The civilization of ancient Egypt existed for about thirty centuries and had a huge impact on many generations. The revived interest in Egyptian culture can be explained by many factors such as inscrutability, uniqueness, the majesty of this ancient kingdom. In this article, we will open the curtains on some of the most interesting and mysterious tattoos ever.
The Meaning and Symbolism of Egyptian Tattoos
Egyptian tattoos can carry a wide range of significances depending on images they contain. Here are some of the most beloved among tattoo admirers Egyptian tattoo designs:
- Eye of Horus or eye of Ra tattoo means protection;
- Ankh cross design represents eternal life and wisdom;
- Hieroglyphs each with its meaning;
- The god of dead Anubis;
- Egyptian Bennu Phoenix means resurrection;
- Scarab beetle tattoo symbolizes renewal and creation;
- Egyptian cat goddess Bastet tattoo symbolizes playfulness and affection;
- The Sphynx and pyramids as the most recognizable symbols of Egypt;
- Isis was the goddess of protection, marriage, and motherhood;
- Pharaoh tattoo as the representation of power and leadership;
- Queen Nefertiti incorporates feminine power and progress;
- King Tut tattoo denotes power and thirst for pleasure;
- Mummy tattoo presents beliefs in life after death.
You may want to add some complementing details and designs to increase the symbolism or to make your tattoo look even better. Here are some options for you:
- The sun and the moon;
- Sand, dunes, and palms;
- Night sky with stars;
- Floral or tribal patterns, etc.
The Features of Egyptian Tattoos
First thing first, you have to give much thought to your future tattoo as it’s going to stay with you forever. The perfect tattoo should have an interesting and beautiful design and reflect your personality. Egyptian tattoos have all the necessary qualities to be called universal for both men and women. There are numerous designs in color as well as in black and white. Bigger images should be placed on back, thigh, sleeves and the side. Smaller inks look nicely on wrist, shoulder, calf, neck, etc. If to talk about styles, turn on your imagination because Egyptian tattoos can be performed in various styles such as:
- Hyper-realism, Realism or 3D;
- Graphic or Geometric style;
- Old School, New School or Traditional;
- Dotwork or Linework.
#1. Unusual Ancient Egyptian Back Tattoo
Performed in bold black with intense shading this half bird –half UFO tattoo might be the representation of some people beliefs that ancient Egyptians were aliens.
#2. Fantastic Egyptian God Anubis Tattoo
Anubis or the god of the dead with the dog head and the human body is tattooed in color against the background of the road and night sky with stars. Truly a stunning piece!
#3. Beautiful Cleopatra Tattoo
Cleopatra was a female pharaoh of Egypt and one of the most well-known women in history. Her mysteriously beautiful portraits with jewels have become quite popular theme in tattooing.
#4. Super Cool Egyptian Forearm Tattoo
This luxurious forearm tattoo depicting a beautiful girl that wears the Tut Pharaoh mask is truly impressive. The prevailing gold color points out on royalty and leadership symbolism.
#5. Interesting Black and White Egyptian Arm Tattoo
Two images of Nefertiti in profile and full face were superimposed to create a unique forearm tattoo. We admit that both the idea and its embodiment as a tattoo are outstanding.
#6. Sated in Color Egyptian Art Tattoo
Presented in Traditional this Egyptian half-sleeve is vivid in color and beautifully designed. We can see a charming girl in the role of Anubis with a scarab beetle below her face.
#7. Enormous Egyptian Back Tattoo
Anubis was supposed to look after the souls who passed away. Combined with the Ankh cross the Anubis tattoo is placed on the back which is the perfect spot because Anubis will watch over and protect the bearer.
#8. Magnificent Egyptian Bird Tattoo
Horus was Egyptian god of sky and was often depicted as a hawk or an eagle. This awesome tattoo composition also shows an Eye of Horus or Eye of Ra that is a symbol of protection of any kind.
#9. Whimsical Egyptian Cat Tattoo
When it comes to the quaintness of images nothing works better than animals with the human face features. This cartoonish Egyptian cat forearm tattoo looks quite unusual and interesting.
#10. Symbolic Egyptian Chest Tattoo
It was believed that you could enter the afterlife only if your heart was as light as a feather. As a reminder to do more good deeds, the wearer got inked with this chest tattoo that shows the process of weighting by the goddess of Justice Ma’at.
#11. Egyptian Ankh Cross Tattoo
The Egyptian cross also known as the Ankh is tattooed on the forearm with a sacral scarab beetle on the top. Symbolizing an eternal life and protection this awesome tattoo fits everyone.
#12. The unique Egyptian Eye Custom Tattoo
There are many reasons for going crazy after mythology of ancient Egypt. Symbolism is one of them. It would seem that it is an ordinary eye ta, but it represents the sun god Ra and means protection.
#13. Matching Egyptian Goddesses Tattoos
Two Egyptian goddesses Bastet with the cat head and Tefnut with lioness head both with sexy female bodies are portrayed single-colored on both forearms.
