This seated figures has his knees drawn up and his hands on his knees.For the latest information about this object, statues ; sculptures, visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: 22nd DynastyInscriptions: [Multipart Inscription; A, on front and sides of dress] An offering which the king gives to Amon-re, the primeval god of the Two Lands (i.e., the original god of the world, the first created), who has created all things, and to (the gods) who are in Thebes, that they may give all things which go forth on their offering-altar in the course of every day, whatever the heaven gives and the earth creates and what the Nile brings to them, flying of (my) soul to all places it loves, enjoying the rays of the sun-disc, smelling the breeze of the good north wind, strolling along the river, offering gifts of fresh water (?) in their temple eternally to the Osiris, the divine father and priest of Amun in Epet-sewet, the privy councillor, the ab-priest, the high priest of Southern On (Hermonthis), the great ... in Thebes, the prophet of the holy User-het-bark of Amun, Nes-ba-neb-Dedet (Smendes), the blessed, son of a man of the same titles, Pe-kher-Khons (Pchorchonsis), the blessed, born of the lady Nehems-ra-tewy, the blessed: May thy statue be in the venerable horizon (i.e., this temple) without perishing in it forever, may sacrifices be brought to thee when every face opens in the temple of ..., may you eat and follow the holy bark (in the procession) in the course of every day of making water-offering; may you receive loaves of bread on the beautiful offering-table ..., may all the young people bend their arms in joy (in greeting), for you have pleased them. [B, on the rear column, the "Saitic Formula"] The local god of the divine father and prophet-priest of Amun in Epet-sewet, the high priest in Southern On, the privy councillor, the ab-priest, the chief of ... the priest of the Sun of the roof of the temple of Amun in the first phyle (order) Nes-ba-neb-Dedet, the blessed, son of (a man of) the same titles, Per-kher-Khons, the blessed, born of the lady, the chantress of Amon-re, Nehems-ra-tewy, the blessed, may (the god) be placed behind him, while his Ka is in front of him, eternally. [C, on the base] An offering which the king gives to Amon-re, lord of the Two Lands, and to the gods and goddesses who are in the temple of Soker, that they may give all good things every day to the divine father Nes-ba-neb-Dedet, the blessed, the son of (a man of) the same titles, Pe-kher-Khons, born of the lady Nehems-ra-tewy, the blessed.Reign: Style:
Syrian seals have a diverse range of imagery drawn from Syria, Egypt, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia. This seal depicts two seated deities who wear elongated crowns reminiscent of the Egyptian White Crown. These figures hold fish and flank a standing smaller central figure. Winged sphinxes, birds, and twisted knots also decorate the scene.
Cylinder seals are cylindrical objects carved in reverse (intaglio) in order to leave raised impressions when rolled into clay. Seals were generally used to mark ownership, and they could act as official identifiers, like a signature, for individuals and institutions. A seal’s owner rolled impressions in wet clay to secure property such as baskets, letters, jars, and even rooms and buildings. This clay sealing prevented tampering because it had to be broken in order to access a safeguarded item. Cylinder seals were often made of durable material, usually stone, and most were drilled lengthwise so they could be strung and worn. A seal’s material and the images inscribed on the seal itself could be protective. The artistry and design might be appreciated and considered decorative as well. Cylinder seals were produced in the Near East beginning in the fourth millennium BCE and date to every period through the end of the first millennium BCE.For the latest information about this object, cylinder seals, visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: Inscriptions: Reign: Style:
This seal's imagery includes a deity surrounded by a nimbus of stars, probably Ishtar, a worshipper, and human-headed scorpion figure. A rhomb, crescent, and a standard also decorate the scene.
