The two exquisite mummiform statuettes were part of the grave goods buried with the priest-healer Imenmes "Charmer of Serket" (scorpion- goddess). The almond eyes, long face and full lips are indicative of artwork that appeared during the reign of Akhenaten (1351-1334 BC) and continued through the immediately following period. The ushabty, which means “answerer”, was required to toil in the fields of Osiris in place of the deceased in the afterlife. Placed in the tombs of both royalty and commoners from the time of the Middle Kingdom, they were initially individual pieces, but gradually their numbers increased until, in the late New Kingdom, the (ideal) number rose to 365 ushabty, one for every day of the year.

In the vast and complex repertoire of egyptian gods, the cat, although identified with different goddesses, was especially linked to the goddess Bastet from the 10th century BC, whose cult was centred in the Delta, in Bubastis. The goddess, initially represented as a lioness-goddess, in cat form became a symbol of femininity and protected the family hearth. The statues and mummies of cats, often inserted into empty bronze statuettes, were donated to the goddess by her devotees to win her favours. With the introduction of lost-wax casting, from the New Kingdom (16th century BC) and in particular during the Late Period (7th to 4th century BC ), replacing the more ancient hammered sheet bronze work, we witness the beginnings of serial production of statuettes of Egyptian deities in their

The anthropoid sarcophagus and the coffin contained within were donated to the Brera Library in 1830, by Austria’s consul general to Egypt, Giuseppe Acerbi. The sarcophagus belonged to a high ranking individual, as can be inferred from the refined stylistic execution of the face and decorations. The sky goddess Nut is depicted on the exterior of the sarcophagus holding the symbol of life (ankh) while kneeling between her sisters, the goddesses, Isis and Nephthys. Below Nut is engraved a vertical band of hieroglyphs, once filled with colored glass paste, carrying the name of the deceased. On the inner surface of the lid, to the side of the goddess Nut, depicted lying down, is a funerary ritual (known as the Hourly Vigils), that marked the protection of the deceased during the hours of the day and night following his or her death. Inside the sarcophagus is the goddess of the West, Imentet, who represents the land that receives the remains of the deceased. The coffin however, of which only the bottom remains, is decorated only externally with funerary deities placed on different registers.

The papyrus fragment belonging to the scribe Pashed contains, in elegant hieroglyphs, the spells “for coming forth by day”, which egyptologists called the Book of the Dead. The text, which appeared at the beginning of the New Kingdom and was in use until the Ptolemaic Era, consists of a series of spells and magical rituals (approximately 192) which helped the deceased overcome obstacles in the perilous journey towards the new eternal life in the hereafter. The spells from the text could be written not only on papyrus scrolls, which were placed inside the sarcophagus, but in part also on the sarcophagi, on the very walls of the tomb and on some of the grave goods.

Skilled egyptian sculptors used small and easily transportable model slabs, to carve or teach relief sculptures. These models are known to have already been in use during the New Kingdom (16th - 12th century BC), but they became more widespread in the Late and Ptolemaic period (7th century BC). The museum possesses two such refined models in limestone of unknown origin. One portraying the profile of a sovereign wearing a blue crown and the uraeus: the cobra, used as a symbol of royalty. The other, carved on both sides, depicts the profile of a young sovereign wearing an elaborate wig, with the uraeus on his forehead and a barely outlined large necklace. The reverse side is the bust of a female wearing a vulture shaped headdress, a royal as well as divine attribute. The heads of the three figures on the slabs are depicted in profile, according to the canons of the early period, with the eye and front shoulder facing the viewer, however the style of the carving: the rounded face and large creased lips betray that the model is of a later period, that of the early Ptolemaic Era.

The block statue, a particularly common form of statue for non-royal subjects, is a stylised representation of a figure crouching, knees close to the chest and wrapped in a robe, from which protrudes a fully sculpted head. The hands and, more rarely, the feet are instead carved in relief. The wide flat surface of this type of sculpture is generally covered with cult related inscriptions and descriptions of the lives of the clients, mostly people who held important religious and civil positions. In the Milanese block statue, the inscription, unfortunately incomplete, carries an invocation to the goddess Hathor by the owner of the statue, who remains anonymous due to the missing segment of text. The stylistic rendering of the wig and facial features lead us to date the sculpture to the 3rd Intermediate Period, and more specifically, though not certainly, the 25th Dynasty (746-655 BC).

The statue of Amenemhat III, Pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty (circa. 1853-1805 BC), was discovered between 1936 and 1937, during excavations conducted by the papyrologist Achille Vogliano, at the site of Medînet Mâdi, in Fayum. The statue was discovered in the remains of the temple founded by the Pharaoh and dedicated to Renenutet, the cobra goddess linked to the harvest; to the crocodile Sobek, patron of the region and to Horus. The pharaoh is depicted sitting on a cubic throne wearing the royal headdress (nemes) and the uraeus on his forehead, a symbol of royalty; an offering table is resting on his knees. On the sides of his legs one can read the names of the sovereign with the epithet "beloved by Renenutet of Gia", the egyptian name of Medînet Mâdi.