE.
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Second stela of Kamose
Limestone. 17th Dynasty, Karnak.

This is one of pair of stelae set up by Kamose of the 17th Dynasty in the 3rd year of his short reign.
The inscription here, which begins on the fragmentary first stela of the pair, tells of his victories over Hyksos, whom he pushed back into their Delta capital of Avaris.
He did not, however, defeat them utterly; this was left for his probable brother, Ahmose, to do twenty years later.
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Thutmose III
Limestone block from a temple wall at Deir El Bahari (western Thebes).

Thutmose III (Men-Kheper-Ra, ruled c. 1479 - 1425 BCE) wearing the Atef crown.
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God Amun - Min
Limestone. Relief of God Amun - Min. New Kingdom, 1490 - 1436 BCE. Deir el-Bahari.

This relief shows the god Amun merged with fertiliy god Min.
The relief was destroyed during the Amarna period and restored by a later king.
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Painted block of Thutmosis III
Limestone. Fragment of the ainted block of Thutmose III, New Kingdom 1498 - 1456 BCE.

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Painted block of Thutmosis III

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Painted block with bas-relief from Deir el-Bahari

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Stela of Amenhotep II
Red granite. Stela with a bas-relief of Amenhotep II. 18th Dynasty, Karnak.

Amenhotep II was well known for his athletic abilities as a young man. One of his greatest athletic achievements was accomplished when he shot arrows through a copper plate while driving a chariot with the reins tied about his waist.
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Talatat blocks
Akhenaten, early in his reign, constructed a number of temples at Karnak. These employed the characteristic art of his period and were also constructed with small blocks, known as "talatat".

After the Amarna Period the temples were dismantled, and together with other useful building material were re-used in construction of other buildings. In particular, a large number of "talatates" were used in the construction of the 9th Pylon of the Temple of Amun in Karnak during the reign of Horemheb.
During the archaeological work in Karnak, thousands of fragments of these "talatat blocks" were discovered. Part of them (183 pieces) were assembled on one of the walls of the Luxor Museum in a mosaic of 18 m (59 ft) length. The scenes, depicted in it demonstrate the everyday life of ordinary people.
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Flies of valor of Ahhotep
Jewelry with golden flies - was a high military award during the New Kingdom. The most famous among them is the "necklace with golden flies" of the mid-16th BCE, granted to the Queen Ahhotep by her son Ahmose for her organizational merits during the war with the Hyksos.

It was found in 1859 and since then it has been kept in the Luxor Museum. The military leader Ahmose Pen-Nehebt (relative of Ahmose), wore six gold flies and three gold lions. Another Ahmose, the son of Abana, had three golden flies.
Under the reign of King Thutmose III, "Golden Fly" became the Order - the highest military award of Egypt. It was available to all the military ranks, including ordinary soldiers.
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Dagger and sheath of Ahmose
18th Dynasty, found in Dra abu-Naga.

Along with its sheath, this ceremonial weapon was a royal gift from king Ahmose to his mother Ahhotep, in whose burial it was discovered.
The blade decorated with a typically Aegean technique but Egyptian iconography, bears the titulary of the king on one side and a hunting scene on the other side.
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Ceremonial axe of Ahmose
18th Dynasty. Gold, electrum, copper, semi-precious stones and wood. Found in the burial of Queen Ahotep.

This axe celebrates the victory of Ahmose. It bears the king's titulary, along with images of the king smiting an Asiatic ebemy and prayers for many years of rule.
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