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Royal Cartouche of Queen Makare Hatshepsut

Howard Carter

1894

watercolor

From the collection of Victoria and Albert Museum

Impressionism Realism Late 19th Century

Dominant colour

Royal Cartouche of Queen Makare Hatshepsut is a 1894 watercolor by Howard Carter, a Impressionism work, held at Victoria and Albert Museum.

Who painted this?: Howard Carter
When & what style?: 1894 · Impressionism
Where can I see it?: Victoria and Albert Museum

About this work

This looks like a faded watercolor on paper. Inside a green oval frame sits a yellow oval shape with a red circle at the top—like a sun. Below it, a figure kneels, holding what looks like a staff with feathers. The figure wears a simple white skirt and a dark wig with a side lock. This isn’t a painting of a real person but a *cartouche*—an ancient Egyptian symbol for a name. The artist copied it from a much older carving. Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum to see more of this artist’s sketches.

The story of this work

Overview

This watercolour by Howard Carter depicts a detailed section of the Offering of Vases to Amon from the Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir al-Bahri. Created between 1893 and 1899 as part of an expedition led by Édouard Naville, the drawing was later reproduced in Naville's collotype publication, *The Temple of Deir el Bahari*. It shows Queen Hatshepsut, who reigned as Pharaoh from 1503 to 1482 BC, in a scene of ritual offering. The work was once owned by Lady Loch, daughter of the 5th Marquess of Northampton, before being sold at Christie's in 1975.

Read the full account in the museum source.