KING TUT ARTIFACTS III

the wooden head of king TUTANKHAMEN

A very fine shabti of Tutankhamen, portrayed holding the heqa-sceptre and the nekhakha-flail, and inscribed with a text from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. This passage specifies the functions of these mummiform statuettes, made of wood, terracotta, faience or metal, and in some cases left in the tomb in their hundreds. The shabtis (a name that means 'answerers') were intended to work in the Afterlife in place of the deceased, who could command them by reciting a special spell. In the New Kingdom especially the shabtis were considered as chattels, not unlike slaves. In Tutankhamen's tomb, a staggering total of 413 shabtis was found, arranged in 26 coffers placed in the Annexe and in the Treasury, but only 29 of them were inscribed with the text of the formulafrom the Book of the Dead.

A graceful statuette of gilded wood, depicting the goddess Selkis, one of the four protective deities of the outer canopy of the Canopic Shrine containing the viscera of the deceased pharaoh. The goddess is shown dressed in a long tunic, and her head is covered by a khayt, surmounted by a scorpion, a symbol that transcribes the goddess's name.

This necklace, which resides in the Cairo Museum, represents the right eye of Rê, the principle of light; the eye is framed by Uadjit the serpent, of the north, and Nekhebit, the vulture, of the south. This piece of jewelry was found in the tomb of Tut'ankhamun, Eighteenth Dynasty.

Thut'ankhamun's funeral bed is made in the bovine form of the goddess Hator with the solar disc between her horns. This is the bed on which Tut'ankhamun's coffin was layed.

This tabernacle, found in the tomb of Tut'ankhamun, contains the kings internal organs. It is made of gold plated wood, and includes small coffins for each of the organs, and is flanked on all four of its sides by protective gods.