Highlights
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Gold-plated cartonage mask of Pen-ta-hut-hetep Late Period/Ptolemaic Era (ca. 380-250 BCE), from a tomb in Qubbet el-Hawa Since the New Kingdom, the dead is equated with Osiris and should, as the god, rich a godly status in the realm of the dead. Thus, the mummy and the coffin are decorated so that the dead appears as a forever-young god. Belonging to the typical burial objects are relatively small masks out of catronage, which lay around the head of the mummy. The gold plate on the face symbolizes the gold flesh of the gods and is thus everlasting. |
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The Bonn “Jagdschale” 1st half of the 11th Dynasty (around 2100 BCE) The bowl is decorated with an unusual picture of a Nubian archer between multiple tigers. It was found in 1969 during an excavation at Qubbet el-Hawa (Region Aswan) under the guidance of Elmar Edel in front of a tomb and came in the course of the find division to Bonn. This type of bowl is only known from Qubbet el-Hawa and was only used for a short period of time for burial rituals. The imagery of these bowls depict typical elements of the 1st Intermediate Period, as the patterns of court culture of the Old Kingdom were being radically changed and revitalized through innovative elements. |
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The scribe of Bonn Torso and head of the statue of a man with writing utensils over the left shoulder; diorite, New Kingdom (around 1450 BCE), find spot unknown The scribe statue is an excellent example for the courtly influenced art style of the 18th dynasty. The portrayed person, who is presenting himself as a member of the intellectual and social elite through his status as a “writer”, is shown with a hyper realistic youth and perfection. The piece was acquired by Alfred Wiedemann; documents about the origin were however destroyed in World War II. |
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Cast of a battle relief from Sethi I. The largest object in the Egyptian Museum of the University Bonn is a cast of a relief, which shows the pharaoh Sethi I. (ca. 1285 BCE) in a chariot. The original can be found in the Temple of Karnak in Egypt. The pharaoh is shown in a traditional scene, in which he is killing enemies in large numbers. However, here, this motive is modernized through the fact that the king is riding in a chariot, military equipment that was introduced in the New Kingdom. While the pharaoh is rushing with majestic composure, the enemy is falling wildly and jumbled. On the far left, the stronghold of Gaza, which the Pharaoh is assaulting, can be recognized. |
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Inscribed ceramic from the Qubbet el-Hawa The use of inscribed pots as grave goods is an in Egypt otherwise not testified use of ceramics. This was typical for the cemetery at Qubbet el-Hawa in the late Old Kingdom and the 1st Intermediate Period (ca. 2300-2100 BCE). The inscriptions are written in a cursive writing system, known as “Old Hieratic”, which, under the aspect of the development of the writing system, builds an important connection between Hieroglyphics and cursive “Hieratic”. The texts commonly name a substance of content (wheat, dates, etc.), a donor, and the in the tomb buried person, as the receiver. Evidently, many of these pots were however empty - the inscription was enough in order to guarantee for the assured provisions in the afterlife. |
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Coffin with Embalming Scene The lid of a wooden coffin from the Ptolemaic Era (ca. 300-100 BCE) is colorfully painted. In the center, under a magnificent collar, the death god Anubis is shown at a litter, which bears the mummy of the deceased. Over this scene, there is a portrayal of Osiris as the king of the dead residing over the weighing of the heart ceremony, a procedure that should naturally end well for the owner of the coffin. The piece originates from the private collection and was loaned to the Egyptian Museum Bonn from the Museum of the city Grevenbroich. |
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Ceramic of the Naqada culture (around 3300 BCE) The high level of workmanship of this ceramic from the time of the formation of the pharaonic culture is unparalleled in the later periods, during which jars loose their character as a luxury good and are mass produced. The examples of the Bonn Collection originate from the Naqada, the site the culture is named after, in Upper Egypt. The jars were excavated by W. M. Flinders Petrie in 1895 and were subsequently donated to the Bonn Collection.
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The "Bonn Canopic box" |
