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Symbolism in the art of Queen Nefertari’s Tomb, Valley of the Queens
Tomb QV66 located in the Valley of the Queens is one of the largest and most lavishly decorated in Egypt’s history. It was built as the final resting place for the favourite queen of Ramesses II, Nefertari Meritenmut (“Beautiful Companion, Beloved of the Goddess Mut”), who lived around 1279-1213 BC. She held the title of…
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Spring at RSPB Ham Wall, Somerset
RSPB Ham Wall, a wetland environment in the heart of the Somerset Levels, bursts into life at this time of the year, and at a recent trip I managed to capture a few of the current inhabitants.
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Six Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
My newest print features the six major goddesses of protection, motherhood, love and death from the Ancient Egyptian pantheon; Nephthys, Isis, Amentat, Hathor, Maat and Neith. Though this is my creation, the figures are stylistically based on those seen in the wall reliefs from the Temple of Seti I at Abydos, dating to around 1300…
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Funerary Model of a Brewing and Baking Workshop, c. 2010 BC
This funerary model was one of a number discovered in the elaborately decorated tomb of Khety I, a nomarch of the Oryx nome during the early part of Dynasty 12, which was carved into the bedrock of the Eastern Desert cliffs in the regional necropolis at Beni Hasan. It depicts a team of men and…
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The Funerary Offering Table of Watetkhethor, a 6th Dynasty Egpytian Princess
My latest reproduction is a wall painting for the tomb of Watetkhethor, daughter of king Teti, dating to Dynasty 6 (around 2290 BC). It shows Watetkhethor seated in front of a table of offerings, whilst servants bring her legs of meat and birds to add to her piles of bread and gifts of flowers. The…
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Ancient Egyptian Symbols: Measuring Time
My reconstruction of a partially destroyed wall relief from the Ramesseum, the mortuary temple dedicated to Ramesses II in Thebes dating from the 19th Dynasty, features this depiction of the god Djhuty (Thoth). Thoth is the god of wisdom, writing, hieroglyphs, science, magic, art, judgment, and the dead. In this depiction, he is surrounded by…
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Atum Repelling Apep, Serpent of Chaos
My reproduction of a scene from the ancient Egyptian Book of Gates features the creation god Atum repelling the serpent of chaos, Apep (Apophis). It is based on a wall painting from the tomb of Ramesses I in the Valley of the Kings (KV16). The Book of Gates is a funerary text dating from the…
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Naqada Pottery of Predynastic Egypt; a 5,400-year-old Representation of a River Festival
This unprovenanced jar in the Metropolitan Museum of Art collection dates to between c. 3450 to 3330 BCE. It is a particularly fine example of late Neqada II decorated ware, pottery made of fine marl clay and embellished with recurring motifs representing the Egyptian desert and Nilotic environment. It depicts three boats travelling in procession…
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The Painted Tomb-Chapel of Nebamun, 1350 BC
My reproduction is based on a wall painting from an 18th Dynasty tomb chapel located in the Theban Necropolis on the west bank of the Nile in Egypt. It belonged to Nebamun, a wealthy, middle-ranking official scribe and grain counter at the temple complex in Thebes. The tomb’s plastered walls were richly and skilfully decorated…
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What did the Ancient Egyptians Call Memphis? Mapping Ancient Egyptian Town Names
Read anything about Ancient Egypt and you’ll soon come across an obvious etymological curiosity; most places are known by their Greek, Roman, Arabic or even English names, rather than their Ancient Egyptian names. This reflects the enormous breadth of time many of these settlements have been occupied, but it doesn’t help if you’re reading a…
Wonderful Things
Photography and art by Natalie Watson
Wonderful Things 