Bronze knife or razor and sharpening stone, from royal burial

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This bronze knife or razor and whetstone are from the grave of a 17th Dynasty queen and her child at Qurneh in Egypt. They were in a work basket outside the queen's coffin, together with a marble bowl, oil horn, two flints and ball of thread.

The bronze razor or knife is made from a single flat piece of bronze, and has a short, half-moon shaped blade and a long rectangular handle, indented just before the blade. The whetstone, of sandstone, is roughly triangular.

This grave, from the burial place of the kings and queens of Thebes, is remarkable as it dates from a time when Egypt was politically divided and relatively poor. The queen and her child have been lavishly equipped for the Afterlife.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-180-000-772-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland Part 2
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  A.1909.527.34
• Date: 17th Dynasty
  Around 1641 to 1539 BC (2nd Intermediate Period: 17th Dynasty)
  
• Material: Knife / razor
  
• Dimensions: 152 mm L
  
• What: Knife / razor
  
• Subject: Tools
  
• Who: Professor W.M. Flinders Petrie (Excavator)
  
• Where: Ancient Egypt, Qurneh
  
• Event:
• Description: Flat knife or razor in bronze with a long handle: Ancient Egyptian, from Qurneh, 17th Dynasty
  
• References:
  • Petrie, W.M. Flinders. Qurneh. London: School of Archaeology in Egypt, 1909. 
  • Qurneh / by W.M. Flinders Petrie. London, B.S.A.E. & B. Quaritch, 1909, 6 - 10 
  • Sheridan, J A (ed). Heaven and Hell and Other Worlds of the Dead. Edinburgh: National Museum of Scotland, 2000. 
• Translations:
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