This lion ๐ณ๐น๐ฟ๐ statue is from the 4th Dynasty, which means it even pre-dates the Pyramids ๐๐ ๐๐ด๐ช at Giza!
This lion ๐ณ๐น๐ฟ๐ most likely guarded the entrance to some type of sanctuary or temple ๐๐๐. Even early on in ancient Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐, lions ๐ณ๐น๐ฟ๐๐ช were seen as representative of royalty due to the fact that they were the most powerful predator in the vicinity of the Nile Valley ๐! This statue is actually the oldest preserved example of a full lion ๐ณ๐น๐ฟ๐ that archaeologists have found!
When you enter the Egyptian Galleries at theย MET,ย this statue is actually one of the first things that you see!!
Here are some gilded sarcophagi ๐ ฑ๐๐พ๐ช at the British Museum!
Theย British Museumย has so many different sarcophagi ๐ ฑ๐๐พ๐ช in their collection that it was almost overwhelming trying to see everything!!! Sarcophagi ๐ ฑ๐๐พ๐ช such as these are usually made of wood ๐ฑ๐๐บ with a gold leaf overlay – it makes it look like the sarcophagus ๐ ฑ๐๐พ is made of pure gold when it is not! These are decorated beautifully ๐ค with many of the gods ๐น๐น๐น and goddesses ๐น๐น๐น๐ of the Egyptian pantheon! The sarcophagus ๐ ฑ๐๐พ on the left contains a dedication to Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ, which runs down the center of the lid!
This is a chair that belonged to Senemutโs ๐ข๐๐ ๐ผ parents! Senemut ๐ข๐๐ ๐ผ was Hatshepsutโs ๐๐ ๐๐น๐๐๐๐ผ๐ช most trusted advisor, architect, and the tutor for her daughter Neferure ๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค. Senemutโs ๐ข๐๐ ๐ผ parents were buried in a tomb ๐๐ซ๐๐ that was very close to his, and they were given burials that were fit for people of high status, due to Senemutโs ๐ข๐๐ ๐ผ position.
The chair is adorned with the Djed ๐ฝ and Tyet ๐ฌ symbols, and the god Bes ๐๐ด๐ is located in the center. I love how the legs of the chair look like lion ๐ณ๐น๐ฟ๐ paws too!
In ancient times, a beaded shroud like the one in the picture ๐๐ ฑ๐, would have been placed over the mummy ๐๐น๐ ฑ๐พ after it had been placed in its coffin ๐ด๐ ฑ๐๐๐ฑ. In modern times, the small faience ๐ฃ๐๐๐ธ๐ผ beads that make up these shrouds have been nicknamed โmummy beadsโ simply because they are beads found with mummies ๐๐น๐ ฑ๐พ๐ช!
The pattern of the beaded shroud was supposed to be representative of the cloak that Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ, god ๐น of the afterlife ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐, wears. Whatโs so incredible about this beaded shroud is that it is mostly intact!
These types of shrouds were mostly made with blue ๐๐น๐๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฅ faience ๐ฃ๐๐๐ธ๐ผ beads because in ancient Egyptian culture, the color blue ๐๐น๐๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฅ was symbolic of rebirth and regeneration. Faience ๐ฃ๐๐๐ธ๐ผ was an extremely popular material to work with because it was both cheap and easy to use! Faience ๐ฃ๐๐๐ธ๐ผ is a quartz ๐ ๐๐๐ based material that can be molded and then heated to a very high temperature to keep its shape. Objects made of faience ๐ฃ๐๐๐ธ๐ผ were thought to hold magical ๐๐๐ฟ๐ powers!
Sewn into the beaded shroud is a winged scarab ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฃ amulet ๐๐ช๐ , and amulets ๐๐ช๐ ๐ช of the four Sons of Horus. The wings ๐ง๐ณ๐๐๐ฆ allowed the scarab ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฃ to join the rising and setting of the sun ๐ณ๐บ each day – which to the ancient Egyptians ๐๐๐๐๐ช represented the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The cycle was central to the ancient Egyptian ๐๐๐๐ religion! While the four Sons of Horus were typically seen as the heads of the canopic jars, which held the organs ๐๐ง๐๐น๐ฆ of the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ after they were mummified, they were also used as amulets ๐๐ช๐ ๐ช!
This beautiful ๐ค blue ๐๐น๐๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฅ faience ๐ฃ๐๐๐ธ๐ผ ย ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ belongs to the pharaohย ๐๐ปย Seti I ๐๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ฃ๐! I have seen ones like this in other museums too! I love seeing the โsameโ pieces in museums around the world!ย
Seti I ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ had many faience ๐ฃ๐๐๐ธ๐ผ ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ figures. His faience ๐ฃ๐๐๐ธ๐ผ ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ figures are such a beautiful ๐ค blue ๐๐น๐๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฅ color and are inscribed with hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead.