#14. Breathtaking Egyptian Gods Chest Tattoo
This stunning black and gray tattoo masterpiece shows two the most powerful gods in Egyptian pantheon – Ra and Anubis. The sun and the moon are tattooed to denote the harmony between opposites.
#15. Colorful Neo-Traditional Egyptian Hand Tattoo
We love the way a tattoo master has played with colors in this particular Anubis tattoo. The God- protector of the underworld is portrayed aggressively roaring crowned with the golden scarab.
#16. Black Egyptian Hieroglyphics ankle Tattoo
It was believed that Horus the eagle-headed god of sky sacrificed his eye in a battle. The eye of Horus became a protection symbol and is used widely in tattooing.
#17. Egyptian Culture Inspired Sketch-like Tattoo
This sketch-like Nefertiti portrait tattoo on the half-sleeve with pale orange and blue colors and clear outlines overwhelms and inspires with its beauty.
#18. The Egyptian Royal King and Queen Tattoo
The kings and queens of ancient Egypt were thought as true gods on earth. Black and gray tattoos of Nefertiti and Tut beautifully depicted on the chest are connected by the symbol of eternal life Ankh.
#19. Mind-blowing Egyptian Pharaoh Tattoo
The sepia colored realistic image of King Tut with pyramids and night sky full of bright stars is masterly depicted on the half-sleeve.
#20. Super Colored Egyptian Princes’s Tattoo
If you are in search of something trendy, get inked with Neo-Traditional Egyptian queen tattoo. With bold outlines, intense color palette and soft shading this half-sleeve looks pretty amazing!
#21. Nice Egyptian Pyramid Tattoo
This striking calf tattoo composition that includes the Ankh cross, pyramids at sunset, dogs-guardians and Egyptian hieroglyphs is finished with a rope that encircles the tattoo image.
#22. Beauteous Egyptian Queen Nefertiti Tattoo
The tattoo showing the famous bust of Nefertiti is quite admirable by fans of Egypt history. This stunning Neo-Traditional tattoo piece depicts Nefertiti in all of her beauty.
#23. Egyptian Queen Black Tattoo
Here’s one more beautiful tattoo example of Nefertiti bust boldly outlined and darkly shaded. We love the way a tattoo artist’s decorated the ink with cute florets.
#24. Creative Egyptian Shoulder Tattoo
Those of you who are a thirst for pleasure and wealth might be interested in tattooing one of the most significant figures among Egyptian pharaohs, the king Tutankhamen. Along with the Ankh cross, it creates the beauteous tattoo.
#25. Spectacular Egyptian sphinx Half-sleeve Tattoo
Sphinx is the huge stone statue that is intended to protect pyramid tombs of great pharaohs. The Sphinx itself can be a really cool idea for a tattoo due to its body of a lion and human head.
#26. Egyptian Style Shoulder Tattoo
Egypt inspired this awesome colorful shoulder tattoo contains many different elements among which are jackal-headed god Anubis, the eye of Horus, pyramids, palms and Pharaoh sarcophagus with all his wealth.
#27. The Awesome Egyptian Gods with Sun Full Sleeve Tattoo
This stunning full sleeve depicts Egyptian gods that look like characters from a comic’s book. The highly detailed, well outlined and masterly colored tattoo with Horus, Anubis and Bastet images are perfectly complemented with the huge sun disk which was sacred to Egyptians.
#28. Light Egyptian Tattoo Sleeve
Ancient Egypt inspired this fantastic black and gray full sleeve that contains images of the falcon god Horus and his eye, Queen Nefertiti, scarab beetle, King Tit death mask, and pharaohs impresses with its realistic fulfillment.
#29. Cute Egyptian Tattoo for Girls
The pink-cheeked beauty must be Cleopatra whose Neo-Traditional portrait tattoo finds its place on the thigh. We would like to single out her eye of Horus makeup element which is not very noticeable but quite meaningful.
#30. Dotwork Egyptian Tattoo for Women
We really like the idea of the light Dotwork shoulder tattoo depicting an Egyptian goddess Mut with the vulture headdress who represents motherhood and love. Looks awesome!
#31. Egyptian Themed Forearm Tattoo
The colorful Egyptian forearm tattoo depicts an unusual deity duo featuring Seth, the god of violence and Sekhmet, the goddess of war, desert and fire. Sekhmet is portrayed with the sun disk and lioness’ head, Seth has a head of non-identified animal though.
#32. Weird but Striking Egyptian Tribal Tattoo
Samoan tribal patterns in combination with tribal scarab beetle look stunningly of course, though you have to be quite careful with this kind of tattooing. Not that it is a complete no-no, but Samoan people are rather jealous of their tattoo culture.
#33. Phenomenal Tattoo of Egyptian Deity Isis with Wings
Tattooed in black and white and well-placed on the inner forearm this tatt showing an Egyptian goddess Isis with spread bird wings and throne-like headdress is gorgeous.
