Wall Tile with Rekhyt Birds
New Kingdom, Ramesside
The tile depicts two birds raising human hands. These birds, called rekhyt in Egyptian, came to represent humankind in a gesture that expresses adoration to the Egyptian king. The stars are hieroglyphs that write the word dwA "adoration," and the baskets on which they sit--nb, "all," expressing all humankind's expected attitude toward Pharaoh. Their image often decorates walls of temple and palaces, to which this tile probably belonged.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.