Antiquities Exhibits

Say the words ‘Egyptian gods’ and it is usually the sun god Ra, Anubis god of the dead or the goddess Isis that spring to mind. These gods were closely associated with the Pharaoh and the upper echelons of Egyptian society. But in ancient Egypt, it was the demon gods that were inextricably linked to the everyday life of Egyptians. The most important of these was Bes, who provided protection against all manner of ills and ailments in ancient Egypt. “The exhibition isn’t just a story about the popular, multifaceted deity Bes, whom very few people today know. Bes provides a unique insight into how the people in general lived, and into the thought and faith of ancient Egypt”, says the Egyptologist and exhibition curator Tine Bagh. “Throughout history, humankind has sought safety and security. In today’s Denmark we have a welfare system to look after us. In ancient Egypt they had Bes.” Bes is easily recognisable. He has short, stumpy legs, his tongue pokes out of his mouth, his beard resemb...

Bes together with his feminine counterpart Beset, is an Ancient Egyptian deity worshipped as a protector of households and, in particular, of mothers, children and childbirth. Bes may have been a Middle Kingdom import from Nubia or Somalia, and his cult did not become widespread until the beginning of the New Kingdom.  Bes was responsible for such varied tasks as killing snakes, fighting off evil spirits, watching after children, and aiding women in labour by fighting off evil spirits, and thus present with Taweret at births. Since he drove off evil, Bes also came to symbolize the good things in life – music, dance, and sexual pleasure. In the New Kingdom, tattoos of Bes could be found on the thighs of dancers, musicians and servant girls. Many instances of Bes masks and costumes from the New Kingdom and later have been uncovered. These show considerable wear, thought to be too great for occasional use at festivals, and are therefore thought to have been used by professional per...

The Egyptian god Bes and his migration to Rome. Bes together with his feminine counterpart Beset, is an Ancient Egyptian deity worshipped as a protector of households and, in particular, of mothers, children and childbirth. Bes later came to be regarded as the defender of everything good and the enemy of all that is bad. While past studies identified Bes as a Middle Kingdom import from Nubia or Somalia, more recent research indi cates that he was present in Egypt since the Old Kingdom. Mentions of Bes can be traced to pre-dynastic Nile Valley cultures, however his cult did not become widespread until the beginning of the New Kingdom. Worship of Bes spread as far north as the area of Syria, and later into the Roman and Achaemenid Empires. Statue of the half-god Bes, Limestone, Amanthus (Cyprus), Roman copy of the Archaic style. Istanbul Archaeological Museums courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Sandstein.  Stele with sculpture of Bes and Beset, Late Period, ...

Ancient Egypt Rediscovered. Ongoing. At the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburg, Scotland. This new gallery showcases the depth and breadth of the National Museums' Ancient Egypt collection that originated with the first Egyptian objects added in 1819. Highlights will include the Qurna burial, the only intact royal burial group outside of Egypt, a gold ring said to have belonged to Queen Nefertiti and a unique double coffi n of two half-brothers, Petamun and Penhorpabik. The gallery is also planned to house the only white limestone casing stone from the Great Pyramid of Giza outside of Egypt that was discovered in a rubble heap by British engineer Waynman Dixon in 1872. Pendant of gold depicting an “upside-down catfish”, with an unknown core (possibly copper alloy) and a ring for suspension in its mouth: Ancient Egyptian, excavated by Petrie in Tomb 72 in Harageh Cemetery A, Late Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, c.1862-1750 BCE . Box of cedar wood with ebony vene...