blueiskewl: Bracelets of Egyptian Queen Hetepheres IBracelets excavated from the tomb of Queen Hetep
blueiskewl: Bracelets of Egyptian Queen Hetepheres IBracelets excavated from the tomb of Queen Hetepheres I, wife of Pharaoh Sneferu and the mother of Khufu, 2575 - 2550 BC (4th dynasty), discovered near the satellite pyramids of the Great Pyramid of Giza.The bracelets of queen Hetepheres are one of the most beautiful surviving examples of ancient Egyptian jewellery. They were created for the Egyptian queen and king’s mother Hetepheres I who lived during the 4th dynasty (around 2600 BC). She was probably the spouse of Sneferu and mother of later king Khufu as well as princess Hetepheres II. Her name means “her face is gracious”.The Bracelets are made of silver, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and carnelian which were some of the most expensive materials of the time. So much that silver was even more expensive than gold because it would have to be imported. Turquoise and carnelian would have been found on the Sinai and would have been dug up during expeditions there. Lapis lazuli had to be imported from as far as Afghanistan or Turkey.The expensive materials alone prove the queen’s importance and outstanding position at court. They were part of her extensive funerary ensemble which included various pieces of gold covered furniture - those were expertly reconstructed and can be seen at the Cairo museum of antiquities. Her mummy, however, was not found in situ, so she might have the burial somewhere else.At the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. -- source link