Double feather crown of Amun

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This double feather crown belonged to a large Amun statuette, or to a child god who had close associations with Amun. The statue was probably made out of wood but would have incorporated copper alloy elements like this crown, a common technique for high prestige, large, and costly cult images. Because this type of mixed media construction was commonly used, pieces such as these, even in their fragmented state, provide excellent clues about the appearance of large-scale temple statuary made from organic materials, much of which is now degraded and lost. The piece also displays the stunning craftsmanship and capabilities of Egyptian bronze workers with the multi-colored inlays and gilded sun disk. Even though the inlays have deteriorated over time, the piece’s original combination of colors and materials would have been stunning and overall it shows the many ways in which artisans could play with copper alloy and other materials to make visually striking and dynamic pieces.

Egyptian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met collection of ancient Egyptian art consists of approximately 30,000 objects of artistic, historical, and cultural importance, dating from about 300,000 BCE to the 4th century CE. A signifcant percentage of the collection is derived from the Museum's three decades of archaeological work in Egypt, initiated in 1906 in response to increasing interest in the culture of ancient Egypt.

Metropolitan Museum of Art