Online Activities: Ancient Egypt
Who is Who?
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Ka'aper: Fourth Dynasty. A scribe and lector priest, he is best known for the very life-like wooden statue that was found in his tomb. He is shown as a portly, shrewd-looking man. Though Ka'aper was not a major official, he was able to have very fine statues in his tomb, showing the over-all high standards of the time.
Kagemni: Sixth Dynasty. Vizier. Kagemni began his career under Wenis, rising to vizier under Teti. His tomb at Sakkara has wonderful images of animals. A vizier Kagemni was remembered in Ancient Egypt as the author of a book of wise sayings.
Kahay: Fifth Dynasty. Singer. Kahay attracted royal attention by the beauty of his voice, and was given many titles, and a fine tomb, which he shares with his son, Nefer, at Sakkara, along the Wenis Causeway.
Vizier Kai: Fifth Dynasty, about 2450-2400 BCE. Vizier. Kai's tomb, excavated in 1850 at Sakkara, contained a beautiful, life-life statue with inlaid eyes made of rock crystal, calcite, and magnesite mounted in copper cells. Much of the paint of this statue is also preserved. (item 124 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Katep and Hetep-heres: Fourth Dynasty. Katep's titles suggest he was in ‘middle management' in the administration of the Old Kingdom. The two are remembered in a fine statue which shows this husband and wife seated together, Hetep-heres' arm reaching behind her husband so that her hand can wrap around his waist. (item 82 Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Ka-pu-ptah and Ipep: Fifth Dynasty. This couple were buried at Giza. Their tomb had been much damaged, and it is not possible to tell if Ipep was the mother or wife of Ipep. In a pair statue, she holds or presents her companion in a way very similar to the gesture of the royal woman who stands with Menkaure. (item 133 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Kawab: Fourth Dynasty. King's eldest son of Khnum-Khufu. He died before he could become king, and was buried in a fine tomb at Giza. His wife was Hetepheres II.
Khafre: Fourth Dynasty. King. About 2520-2494 BCE. Son of Khnum-Khufu. He was the builder of the Second Pyramid at Giza, and probable model for the face of the Great Sphinx. Many superb statues of Khafre graced his temples; a diorite statue shows him protected by the god Horus, embodied as a falcon whose wings support the king's head. Many fragments of other statues of this king exist. (item 58, 60 and 61 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Menkuare Khamerernebty II: Fourth Dynasty. Wife of Menkaure. Khamerernebty II may be the woman who stands beside Menkaure in a famous pair statue found at the Valley Temple of Menkaure. She was the mother of Khuen-re. (item 67 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Khekheretnebty: Fifth Dynasty. This King's Daughter was buried at Abusir with unusual contents: a number of fine tools.
Khentet-ka: Fourth Dynasty. This lady was the wife of a priest of Khafre. She and her husband shared a tomb at Giza, but each had his or her own serdab for statues. Khentet-ka and her husband had seventeen children, nine daughters and eight sons, but she chose to have only one son, Rudju, carved at her side on a limestone statue. Her statue shows Khentet-ka as a healthy, cheerful and strong woman, well able to cope with the demands of such a large family.
(item 80 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Khent-kaues I: Fourth Dynasty. Daughter of King Djedefre, wife of King Shepseskaf. She may have been the mother of two kings of the Fifth Dynasty, Sahure and Neferirkare. Her tomb at Giza is unlike any other – in part a mastaba, in part a two-step pyramid. This tomb has many features usually associated with kings, and leads to speculation that Khent-kaues may have ruled independently as king.
Khent-kaues II: Fifth Dynasty. Wife of Neferirkare, mother of Neferefre and Niuserre. She may have ruled as king; she is shown wearing a royal uraeus on the decoration of her pyramid chapel at Abusir. She was the granddaughter of Khent-kaues I.
Khnum-Khufu: see Khufu
Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum: Fifth Dynasty. Royal Manicurists and Hairdressers. Their joint tomb at Sakkara contains scenes of daily life that include barbering. Their status was high because during the course of their work they would have been permitted to touch the sacred body of the king. They are shown with wives and children in part of their tomb, but they occupy the innermost part without their families. Their affection for one another, shown by scenes of the two embracing, was clearly one of the most important aspects of their lives. It has been suggested that they were twin brothers.
Khufu: Fourth Dynasty. (also Cheops) King. About 2551-2528 BCE. Though his complete name was Khnum-khufu, he was usually refereed to as Khufu. Son of Sneferu and Hetepheres I, Khnum-Khufu is famous as the owner of the Great Pyramid at Giza. He reigned for at least twenty-three years, but little is known of the events of his reign. He did send mining expeditions to Sinai, and dispatched troops to the same area. For a thousand years after his death, his cult was maintained at Giza, and he was honoured as a good king. Later, however, his reputation changed, and he was remembered as a cruel tyrant. (item 34 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Khuenra: Fourth Dynasty. King's Son of Menkaure and Khamerernebty. A fine mastaba at Giza records him enjoying scenes of musicians and dancers. A statue of him as a seated scribe seems to show a man of middle years, though he died before his father. (item 72 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Memi: Fourth or Fifth Dynasty. Memi was a wab priest of a king. Though this is not a very high office, he was rich enough to have two pleasant statues made for his tomb. On one he had this inscription carved: "I had these statues made by the sculptor, who was satisfied by the payment I gave him." Ancient Egyptians were concerned with asserting their property rights, and frequently made it known that they had dealt justly with craftsmen. (item 77 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Memi and Sabu: Fourth Dynasty. This husband and wife have left us little information about their role in Old Kingdom society, but instead have given us an unusual and charming image of conjugal affection. Memi, taller than his wife, reaches down to return her embrace, and rests his hand, familiarly, on her breast. The only title on the statue is "Royal Acquaintance" a term which may have been used for more distant relatives of the king. (item 84 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Menkaure: Fourth Dynasty. King. About 2490-2472 BCE. (also known as Mycerinos) Menkaure's tomb at Giza is the smallest of the three Great Pyramids When it was new, the pyramid would have been very beautiful, graced with a casing of red granite up to about a third of its height. His Valley Temple was adorned with some of the finest statues ever made. (item 67 or 68 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Merenre: Sixth Dynasty. King. About 2255-2246 BCE. Son of Pepy I and Ankhenesmeryre I, brother of Pepy II. Merenre enjoyed the support of powerful nobles, including his uncle Djau and the explorer Harkuf. During his reign, a group of Nubian rulers came to the frontier to meet with him, perhaps to discuss trade. Merenre ordered the excavation of a canal at Aswan, which would have facilitated the shipment of goods from Lower Nubia. He was probably still a young man at his death. The mummy of a young man, possibly the king himself, was found in his tomb when it was opened. (item 171 or 181 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Mereruka: Sixth Dynasty. Vizier. Mereruka was married to a daughter of King Teti. His large tomb at Sakkara is the source of many of the images of daily life in the Age of the Pyramids. He is shown painting and listening to music, a cultured gentleman.
Meresankh III: Fourth Dynasty. Wife of Khafre, mother of prince Nebmakhet. Her tomb was provided for her by her mother, Hetepheres II. The two women ‘s affection for one another is shown clearly in the decoration.
Mer-Ib: Fourth Dynasty. Mer-ib was a ‘Royal Acquaintance' – perhaps a term to identify more distant members of the royal family, such as cousins of the king. He is remembered in a carved wooden panel that still keeps traces of the paint that once enlivened it. This wooden panel, and the few others which remain from the Old Kingdom, suggest the skill and sophistication of woodworking in those days. (item 78 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Meryre-ha-ishetef: Sixth Dynasty. Official. Meryre-ha-ishetef was buried at Sedment. His tomb contained many fine wooden statues, showing him at various ages. The slender, intense images, in Sixth Dynasty style, are naked. (items 188 and 189 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Metjen: Fourth Dynasty. This official was born during the time of Huni, last king of the Third Dynasty, and lived on into the reign of Sneferu. He held various administrative sites in the Delta. He is one of the earliest officials to have left a biography setting out his titles and a few details of his life, such as the fact that he inherited a very large and fine estate from his father. (item 28 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Metjetji: Fifth Dynasty. Metjetji was Overseer of the King's Tenants. Although the exact location of his tomb is not known, many fragments and four fine statues from it are in museums. Two of the images from Metjetji's tomb are available as ROM electronic Postcards. (itemd 151-157 in the Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids)
Mycerinos, Mycerinus: see Menkaure
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