Chapter 6 is also known as the โShabti Text,โ and it is a spell ๐๐๐ that allows for the ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ to take the place of the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ if the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ is asked to do any type of work in the afterlife ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐. This is why the ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ is holding a pick (๐ธ) in each hand – he needs to be ready to work when called upon!
Pharaoh ๐๐ป Seti I ๐๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ฃ๐ had over 700 ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ figures! The typical number was around four hundred – 365 worker ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช, and the rest were overseer ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช. Most of Seti Iโs ๐๐ ๐๐ป๐๐ฃ๐ ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช were wood ๐ฑ๐๐บ – when Giovanni Belzoni discovered Seti Iโs tomb ๐๐ซ๐๐ in the Valley of the Kings in 1917, he used a lot of the wooden ๐ฑ๐๐บ ushabtis ๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช as torches, so many of them were destroyed.
Not going to lie; fact still haunts me!! This was also one of my Nonnoโs favorite stories to tell. I can still hear him in my head saying โCan you believe that idiot used ushabtis as firewood?!?!โ
I canโt go too long without posting about Imhotepย ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช! My Nonno always made a point to make sure we saw Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช in every museum that we went to. It was part of the fun of going to the museum!! After seeing โThe Mummyโ for the first time when I was about ten ๐ years old, I had already known about Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช for years from a historical perspective!!
Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช, meaning โHe who comes in peace,โ was a non-royal man ๐๐๐ค who became deified (reached godly status). This is a very rare occurrence, as it was thought by the Egyptians ๐๐๐๐๐ช that the Pharaoh ๐๐ป was the only god ๐น on the Earth ๐พ๐พ. Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช was not deified in his lifetime – it was about 2,000 ๐ผ๐ผ years after his death ๐ ๐๐ฑ that he began to be worshipped ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ข as a god ๐น.
Not much is known about Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช from his lifetime – much information about Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช is from Demotic texts or stelae ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ๐ช that were written thousands of years after his death ๐ ๐๐ฑ.
Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช is famous for being an incredible architect and is credited with designing Djoserโs ๐ฆ Step Pyramid (aka the first ever pyramid ๐๐ ๐๐ด) at Memphis ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ด๐ (modern day Saqqara). He was also a physician!
Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช is always depicted as a man ๐๐๐ค seated in a chair, usually with a piece of papyrus ๐ ๐๐๐ in his lap. Much like the god ๐น Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ(who he is said to be the son ๐ ญ of), he wears a cap on his head. Once you are able to remember what Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช statues ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช look like, you will be able to recognize them in any museum that you go to!
My Nonno always loved theย bronzeย ๐๐ค๐๐ฆย statuesย ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช of the gods ๐น๐น๐น and goddesses ๐น๐น๐น๐! Bronze ๐๐ค๐๐ฆ statuary ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ became very popular starting around the Third Intermediate Period (26th Dynasty), and became very abundant in the Ptolemaic Period.
In this display at the Louvre, Hathorย ๐ก, Amunย ๐๐ ๐๐ญ, and Osirisย ๐น๐จ๐ญย are shown!ย
Hathor ๐ก is one of the most prominent goddesses ๐น๐น๐น๐ of the Egyptian pantheon. Along with Isis ๐จ๐๐ฅ, she is regarded as the โdivine motherโ of the pharaoh ๐๐ป, but is also the goddess ๐น๐ of love, joy, music, and dance – basically the fun things in life! Hathor is also the wife of Horus ๐ ๐ญ, and the daughter of Ra ๐ณ๐บ๐. Hathor ๐ก is usually associated with cows ๐ค๐๐๐๐๐ฆ and can take the form of a cow ๐ค๐๐๐๐ in many forms of Egyptian art.
Amun ๐๐ ๐๐ญ is also considered to be one of the most important gods ๐น๐น๐น in the Egyptian pantheon and was first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts. Amun ๐๐ ๐๐ญ had many different roles and was worshipped ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ข as a creator god, solar god, fertility god, warrior god, and king of the gods. Amunโs ๐๐ ๐๐ญ is also considered the โuniversal godโ meaning that his power permeated the cosmos and all that the cosmos contained!
Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ was one of the main figures of Egyptian religion. This is because Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ was the god ๐น of the dead ๐ ๐๐ฑ and the ruler of the afterlife ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐, and Egyptians spent their entire time living preparing for their death ๐ ๐๐ฑ and meeting with Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ. When the pharaoh ๐๐ป was alive, he was thought to be the living image ๐๐ ฑ๐๐น of the God ๐น Horus ๐ ๐ญ, but more importantly when the pharaoh ๐๐ป died, he was thought to then become an Osiris-like figure.
Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! This inscriptionย ๐๐ ฑ๐ย has all words on it that I have taught already!! See if you can read it before looking at the translation!!ย Since the directional hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช are pointing to the right, we are going to start reading from the right! Also, hieroglyphsย ๐น๐๐ชย are always read starting at the top line of symbols!ย
๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ – Amenemhat I (Birth Name)
๐๐น – Given Life
๐ณ๐- Like Ra
๐ – (For) Eternity
Now, this relief is only partial because some of the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช are cut off, but based on the symbols that remain, and the formulaic way that royal titulary was always written, I have a pretty good idea what the line above the cartouche says! Letโs take a look:
๐ ญ๐ณ – Son of Ra
๐น๐ค – The Great God
๐๐ฟ๐ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands
Now, before people come at me (it happens every time) for the translation of โ ๐น๐ค – The Great God,โ yes, โ๐คโ can be translated to โgreat,โ โbeautifulโ and โperfect.โ Much like in English (and Iโm sure all other languages) in Middle Egyptian, words can have multiple meanings/translations!!! Also, there can be two different words that mean the same thing – โ๐ป / ๐ผโ can also be translated to โgreatโ – just like in the word for โpharaoh ๐๐ป,โ which literally translates to โGreat House.โ
I enjoyed talking about my friend Sobekย ๐ด๐๐ก๐ so hereโs another piece that depicts Sobekย ๐ด๐๐ก๐! This is a raised limestoneย ๐๐๐๐ย relief of Sobekย ๐ด๐๐ก๐ย from the Ptolemaic Period and is at the MET.
Sobek ๐ด๐๐ก๐ is usually depicted as a crocodile ๐ ๐ด๐๐ sitting on a shrine ๐๐๐ ๐๐ – just like this hieroglyph โ๐,โ or as a human body with a crocodile ๐ ๐ด๐๐ head ๐ถ๐บ.
Sobek ๐ด๐๐ก๐ was worshipped ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ข from the Old Kingdom through the Roman Periods, but his popularity seemed to have peaked during the Second Intermediate Period as many pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฆ of the 13th Dynasty had names ๐๐๐ฆ that were associated with him. For example, the names ๐๐๐ฆ of the pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฆ called โSobekhotep ๐๐ต๐๐ชโ translates to โSobek is satisfied.โ There were also many commoners whose name ๐๐ was also Sobekhotep ๐๐ต๐๐ช.
Fun fact! While โSobekhotep ๐๐ต๐๐ชโ can literally be written as โSobek ๐โ and โHotep ๐ต๐๐ชโ with the ideogram for โSobek ๐โ taking on the full meaning of the word, the name can also be written as โ๐ด๐๐ก๐ต๐๐ช,โ which also spells out Sobekhotep, but this time, only phonograms are used! I love seeing different variations of the same words in hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช!
This is an ostracon, which is basically either a broken piece of limestone ๐๐๐๐ (in this case), pottery, a rock ๐๐๐๐, etc. that was used for drawing practice or even โTo Doโ lists! A lot of the ostraca from ancient Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐ were often used as โpolitical cartoonsโ – where animals were depicted doing human things that were usually comments of society and the social hierarchy! Pieces of limestone ๐๐๐๐ were often used because papyrus ๐ ๐๐๐ was too expensive to practice on!
This nice little ostracon pictured however, is just a lovely drawing of the crocodile ๐ ๐ด๐๐ god ๐น Sobek ๐ด๐๐ก๐! This piece is dated to the New Kingdom (Ramesside – c. 1295โ1070 B.C.E.) and was most likely found at Deir el-Medina!
Sobek ๐ด๐๐ก๐ was one of the gods ๐น๐น๐น that was named in the Pyramid Texts, which makes him one of the oldest deities ๐น๐น๐น in the Egyptian pantheon. He is often depicted as a human body with a crocodile ๐ ๐ด๐๐ head ๐ถ๐บ.
Some of the Egyptian legends state that Sobek ๐ด๐๐ก๐ rose out of the primordial waters and created the Nile River ๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐บ. Since Sobek ๐ด๐๐ก๐ is associated with the Nile River ๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐บ, this makes him also associated with fertility (much like Taweret, the crocodile ๐ ๐ด๐๐ goddess ๐น๐ of fertility) since the ancient Egyptians ๐๐๐๐๐ช associated the Nile ๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐บ with fertility and rebirth.
Sobek ๐ด๐๐ก๐ was both feared and revered due to him being a crocodile ๐ ๐ด๐๐! He was worshipped ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ข in order to ensure the fertility of both people and crops, but also to protect against crocodile ๐ ๐ด๐๐ attacks.
