Image: Quartz sarcophagus of Queen Hatshepsut

Description: This sarcophagus is one of the three sarcophagi of Queen Hatshepsut of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt's New Kingdom. One of them was used for the burial of king Thutmose I in Tomb KV20 and is now displayed in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This object is the second or third sarcophagi which is now located on the ground floor, grand hall of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt. The sarcophagus is perfectly polished on all sides and decorated with finely carved scenes in one of the hardest stones used by Egyptian artists, the red quartzite associated with the solar cult.

At the foot end of the sarcophagus is Isis, kneeling on the nub hieroglyph (a necklace with pendants symbolizing 'gold'). The goddess's hands rest on the shen hieroglyph (symbolizing protection). On her forehead is the cobra. The hieroglyph meaning 'throne', inscribed with her name, rests on her head. Her body is draped in a long, tight tunic with a broad strap partially covering her breast. This sarcophagus catalogue number is JE 37678 - JE 52459. This photo was personally taken by Merja Attia
Author: Merja Attia
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License: CC-BY-SA-3.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
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