Egyptian Collection

Stela of Pepi, Chief of the Potters

The civilization of ancient Egypt produced ancient Egyptian art in the Nile Valley from about 3000 BC to 30 A.D. Ancient Egyptian art reached a high level of sophistication in painting and sculpture but in a highly stylized and symbolic form.

It was highly conservative, and styles changed remarkably little over more than three thousand years. Much of the surviving art comes from tombs and monuments.

The tomb art was never meant to be seen by people and was produced for the afterlife.

Egyptian Collection in the Hermitage Museum

Stela of Pepi, Chief of the Potters
Black basalt statue of Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra VII
Osiris and of Isis with the baby Horus
Pyramidion from the tomb of the priest Rer

~~~

Stela of Pepi, Chief of the Potters

This Ancient Egyptian Stele called “Stele of Pepi, Chief of the Potters. Made of limestone during the 18th century B.C. (~12. dynasty). It has six horizontal registers and a smaller vertical register of Egyptian hieroglyphs, which are read right-to-left.

The translation is as follows:

An offering the king gives to Osiris; Foremost of the Westerners; the Great God of Abydos…

Abydos and Wepwawet, Lord of the Sacred Lands, that he may be given a voice offering of bread, beer, oxen, geese, linen, clothes
incense, and oils. The good things the priestess will offer
to the soul of the Overseer of the Potters, Nehy-Ptah-Sokar-en-Pepy, and lady of the house, Timat
and his son, Redidi, the justified. His daughter, Isuri, the justified. His daughter, Hetsa, the justified
His wife, lady of the house; Hepi, the justified
His beloved daughter, Iti, the justified.

An Egyptian stele is a stone generally taller than it is wide, erected as a Grave stele used for funerary or commemorative purposes.

A large number of stelae with inscriptions have survived from ancient Egypt and constitute one of the significant sources of information on Egyptian civilization.

The most famous example of an inscribed stela leading to increased understanding is the Rosetta Stone, which led to the discovery of how to read Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Stela of Pepi, Chief of the Potters

Title: Stelae of Pepi, Chief of the Potters
Material: Limestone,
Date: 18th century B.C. (~12. dynasty)
Category: Egyptian Art
Museum: Hermitage Museum

~~~

Black basalt statue of Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII

This Black basalt statue depicts the Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII and was made about 51 – 30 B.C. Cleopatra VII was the last active ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt.

As a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great.

After the death of Cleopatra, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the Hellenistic period that had lasted since the reign of Alexander (336–323 BC).

Her native language was Koine Greek, and she was the first Ptolemaic ruler to learn the Egyptian language.

Black basalt statue of Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII

Title: Statue of Ptolemaic queen Cleopatra VII
Material: Black basalt
Date: 51 – 30 B.C.
Category: Egyptian Art
Museum: Hermitage Museum

~~~

Osiris and of Isis with the baby Horus

These statutes of Osiris and Isis with her baby Horus represent the Osiris myth from ancient Egyptian mythology. It tells the story of the murder of the god Osiris by his brother Set, who usurps his throne.

Meanwhile, Osiris’s wife Isis restores her husband’s body, allowing him to conceive their son, Horus, posthumously. Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris, eventually becomes Set’s rival for the throne.

Their violent conflict ends with Horus’s triumph, which restores Maat, the cosmic and social order to Egypt completes the process of Osiris’s resurrection.

Osiris and of Isis with the baby Horus

Title: Osiris and of Isis with the baby Horus
Material: Bronze
Category: Egyptian Art
Museum: Hermitage Museum

~~~

Pyramidion from the Tomb of the Priest Rer

This Pyramidion from the tomb of the priest Rer is from the 7th century BCE and comes from Abydos, one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt.

A pyramidion is the uppermost piece or capstone of an Egyptian pyramid or obelisk. During Egypt’s Old Kingdom, pyramidia were generally made of granite, or limestone, then covered in gold.

A pyramidion was covered in gold leaf to reflect the rays of the sun, and they were often inscribed with royal titles and religious symbols.

Pyramidion from the Tomb of the Priest Rer

Title: Pyramidion from the tomb of the priest Rer
Material: Limestone.
Date: 7th century B.C.
Category: Egyptian Art
Museum: Hermitage Museum

The Egyptian Collection in the Hermitage Museum

The extensive Egyptian Collection in the Hermitage Museum also includes the following:

Egyptian Sarcophagi
Egyptian Mummy Cases
Egyptian Mamluk caps
Egyptian Statues and Statuettes
Coptic Artifacts

Hermitage Museum

Name: Hermitage Museum
City: Saint Petersburg
Country: Russia
Type: Art and Culture Museum
Established: 1754
Location: 38 Palace Embankment, Dvortsovy Municipal Okrug, Saint Petersburg

Egyptian Collection in the Hermitage Museum

Explore Egyptian Art

Ancient Egyptian Art and Artifacts – Virtual Tour
The Rosetta Stone
The Battlefield Palette 3100 BC
Quartzite Head of the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep III
Colossal Granite Statue of Amenhotep III
Hunters Palette
Tomb of Nebamun
Younger Memnon (Ramesses II)

The State Hermitage Museum: A collection of artworks

Explore the Hermitage Museum

“Madonna Litta” attributed to Leonardo da Vinci
Composition VI by Kandinsky
“Portrait of Doña Antonia Zárate” by Francisco Goya
“White House at Night” by Vincent van Gogh
“The Three Graces” by Antonio Canova
Egyptian Collection in the Hermitage Museum
Gonzaga Cameo
“Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss” by Antonio Canova

St Petersburg Hermitage Museum

~~~

“An answer if useful in proportion to the intensity of the quest.”
– Egyptian Proverb

~~~

Photo Credit: 1) Andrew Bossi [CC BY-SA 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons 2) I, George Shuklin [CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)] 3) I, George Shuklin [CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)] 4) Hermitage Museum [CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]

Popular this Week Museums, Art Galleries & Historical Sites - Virtual Tours