Images

This is a detail of a large limestone fragment which came from the pyramid complex of the Egyptian pharaoh Sneferu (r. 2613 to 2589 BCE) of the 4th Dynasty of Egypt. This is one of the very few and important legal texts from the Old Kingdom...

This painted limestone fragment came from the mortuary temple of the Egyptian Pharaoh Sahure at Abusir, Egypt. It depicts Syrian bears and a vessel (possibly tributary). Old Kingdom, 5th Dynasty, 2496-2483 BCE. On display at the Neues Museum...

This small pottery vessel was found at Tell Al-Namil (Arabic: تل النمل), Saladin province, Iraq. The rim and the surface of the vessel were painted and decorated with different shapes. Jemdet Nasr period, 3000-2900 BCE. On display at the...

On this basalt cylinder seal, the name of the Egyptian pharaoh Menkaure (2532 - c. 2500 BCE) appears within a cartouche. From Egypt, precise provenance is unknown. Old Kingdom, 4th Dynasty, reign of Menkaure, 2539-2511 BCE. On display at...

The hieroglyphic signs on this painted limestone fragment show parts of spells 354 and 225 of the pyramid texts of the Egyptian Pharaoh Pepi II (2284 - c. 2216 BCE). Old Kingdom, 6th Dynasty, 2279-2219 BCE. From Saqqara, Egypt. On display...

This calcite-alabaster jar (probably was a container for cosmetic oil) is inscribed with four royal titulary names of the Egyptian Pharaoh Pepi II (2284 - c. 2216 BCE). On the left is the nomen (birth name) of Pepi II. On the right is the...

The hieroglyphic signs on this calcite-alabaster ovoid jar mention the name the Egyptian pharaoh Pepi I and his Sed festival, in addition to naming the pyramid complex of Pepi I (r. 2335-2285 BCE) at Memphis, the capital of the Old Kingdom...

Limestone relief showing a procession of deities. Painted. From the funerary temple at the pyramid complex of Sahure in Abusir, Egypt. Old Kingdom, 5th Dynasty, 2496-2483 BCE. On display at the Neues Museum, Berlin, Germany.

The Egyptian pharaoh Niuserre Ini (Nyuserre Ini, Neuserre Ini) sits on a throne and receives life from Anubis. Old Kingdom, 5th Dynasty, second half of the 25th century BCE. From the mortuary temple of Niuserre at Abusir, Egypt. On display...

Marble relief (Block II) from the West frieze of the Parthenon. The frieze shows the procession of the Panathenaic festival, the commemoration of the birthday of the goddess Athena. Here two horsemen are shown reining back their horses...