Just some beautifully ๐ค painted hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช from the Brooklyn Museum to brighten your day ๐๐๐บ๐ณ! On the right side, you can even make out the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช for Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ!
The rest of it is unreadable because itโs incomplete. I just love this relief because of the bright colors – it really stood out in the galleries because of the paint. Itโs amazing how the paint still looks so beautiful ๐ค even after thousands of years!
My first thought when I saw this was โ ๐ค๐๐๐ ฑ๐ญ๐๐โ or โhow beautiful this is.โ
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 who became deified. 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. Imhotep was not deified in his lifetime – it was 2,000 years after his death that he began to be worshipped 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 was regarded as the Son ๐ ญ of Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ฑ, who was the god ๐น of craftsmen and architects. He was also part of the Memphis Triad, which consisted of Ptah ๐ช๐๐๐ญ, Sekhmet ๐๐๐ ๐๐ and Imhotep ๐๐ ๐ต๐๐ช.
Here’s a picture featuring bronze ๐๐ค๐๐ฆ statues ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช! of Isis ๐จ๐๐ฅ, Horus ๐ ๐ญ, and Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ at the Brooklyn Museum!
Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ was one of the main figures of Egyptian religion. This is because Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ was the god ๐น of the dead and the ruler of the afterlife, and Egyptians spent their entire time living preparing for their death 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.
The image ๐๐ ฑ๐ of Isis ๐จ๐๐ฅ feeding Horus ๐ ๐ญ as a baby is one of the most popular images ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ฆ of the Late Period through the Ptolemaic Period. Symbolically, Isis ๐จ๐๐ฅ was thought to be the mother ๐ฟ๐๐ of the pharaoh ๐๐ป, and was often associated with motherhood ๐ ๐๐, the protection of women, and a user of magic. As Isis ๐จ๐๐ฅ became a more popular religious figure, she was associated with cosmological order and was considered to be the embodiment of fate by the Romans. This image ๐๐ ฑ๐ of a mother ๐ ๐๐ holding a child is thought to have inspired the well known Catholic images of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus as a baby.
This is the side of a beautifully ๐ค painted sarcophagus at the Brooklyn Museum!
The goddess ๐น๐ Nephthys ๐ ๐๐ is portrayed where the head of the deceased would be laid because she is regarded as a protector ๐ ๐๐ก๐ of the dead ๐ ๐๐ฑ. This tradition began during the New Kingdom. Nephthys ๐ ๐๐ was Sethโs ๐๐๐ก๐ฃ wife, the sister ๐ข๐๐ of Isis ๐จ๐๐ฅ, and during later parts of mythology the mother ๐ ๐๐ of Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ through a union with Osiris ๐น๐จ ๐ญ.
Even though Nephthys ๐ ๐๐ is associated with Seth ๐๐๐ก๐ฃ, she is regarded as a positive figure in the later evolutions of Egyptian mythology, and she even helped Isis ๐จ๐๐ฅ find Osirisโ ๐น๐จ scattered body pieces and put him back together after Seth ๐๐๐ก๐ฃ cut him up!
One of her titles is โMistress of the House.โ She is often associated with vultures, hence why she is frequently depicted with wings. The headdress that she wears are the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช for her name! Something super interesting is that even though Seth ๐๐๐ก๐ฃ and Nephthys ๐ ๐๐ are husband and wife they are rarely shown together. Instead, Nephthys ๐ ๐๐ is usually depicted with Isis ๐จ๐๐ฅ and Osiris ๐น๐จ ๐ญ.
Painted wooden ๐ฑ๐๐บ stelae ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ๐ช first became appeared during the 18th Dynasty, but didnโt become popular until the 21st Dynasty. This particular stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ is from the 25th Dynasty and was found at Thebes ๐๐๐. Usually these stelae ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ๐ช were put in the burial chamber with the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ.
Stela of Takhenemet at the Brooklyn Museum
This stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ shows a woman named Takhenemet who is paying homage to the god ๐น Ra-Horakty ๐ ๐๐๐ค. Ra-Horkaty ๐ ๐๐๐ค is the merging of the gods ๐น๐น๐น Ra ๐ณ๐บ๐ and Horus ๐ ๐ญ. Here, Ra-Horkaty ๐ ๐๐๐ค is actually dressed like Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ would be traditionally dressed. During this period, the merging of deities was very common.
Whatโs interesting about the stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ from this period is usually the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ is paying homage to a god ๐น with help from another deity, however, here Takhenemet is not accompanied by another god ๐น ; she is alone. This is probably just a style change, but it is interesting to note!
Look at how gorgeous this is ๐ค๐๐๐ ฑ๐ญ๐๐!!!
I have always been a huge fan of ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ, mostly because my Nonno loves them so much and he was so excited to talk about them when we went to museums! When I was a kid I loved how they would โcome to lifeโ in the afterlife ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ and would do chores for the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ! I mean, how cool is that??!! I used to think they were like dolls!
This is the ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ of Sati, and the Brooklyn Museum has two ๐ป of them! This piece is unique because of the color (I love the blue ๐ ๐๐ accents) and extreme attention to detail – the process to make it was so labor intensive that only a few like these were made!! While Sati was not royal (the only title associated with her was โmistress of the houseโ), these ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ were clearly a royal gift just due to the craftsmanship that went into making it.
The ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ dates to either the reign of Amenhotep III ๐ณ๐ง๐ or Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐.
Look at how gorgeous this is ๐ค๐๐๐ ฑ๐ญ๐๐!!!
I spent so long just trying to take in all of the beautiful ๐ค ๐ ฑ๐๐ ฑ๐ช images of the gods ๐น๐น๐น that are on this Mummy Cartonnage at the Brooklyn Museum! Cartonnage is a material that is linen or papyrus mixed with plaster! This is from the Third Intermediate Period, and dates from the 22nd through 25th Dynasties.
This mummy case ๐ ฑ๐๐พ belonged to a priest ๐น๐ named Nespanetjerenpere. While to many the images ๐ ฑ๐๐ ฑ๐ช may seem like random pictures of the gods ๐น๐น๐น, it is actually a collection of carefully selected religious symbols meant to help guide Nespanetjerenpere on his journey to the afterlife ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ and associate him with and ensure divine resurrection.
The ram headed pendant on his chest is meant to represent the sun godโs journey across the sky ๐ช๐๐ฏ during the day ๐๐๐บ๐ณ – and through the underworld ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ at night ๐ผ๐๐๐. The images ๐ ฑ๐๐ ฑ๐ช of the gods ๐น๐น๐น can almost be thought of as the picture-book version of the Book of the Dead.
On the back, Horus ๐ ๐ญ and Thoth ๐ ค๐ญ are seen with a Djed pillar ๐ฝ, which is the symbol of stability. The Djed pillar ๐ฝ is thought to be the spine of Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ, so itโs very cool that this image ๐ ฑ๐๐ ฑ appears on the back of the mummy ๐ ฑ๐๐พ!
Amulets ๐๐ช๐ ๐ช are some of my favorite objects because I love tiny things! My Nonno always pointed out the Djed Pillar ๐ฝ amulets in museums!
The Djed Pillar ๐ฝ is representative of stability and is one of the oldest types of amulets, dating back to the Old Kingdom! It is thought to represent the spine of Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ! Since the Djed Pillars ๐ฝ are associated with Osiris ๐น๐จ๐ญ, they are usually used in funerary contexts. They were usually laid across the lower torso of the mummy ๐๐น๐ ฑ๐พ. Most of the time, Djed Pillar ๐ฝ amulets ๐๐ช๐ ๐ช appears in a green/blue ๐ ๐๐ color, which is used to represent the regeneration. Blue and green ๐ ๐๐ are the colors of regeneration because they are associated with the Nile ๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐บ.
The scarab is the personification is the god Khepri ๐ฃ๐๐๐, the creator. The scarab amulets ๐๐ช๐ ๐ช were said to be the most powerful of amulets because the the ancient Egyptians ๐๐๐๐๐ช believed that the dung beetle (which the scarab was fashioned after) was capable of eternal regeneration. Khepri ๐ฃ๐๐๐ symbolizes a โlife cycleโ – birth, death, and rebirth in the afterlife. This cycle was essential to Egyptian religious beliefs, as Egyptians ๐๐๐๐๐ช spent their lives preparing for death and entering the underworld ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐.
While we envision Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐, we usually think of an arid and desert ๐๐๐บ environment. However, flowers were very popular in ancient Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐! If you look at lists of hieroglyphic symbols, there are tons of hieroglyphs that represent plants! The phonogram/ideogram for the Nile Valley/Upper Egypt is ๐ – which represents a flowering plant!
Tutankhamunโs ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ฑ๐๐น๐พ๐บ๐ mummy ๐๐น๐ ฑ๐พ was found with flowers, as were other royal mummies. Even commoners would adorn their dead with flower arrangements.
Here are some beautifully ๐ค colored plants! On the bottom left is a lotus flower ๐ธ, the top right is a palm tree, and the bottom right is a small plaque or tile of some kind with daisies/rosettes! I love how bright the green is!
This is one of my absolute favorite pieces and I was so excited to see it again in person at the Brooklyn Museum after so long!
After Hatshepsut ๐๐ ๐๐น๐๐๐๐ผ๐ช, Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ is my second favorite pharaoh ๐๐ป because of just how different/bizarre his rule was compared to everything/everyone else. The Brooklyn Museum has an amazing collection of artifacts from Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ rule!
The top piece in the display is known as the Wilbour Plaque, after Charles Wilbour who acquired it in 1881. The plaque is interesting because it is complete as is it was never part of a larger scene and was most like used as a model for sculptors. While there arenโt any inscriptions to confirm this, it is assumed that the people represented here are Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ and Nefertiti ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ญ. However, some argue that the person accompanying Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ in the image could either be Tutankhamun ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ฑ๐๐น๐พ๐บ๐ or Smenkare ๐ณ๐๐ป๐๐ฆ๐ฃ.
To me this piece is interesting because the Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ is no where in sight! Usually Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ is always accompanied by an image of the sun ๐ณ๐บ/Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ with sun rays shining on him. Itโs almost kinda weird to see him like this!
The second piece in the display is another sculptorโs model!
