Illustrative model — an approximation, not a scan of the original object.
c. 1550 – 1525 BCE
Ceremonial Axe of Ahmose
Early Eighteenth Dynasty, reign of Ahmose I.
- Material
- Gold, electrum, copper alloy, semiprecious stones and wood
- Dimensions
- Length c. 47.5 cm
- Findspot
- Burial of Queen Ahhotep, Dra Abu el-Naga, Thebes
- Discovery
- Found in 1859 among the contents of Queen Ahhotep’s burial.
- Held by
- Egyptian Museum, Cairo (some sources report it on display at the Luxor Museum)
- Inventory number
- JE 4673 / CG 52645
A ceremonial axe not made for fighting. Its blade shows King Ahmose striking an enemy, among scenes celebrating his victories over the Hyksos.
Certainty: Established
The axe was found in 1859 in Queen Ahhotep’s burial at Dra Abu el-Naga, with other weapons and jewellery naming Ahmose.
- Egyptian Museum, Cairo (collection) “Ceremonial axe of Ahmose, inventory JE 4673 / CG 52645”
Certainty: Uncertain
Sources disagree on where the axe is displayed today: the Egyptian Museum in Cairo or the Luxor Museum.
Scholarly note: The inventory number JE 4673 is consistent across sources; the display location needs confirming with the museum authority.
- Egyptian Museum, Cairo (collection) “Ceremonial axe of Ahmose, inventory JE 4673 / CG 52645”