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Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum, Museums outside Egypt · also called MFA Boston, Boston Museum of Fine Arts Egyptian, Menkaure triad, Harvard Boston expedition, Djehutynakht coffin
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston holds the statues of Menkaure found by the Harvard University and Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition at Giza, including triads of the king with Hathor and a nome goddess. Its Middle Kingdom coffin of the governor Djehutynakht is covered inside with spells of the Coffin Texts.
Point your camera at the signs
Signs to look for
- Game board Y5mn The game board (mn) begins Menkaure's name in his cartouche on the triads.
- Raised arms D28kꜣ The raised arms (ka) stand in Menkaure, 'eternal are the kas of Ra'. Count how they are written.
- Hare E34wn The hare is the emblem of the Hare nome, carried on the head of the goddess in the best known triad.
- Ibis on a standard G26ḏḥwty The ibis on a standard writes Thoth (Djehuty), the first part of Djehutynakht's name on his coffins.
- Bread on an offering mat R4ḥtp Bread on a mat (hotep) opens the offering formula on the coffins and the Giza tomb pieces.
Names you can find here
The story of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The joint expedition, led by George Reisner, dug at Giza and in Nubia for decades in the early twentieth century. Egypt shared the finds, so Boston received many pieces from the cemeteries and temples around the pyramids. That is why the museum's Old Kingdom collection is among the strongest outside Cairo.
Menkaure's statues came from his valley temple, excavated in 1908 to 1910. The famous pair statue of the king and a queen is unfinished and has no inscription. The triads are where you read. Each shows Menkaure between Hathor and the god or goddess of a province, and the best preserved has the goddess of the Hare nome, with her emblem on her head.
Djehutynakht was a governor at Deir el-Bersha in Middle Egypt. The expedition found his tomb in 1915, robbed but still holding his coffins. The museum calls the outer coffin perhaps the finest Middle Kingdom coffin in existence. Its lid and sides carry cursive hieroglyphs in vertical columns, spells meant to guide him through the afterlife.
Inscriptions to see
Triad of Menkaure with Hathor and the Hare nome
A greywacke group from the valley temple. Find the king's cartouche and the names of the two goddesses on the base, and the hare standard on the nome goddess's head.
Pair statue of Menkaure and a queen
Uninscribed and unfinished, so the queen is unnamed. Compare it with the triads to see what a finished, labelled statue adds.
Coffins of Djehutynakht
Columns of Coffin Texts in a quick, cursive hand, with lines of older Pyramid Text spells. His name recurs through the spells.
Giza tomb finds
Objects from the officials' tombs around the pyramids, many with the offering formula and a name and titles. Collections rotate, so check what is on view.
Reading the hieroglyphs here
- The triads' inscriptions are small and low on the base. Crouch to read them.
- Coffin Texts are cursive and dense. Frame a single column with the camera, or trace a few signs to learn the hand.
- Some Giza and Djehutynakht pieces travel or rest in storage. Check before you go.
Hiero Lens boxes the signs and names them, on your phone; nothing is uploaded. On worn stone, trace a sign over the photo.
Questions
Why does the MFA Boston have so much from Giza?
A joint Harvard and MFA expedition dug at Giza for decades, and Egypt assigned a share of the finds to Boston. Menkaure's statues came this way.
Is the Menkaure pair statue inscribed?
No. It was left unfinished and carries no text, so the queen's name is unknown. Reisner thought she might be Khamerernebty II.
What is written on the Djehutynakht coffin?
Spells from the Coffin Texts, written in columns of cursive hieroglyphs, with some older Pyramid Text spells. They were meant to protect and guide him in the afterlife.
Where it is
Open in OpenStreetMap · Written from published sources and not yet checked on site by our team: displays and open tombs change.