Scarab from Ruiu's Burial

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The burial of Ruiu was found in the tomb of her father, Neferkhawet, which was excavated by the Museum’s Egyptian Expedition in 1935. Lying against the right side of the head end of Ruiu’s coffin was a small basket that contained a wooden box and a metal razor. Inside the box were four scarabs and a cowroid seal-amulet made of steatite, two ebony kohl sticks, and a small metal spoon. This scarab was originally glazed bright blue, but the glaze has largely worn off the back and base. The device combines rearing cobras, wedjat-eyes, and a variety of hieroglyphs. This design, particularly the way of writing the ka hieroglyph, is typical of scarabs dating to the Hyksos period, a century or so before the death of Ruiu, sometime in the sole reign of Thutmose III. Another scarab and three rings belonging to Ruiu also appear to be of Hyksos design.

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