Cylinder seals are cylindrical objects carved in reverse (intaglio) in order to leave raised impressions when rolled into clay. Seals were generally used to mark ownership, and they could act as official identifiers, like a signature, for individuals and institutions. A seal’s owner rolled impressions in wet clay to secure property such as baskets, letters, jars, and even rooms and buildings. This clay sealing prevented tampering because it had to be broken in order to access a safeguarded item. Cylinder seals were often made of durable material, usually stone, and most were drilled lengthwise so they could be strung and worn. A seal’s material and the images inscribed on the seal itself could be protective. The artistry and design might be appreciated and considered decorative as well. Cylinder seals were produced in the Near East beginning in the fourth millennium BCE and date to every period through the end of the first millennium BCE.For the latest information about this object, cylinder seals, visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: Inscriptions: Reign: Style:
This seal includes two adjacent scenes featuring a king standing before a deity.
Cylinder seals are cylindrical objects carved in reverse (intaglio) in order to leave raised impressions when rolled into clay. Seals were generally used to mark ownership, and they could act as official identifiers, like a signature, for individuals and institutions. A seal’s owner rolled impressions in wet clay to secure property such as baskets, letters, jars, and even rooms and buildings. This clay sealing prevented tampering because it had to be broken in order to access a safeguarded item. Cylinder seals were often made of durable material, usually stone, and most were drilled lengthwise so they could be strung and worn. A seal’s material and the images inscribed on the seal itself could be protective. The artistry and design might be appreciated and considered decorative as well. Cylinder seals were produced in the Near East beginning in the fourth millennium BCE and date to every period through the end of the first millennium BCE.For the latest information about this object, cylinder seals, visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: Inscriptions: Reign: Style:
This folio from Walters manuscript W.563 is the left side of a double-page illumination introducing Surat al-fatihah (ch. 1). It contains commentary on the manuscript in Arabic and Persian.
This large-format, illuminated Timurid copy of the Qur’an is believed to have been produced in Northern India in the ninth century AH / fifteenth CE. The manuscript opens with a series of illuminated frontispieces. The main text is written in a large, vocalized polychrome muḥaqqaq script. Marginal explanations of the readings of particular words and phrases are in thuluth and naskh scripts, and there is interlinear Persian translation in red naskh script. The fore-edge flap of the gold-tooled, brown leather binding is inscribed with verses 77 through 80 from Chapter 56 (Sūrat al-wāqiʿah). The seal of Sultan Bayezid II (886–917 AH / 1481-1512 CE) appears on fol. 8a. There is an erased bequest (waqf) statement and stamp of Sultan ʿUthmān Khān (432-6 AH / 1027-31 CE) on fol. 3a.For the latest information about this object, illuminated manuscripts; folios (leaves), visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: Timurid DynastyInscriptions: Reign: Style:
Walters manuscript W.579 is an illuminated manuscript of a prayer (wird) called Miftah al-najah, attributed to 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, the 4th caliph of Islam. According to the colophon, it was completed by Shaykh Kamal ibn 'Abd al-Haqq al-Sabzawari, the calligrapher and illuminator, in Astarabad (present-day Gorgan, Iran) in 941 AH/AD 1534. The text, divided into 5 compartments, is in calligraphic vocalized Naskh in black ink and vocalized Thuluth in gold ink outlined in black. Illuminated rosettes with colored dots serve as verse markers. The decorated colophon (fol. 8b) is written in Tawqi'/Riqa' in gold ink. Later bequest (waqf) seal impressions of the Vizier al-Shahid 'Ali Pasha, dated 1130 AH/AD 1717, appear on fols. 2a, 2b, and 3a. The brown leather binding with interconnected gold-tooled lobed medallions and discs and doublures with filigree decoration is contemporary with the manuscript.For the latest information about this object, illuminated manuscripts, visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: Inscriptions: Reign: Style:
Walters manuscript W.593 is an illuminated and illustrated copy of a Persian version of the famous 'Aja'ib al-makhluqat (Wonders of creation) by Zakariya' al-Qazwini (died 682 AH/AD 1283), composed by Shams al-Din Muhammad al-Tusi (active 6th century AH/AD 12th). The text, in black Nasta'liq script, may have been written by an Iranian scribe in the 10th century AH/AD 16th in Ottoman Turkey. It opens with an illuminated medallion inscribed with the author's name (fol. 1a), followed by a double-page illuminated incipit (fols. 1b-2a). The text is illustrated with 181 paintings of different sizes that offer an interesting iconography for Tusi manuscripts. The red leather binding is not contemporary with the manuscript and probably dates to the 13th century AH/AD 19th.For the latest information about this object, illuminated manuscripts; folios (leaves), visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: Inscriptions: Reign: Style:
