Luxor Museum

Museum, Luxor (ancient Thebes) · also called Luxor Museum of Ancient Egyptian Art, متحف الأقصر

Luxor Museum holds royal statues and stelae from Thebes whose hieroglyphs are among the crispest in Egypt. You can read the cartouches of Amenhotep III, Thutmose III and Akhenaten at arm's length, in calm, even light.

The collection is small and chosen for quality. It opened in 1975 on the Nile Corniche and shows finds from Thebes, the ancient name of Luxor. Most pieces date from the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BC), when Thebes was the religious capital, and many carry their owner's names on the back pillar, belt or base.

Labels are in English and Arabic, so you can check a reading as you go. A newer wing covers the army of the New Kingdom. A separate hall shows statues found buried in Luxor Temple in 1989. Tutankhamun's treasures are elsewhere: they are at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza.

Inscriptions to see

Statues from the Luxor Temple cache

Workers found these statues in a pit under the court of Amenhotep III. The finest is a quartzite statue of the king standing on a sledge. Its cartouches are sharp enough to read sign by sign.

Akhenaten's talatat wall

A long wall rebuilt from small sandstone blocks of Akhenaten's Aten temples at Karnak. Workers, offerings and the royal family appear under a sun disc whose rays end in hands. Even the Aten has its own cartouches here.

Kamose stela

A large stela of Kamose, a Theban king of c. 1550 BC, found at Karnak. Its long text tells of his war against the Hyksos rulers in the north.

Royal mummies

The New Kingdom wing has shown a mummy identified as Ahmose I and one that is probably Ramesses I, returned from a North American museum in 2003. Check whether they are on display when you visit.

Names you can find here

Signs to look for

Sun N5rꜥ The sun disc opens most throne names on the statue bases, such as Nebmaatre for Amenhotep III.
Sedge M23sw The sedge, with the bee, makes the title 'King of Upper and Lower Egypt' before a throne name.
Game board Y5mn The game board spells Amun, in Amenhotep and in 'beloved of Amun'.
Ankh S34ꜥnḫ The ankh is held by gods and offered to kings in the statues and stelae.

Reading the hieroglyphs here

Give each cartouche a minute. Read the signs top to bottom, then check the label.
Glass reflects; hold the phone close and at a slight angle before you point the Hiero Lens camera at a case.
Photography rules have changed over the years, so ask at the entrance first.

Point your camera at a wall Hiero Lens boxes the signs and names them, on your phone; nothing is uploaded. On worn stone, trace a sign over the photo.

Questions

Is Tutankhamun's mask in Luxor Museum?

No. The mask, coffins and shrines are at the Grand Egyptian Museum in Giza. Luxor Museum focuses on statues and stelae from Theban temples.

How long do you need at Luxor Museum?

One to two hours is enough. Allow longer if you want to read a few cartouches properly.

Where it is

Open in OpenStreetMap · Written from published sources and not yet checked on site by our team: displays and open tombs change.