This study presents the identification and analysis of an atypical wooden fan handle, which was rediscovered during the examination of wooden artefacts stored at the site of Deir el-Medina, as part of the ÉBÉNES programme (IFAO)/Medjehu Project. Initially mistaken for a mirror handle due to decorative and morphological similarities, further analysis has confirmed it to be the handle of a specific type of fan, known in ancient Egyptian as ḫw. Despite the frequent depiction of such fans in New Kingdom iconography, they have not previously been identified in the material culture.This study offers a comprehensive analysis of the object and, to further investigate the function and significance of fans at Deir el-Medina, provides a brief review of other fan artefacts from the site.
The coffin of Taat has long been of particular interest, as it is the only complete example decorated in the distinctive Amarna style found outside Amarna. While it belongs to the corpus of black coffins with yellow decoration, it is set apart by its unique iconography and inscriptions, which feature references to the god Aten and the city of Akhetaten, alongside ritual scenes typical of the period. Originally discovered by Bernard Bruyère in tomb 1352, an 18th Dynasty burial, the coffin was later lost. The opportunity to rediscover this remarkable artifact arose in 2018, when the archaeological mission at Deir el-Medina, led by the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology, began reopening funerary structures that had been repurposed in modern times as storerooms for artifacts from previous excavations. While other objects from tomb 1352 were housed within TT 217, Taat’s coffin was not among them. However, during the 2023 season, it was finally identified in the Ministry of Antiquities’ storerooms (Magasins Carter) on Luxor’s West Bank.The comprehensive study—covering material, technical, and stylistic analysis—carried out on this unique coffin thus provided a rare opportunity to examine the craftsmanship of wood during the Amarna period from a broader perspective, as well as to investigate the dynamics of artifact displacement and the movements of elites during and after the Amarna period.
This paper examines an unpublished fragmentary stela of Amenhotep I and Ahmose Nefertari who receive blessings from Hathor in the form of an ankh-sign extended to them. The original provenience of the stela is Thebes based on Hathor’s epithets, and it is assigned generally to the New Kingdom in the museum database. The piece was transferred to the Grand Egyptian Museum in 2016 from the basement of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The main goal of the paper is to compare the epigraphical and artistic features of the stela with parallel exemplars of Amenhotep I and his mother to determine a more accurate date for the piece.
La publication d’une nouvelle stèle-niche, reconstituée à partir de deux fragments (Édimbourg A.1956.134 + Brooklyn 73.86), permet de découvrir une longue déclaration où le propriétaire, le gouverneur de Saïs Ouahibrê, un contemporain d’Amasis, s’adresse à la patronne de sa ville en évoquant plusieurs de ses réalisations. Ce témoignage, qui s’ajoute à deux autres le concernant (stèle de donation Londres, BM EA 1427 et statue Caire CG 672), offre l’occasion d’être mieux informé sur sa famille, l’étendue de ses responsabilités, un lieu où il est intervenu du nom de Iatkhet et les priorités qui ont guidé son action.
Les étiquettes de momie de l’époque romaine, conservées dans de nombreux musées à travers le monde, sont principalement connues pour leurs inscriptions et les informations onomastiques qu’elles peuvent révéler. Bien que, parfois, leurs formes, aspects et dimensions puissent être indiqués rapidement par une description, une photographie ou un fac-similé, elles sont rarement documentées par l’analyse du support en bois, via une approche anatomique, typologique, et encore moins dendrologique. La collection de près d’une centaine d’étiquettes de momie en bois conservées aux archives de l’Ifao présente un potentiel intéressant pour mener ces différentes approches de manière systématique, avec des formes bien identifiées, des types d’étiquettes spécifiques, ainsi que de nombreuses essences de bois importées et locales. La combinaison des données obtenues offre une perspective originale sur une collection atypique, notamment en raison de la présence de nombreux faux.