This piece is carved in intaglio and has been perforated longitudinally. On the broader sides are represented (a) an ass-headed or jackal-headed deity (Set or Anubis) facing to the right with the right hand raised to the level of the face and the left hand at the side, and (b) a female figure facig the front with her hands raised to the level of her head. On the narrower sides are depicted (c) a snake, and (d) an inscription.For the latest information about this object, cylinder seals (artifacts); beads, visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: Inscriptions: [Inscription] On narrow side: ΙαωReign: Style:
Special instruments were used by priests and priestesses to invoke the deities or to perform rituals before them. One of the most important instruments was the sistrum, a rattle associated with the goddess Hathor. The goddess's face is often incorporated into the sistrum's design, as is, in this example, an image of the god Bes, which serves as the object's handle. Inside of the naos-shaped top is a small cat below the clappers.
For the latest information about this object, sistra, visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: Inscriptions: Reign: Style:
On this folio from Walters manuscript W.624, Laylá and Majnun, the ill-fated lovers, are depicted at school as youths. 'Amal-i Dharamdas is inscribed in the border.For the latest information about this object, illuminated manuscripts; folios (leaves), visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: Mughal DynastyInscriptions: Reign: Style: Mughal
This statue group consists of two men and a woman and a flat relief carving of a small child, created during the Third Intermediate Period or Late Period with a style that archaizes to the Middle Kingdom.
The figures stand upon a low rectangular base with rounded corners and against a rectangular back support with rounded corners. It is assumed, based upon other examples that these figures form a family group, but exactly what the relationships are is uncertain due to the lack of an inscription. The costumes and body styles of the figures archaize to the Middle Kingdom but the faces are clearly much later. The central male figure represents the person of the highest status. He wears a long, high waisted garment tied just below his pectorals. His arms are straight and his hands are placed flat against the fronts of his thighs. His left arm is slightly longer than his right. Both men wear a simple bag wig. The man to the left stands with his left arm hanging straight, his hand clenched into a fist. His right arm is around the back of the central figure and only his hand is visible on the shoulder of the central man. He wears a short, wrapped kilt with a belt. The area between his pectoral and the belt of his kilt is very rough and is appears that originally he had a higher waisted garment which was modified.
Next to the left leg of the left man there is a depiction of a small naked child. The carving is rough, very flat raised relief. Perhaps this is a representation of the child of the left man. The woman stands to the right of the central figure and wears a sheer ankle-length sheath gown. Her breasts, abdomen and pubic area are clearly visible beneath her garment. Her right arm hangs at her side with her hand flat on her thigh while her left arm crosses behind the second figure and her hand appears on his shoulder. She wears a Hathor style wig with curling lappets resting upon her breasts. She stands in the position of the second highest status.
Perhaps we have a husband and wife with an older son and either a very young second son or a grandchild. The quality of the carving of the child suggests that this figure was added as an afterthought. A major crack runs from the top of the piece to the bottom through the body of the central figure. The surface is quite pitted and the left front corner of the base has been broken away.For the latest information about this object, figurines; statuettes; sculpture, visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: 25th-26th DynastyInscriptions: Reign: Style:
Isis is seated on a throne holding Harpokrates in her lap, with her feet on a footstool. The goddess wears a long garment, wig, and her crown consists of a vulture cap, ring of uraei, cow's horns, and a sun-disc. The throne consists of a block surmounted by a cornice, with striding lions for arms; the tails of the lions curve over the back of the throne.For the latest information about this object, statuettes (statues), visit art.thewalters.org.Dynasty: Inscriptions: Reign: Style: