Photos of over 4000 of the Best Ancient Egyptian Art & Museum Antiquities from the best museums in Europe & the Near East. Photos by photographer Paul E Williams
Individual Museum Ancient Egyptian Art & Antiquities Photo Collections
Photos of the Best Ancient Egyptian Art & Museum Antiquities
Over 4000 stunning photos of Ancient Egyptian art & Museum Antiquity treasures from the great museums of Europe.
Ancient Egypt is the best known of the ancient civilisations thanks to the incredible number of antiquities that survived the millennia hidden in lost burial tombs.
The religious beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians and the burial practises of the elites required that huge tombs should be built, the biggest of which can be seen as pyramids at Giza, that were filled with all the treasures and everyday goods, from furniture to food, that the deceased would need in the afterlife.
Many of the tombs were in secret underground chambers and were lost until rediscovered by the early archaeologists of the 18th century. Some tombs, such as the famous tomb of Tutankhamun, were in tact and the grave goods and hieroglyphic texts revealed the world of the ancient pharaoh’s in minute detail.
Dynastic Egypt
Ancient Egyptian developed over 30 dynasties and 2500 years into a complex society with a well defined pantheon of gods and religious beliefs. This is reflected in ancient Egyptian art in statues and the relief sculptures of funereal stele as well as tomb and temple wall art.
Apart from the pyramids one of the great symbols of the ancient Egyptians was the sphinx statue of which the Great Sphinx of Giza is the most famous. Our picture images in this gallery contain photos of Sphinx statues that were excavated over 200 years ago.
A typical ancient Egyptian sphinx statue is a mythical creature with the head of a man, and the body of a lion lying down with head up and looking forward. Sculpture and statues were important in ancient Egyptian art both as gigantic statues to small figurines and statuettes.
Statues of the gods are found in tombs but also statues in wood, stone, ceramic and bronze of “servants” of all kinds from bakers to cooks who will serve the deceased in the next life.
Ancient Egyptian Tombs & Temples
Tombs and temples are covered entirely in relief sculptures and hieroglyphic texts. The sculptures often show the deceased in adoration to a god or group of gods. The texts are often magic spells to help the deceased pass into the afterlife.
Ancient Egyptian Burial Rites
Complicated spells and rituals were written on papyrus scrolls known as “the book of the dead” which are meant to prepare the deceased to make entry into the afterlife possible.
The body of the deceased is mummified to keep it intact for the journey and is protected in a sarcophagus or wood coffin. Although the styles of Egyptian art changed over time, the religious beliefs and gods seemed to have remained consistent for 2000 years .