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Middle Kingdom

Seth, Egypt — Egypt’s mythic world, rich with creative imagery, was deeply informed by the natural world that surrounded them.

Creation myths and form(s) of the gods ...

by Dr. Amy Calvert

senusret grid — An overview of the Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period in ancient Egypt

Middle Kingdom and Second Intermediate Period, an ...

by Dr. Amy Calvert

senusret grid — This life-size statue of Senwosret III is one of three very similar statues excavated from the site of the funerary temple of King Nebhhepetre Mentuhotep II

Statues of Senusret III

by The British Museum

Scarab pendant, 1897–1878 B.C.E., 12th Dynasty, made under Senusret II, ancient Egypt, electrum, lapis lazuli, cornelian, and feldspar, 3.5 cm across for the wing span (© Trustees of the British Museum) — This piece of jewelry from Middle Kingdom Egypt is a pendant in the form of a winged scarab.

Scarab pendant

by The British Museum

Pectoral and Necklace of Sithathoryunet with the Name of Senwosret II, Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, reign of Senwosret II, c. 1887–1878 B.C.E., Egypt, Fayum Entrance Area, el-Lahun (Illahun, Kahun; Ptolemais Hormos), Tomb of Sithathoryunet (BSA Tomb 8), EES 1914, Gold, carnelian, feldspar, garnet, turquoise, lapis lazuli — "You have to imagine that nobody really saw this except the princess."

Pectoral and necklace of Sithathoryunet

by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Statue of an Offering Bearer, ca. 1981–1975 B.C., early reign of Amenemhat I, Dynasty 12, Middle Kingdom Egypt, Upper Egypt; Thebes, Southern Asasif, Tomb of Meketre (TT 280, MMA 1101), serdab, MMA 1920, wood, gesso, paint. Video from The Metropolitan Museum of Art — "They've captured her in a moment in time."

Statue of an Offering Bearer, Tomb of ...

by The Metropolitan Museum of Art

amulet grid — These magic knives, also known as apotropaic (that is, acting to ward off evil) wands, were one of the devices used to help people in childbirth.

Apotropaic wand

by The British Museum

userwer grid — The unfinished decoration of this stela is particularly interesting: the lower part is still covered with the grid used for ensuring that the proportions of the figures were correct

Stela of the sculptor Userwer

by The British Museum

Thebes — From temples on the east bank of the Nile to the Valley of the Kings, Thebes was a wonder of Egyptian Civilization.

Ancient Thebes with its Necropolis

by UNESCO and TBS

Standing Hippopotamus, ca. 1961–1878 B.C.E., Egypt, Middle Kingdom, faience, 7 7/8″ x 2 15/16″ x 4 7/16″ / 20 cm x 7.5 cm x 11.2 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art). — This hippopotamus, found in a tomb, carries symbols of life and death, regeneration and chaos—why was it broken?

Standing Hippopotamus

by The Metropolitan Museum of Art