#34. Colorific Egyptian Writing and Sarcophagus Tattoo
Getting inked with a nice colorful Tutankhamen Sarcophagus tattoo decorated with Egyptian writings is an original way of perpetuating the legacy of ancient Egypt, one of the most interesting and mysterious cultures in the history of mankind.
#35. Incredible Egyptian God Ra Tattoo
Devoid of bright colors though, this tattoo is cool looking. The first thing that catches the eye is a nice combination of the falcon-headed god creator Ra and the Eye of Horus tattoo.
#36. Noticeable Small Egyptian Ring Finger Tattoo
This ring finger tattoo small in its size but really well lined and softly shaded presents a quite realistic image of the world-famous pharaoh Tutankhamen, well, if to be more precise, his funerary mask image.
#37. Sacred Egyptian Beetle Tattoo
If you’re looking for a positive tattoo, give this awesome winged scarab beetle a shot. The dung beetle represents rebirth since it was considered as the one which rolled the sun across the sky. Along with the Ankh cross, this tattoo protects the wearer.
#38. Sketch-like Egyptian Silhouette Tattoo
Performed with bold black color and intricate interweaving of lines this sketch-like Anubis thigh tattoo is exceptionally beautiful and refined.
#39. Marvelous Egyptian Horus and Anubis Tattoo
The successful combination of powerful symbols is taken from Egyptian mythology and embodied in a tattoo. The ink presents Horus and Anubis connected by the Ankh cross which breathes the eternal life into the bearer skin.
#40. Dotwork Egyptian Tattoo on Wrist
If you are a real aficionado of ancient Egypt and you look for a unique tattoo design, pay attention to this incredible Dotwork Anubis with the eye of Horus tattoo that signifies protection.
#41. Dream-like Egyptian Watercolor Tattoo
The watercolor tattoo with triangle elements one can see in this picture is done in honor of one of the most well-known Egyptian Kings, Tutankhamen who was worshiped as a God during his life and after.
#42. Multicolored Egyptian Scarab Tattoo on Neck
Incredibly vibrant and colorful this nape scarab tattoo is one of our favorites. The scarab beetle was a sacral insect to ancient Egyptians. People believed that the scarab rolled the dung ball just like god Khepri moved the sun across the sky.
#43. Hyper-realistic Egyptian Tattoo on Foot
The stunningly realistic image of the Pharaoh Tut is inked on the calf. Prevailing black dye and dark shading create some mysterious appearance that takes your breath away!
#44. Trendy Black Egyptian Tattoo
Anubis is almost the most recognizable Egyptian tattoo design. Consisted of bold black outlines and soft dark shading, this dog-headed god of the dead tatt is a good one to get inked with!
#45. Detailed Egyptian God Horus Tattoo
This enchanting tattoo presents Horus, the Egyptian god of the sky that usually took a form of a falcon. Depicted with the Eye of Horus and the Ankh cross, Horus tattoo celebrates ancient Egypt culture.
#46. Neo-Traditional Egyptian Tattoo on Thigh
Inspired by Egyptian dog-headed god of dead Anubis this Neo-Traditional tattoo is incredible. Unlike Egyptian frescos showing a side view and a profile view at the same time, the thigh tattoo depicts Anubis aggressively looking right at you.
#47. Black and Gray Realistic Egyptian Tattoo
We especially love the black and gray realism style in this female pharaoh tattoo piece. Though there’s so much more behind this ink, the visual image makes us fall in love with it over and over again. Neat tattoo!
#48. Vivid and Colorful Egyptian God Sobek Tattoo
Sobek was the Egyptian god of the Nile and crocodiles thus he was portrayed with a crocodile head. It was thought that he created the world and made the majestic river Nile from his sweat. Performed in Traditional this Sobek tattoo looks stunning!
#49. Beauteous Egyptian Goddess on Back
This striking multicolored back tattoo reveals the beauty of ancient Egyptian goddess of Justice Ma’at who is sitting on scale pan with wings wide spread.
#50. Awesome Egyptian Dog Tattoo
We presume that this tattoo owner decided to combine two of his passions: his beloved dog pet and interest in Egyptian culture. As a result, the tattoo of French bulldog in the role of the pharaoh was created.
#51. Cute Cartoonish Egyptian Cat Tattoo
Cats, particularly black ones, were sacred animals to ancient Egyptians. It was considered that the cat represented the goddess of moon Bastet. This cartoon-like Egyptian cat ink on the calf is truly awesome!
#52. Vibrant in Color Egyptian Tattoo
As a custom work, this amazing shoulder tattoo shows a bunch of ancient Egyptian elements such as pyramids, the Ankh, the sun and the supreme god Ra illustrated as a hawk.
#53. Cool, Colorful Egyptian Chest Tattoo
Saturated in color and comic-like this New School chest tattoo with Anubis and pharaoh mummy images is celebrating the mysterious culture of ancient Egypt in all its beauty.
#54. Amazing 3D Egyptian King Tut Mask Tattoo
Since pharaohs were considered as gods on earth who had plenipotentiary power over everything and everyone, the tattoos with Pharaoh image, the King Tut mask like in this case, denote power and leadership.
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