Author: ancientegyptblog7

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Base of an Offering Table

While this piece is outwardly awkward and simple looking, the beauty ๐“„ค of it is in the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! I love these types of pieces – where you really have to examine them and look closer to see the beauty ๐“„ค of it! This is the base of an offering table ๐“‚๐“ƒ€๐“…ก๐“„ฟ๐“‹ƒ, and obviously the piece is incomplete and was most likely broken in antiquity.

The main highlight is the really long cartouche! Now, this cartouche doesnโ€™t just contain the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, but his title and epithet as well. The title of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป usually came before ๐“๐“‚‹ the cartouche (and was seated on the top outside of the oval) while the epithet would appear both after the cartouche or inside of it.

Letโ€™s take a closer look! Some of the text is read from right to left and some is read from left to right because the symbols are pointing towards these two directions! It makes it very confusing to type it out but I will do my best! Iโ€™m going to type it out as I see it in the cartouche so some of the symbols may be pointing the wrong way in my translation! Hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are like one big puzzle which is why I love them so much!

The text reads: (๐“‹น๐“™๐“†ฃ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“„ค๐“Šน๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“Œบ๐“‡Œ)

๐“™๐“‹น – Given Life
๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ – Menkheperra (Thutmosis III)
๐“Šน๐“„ค – Great God
๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ – Amun-Ra
๐“Œบ๐“‡Œ – Beloved

So all put together the text reads โ€œGiven Life, Menkheperra, the Great God, Beloved of Amun-Ra.โ€

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Narmer Palette

The British Museum has a cast of the Narmer ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹ Palette ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“†ฑ that very much looks like the real thing! I remember being so confused seeing it in the display at first because I was like โ€œisnโ€™t this supposed to be in Cairo?!โ€

Narmer (or Menes) ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹ is considered the first pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– and founder of the First Dynasty because he won a battle in the Western Delta and fully united the two lands ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– as a single country. Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– was considered to be two ๐“ป distinct places – Upper ๐“‡“ and Lower ๐“†ค – before the unification. The denotations of Upper ๐“‡“ and Lower ๐“†ค Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– were still widely used though, and titles such as โ€œKing of Upper and Lower Egypt ๐“†ฅโ€ and โ€œLord of the Two Lands ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟโ€ that were used for thousands of years after Narmer ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹ show how these ideas persisted. Narmer ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹ is depicted here wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt ๐“„ค๐“‹‘.

The original function of this palette is unclear, however, what is interesting is that it shows some early indications of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Though this is up for interpretation, letโ€™s take a look!

There are so many things happening on this palette ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“†ฑ that it is impossible for me to explain it all so I chose some of my favorite things!

Above Narmer ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹, you can see what seems to be his name (๐“†ข๐“‹). Next to the small figure on the left, you can see the hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ of a daisy. The use of the daisy hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ stopped but some scholars think it may mean โ€œHorus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ.โ€ Narmer is holding a ๐“› symbol, which is part of the word for โ€œservant ๐“›๐“ค๐“€€,โ€ so this may indicate that the words mean โ€œServant of Horus.โ€

A question that a lot of scholars who study early Egyptian palettes ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“†ฑ๐“ฆ have to ask themselves is โ€œwhere do the pictures end and the words begin?โ€ – we will probably never know!

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Book Recommendations

Book Review – “Pocket Guide to Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs”

The “Pocket Guide to Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs” was one of my favorite books as a child, and it is one I still love to go through! Believe it or not, my Dad actually brought this one for me in Barnes & Noble at the beginning of my journey of learning hieroglyphs! I remember that trip to the bookstore clearly because I was so excited to get this book! I must have been seven or with years old at the time!

While I definitely think adults can enjoy this book too (especially beginners) this really is geared more towards kids! What I love is that it teaches some grammar without it being too much, breaks down the types of hieroglyphic symbols, and delves into some common phrases that you will find in museums!

I find that this book makes hieroglyphs really accessible for kids and provides accurate age-appropriate information without watering it down. I feel like this book helps build confidence with the overwhelming task of learning hieroglyphs! When a child sees success and gains confidence, they will want to continue to learn! I think that is what makes this book powerful – it encourages learning and makes it fun!

This is a book I would recommend if your child wants to learn, but I think if you are an adult who wants to learn some basic information before delving into more adult-geared books, this provides some valuable insight! I truly love this book!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Roman Anubis

I love this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ so much! I think itโ€™s gorgeous ๐“„ค!! Heโ€™s Roman-ified and wearing a toga!! Itโ€™s a really nice piece and one of my favorites in the Vatican! My sister ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“ even joined me for this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“!

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is the Egyptian god ๐“Šน of mummification, burial rites and tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฅ/cemeteries. However, when Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– was conquered by Rome, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ was likened to the Roman god ๐“Šน Mercury! Mercury had many functions, but one of the traits that related him to Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ was that Mercury guided souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ to the underworld/afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. It was part of Mercuryโ€™s function as the messenger god ๐“Šน!

In this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is even holding a caduceus in his hand – a symbol often associated with Mercury. Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is also looking quite fashionable with his Roman style sandals ๐“ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ธ๐“ฆ!

As you all know, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is my favorite ancient Egyptian god ๐“Šน. I also love this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ because it shows the blending of the Egyptian and Roman religions which happened after Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– was defeated by Rome during the Battle of Actium.

The Battle of Actium (September 12th, 31 B.C.E.) was the last battle of the Roman Republic and gave rise to the Roman Empire (and the fall of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–). The battle was fought between Octavian and Marc Antony/Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡. With Octavianโ€™s victory, he secured his place as the first Emperor of Rome.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Wooden Ushabti of Rameses II

This is a Wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ Ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ of Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– (New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 1292-1190 B.C.E.).

Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– was arguably one of Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– greatest builders, and his face/cartouche can be found pretty much everywhere you look in a museum (this is why his cartouches are good to learn – you will see them a lot).

Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ was plundered in the 20th Dynasty, and only three ๐“ผ of his wooden ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures remain! In 1049 B.C.E., the High Priest of Amun ordered Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ be moved from his original tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ and to the Royal Cache, a place where many royal ๐“‹พ mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช were re-buried in order to protect the mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช from tomb robbers.

While the provenance of this ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ is unknown, it is assumed that it was originally from Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– original tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ (KV 7).

The text ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ is a version of the โ€œShabti Spellโ€ from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. This spell gives the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ the power to complete tasks (farming, manual labor, etc) for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ in the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š–.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Details of Anubis on a Sarcophagus

This is a close-up photo ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of Anubis (or Inpw to the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช) ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ from a sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ at the MET. I chose to highlight this particular detail from the sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ because while it is not part of an inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ, this is my favorite hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ; Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ on top of a shrine! As many of you know, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is my favorite Egyptian god ๐“Šน and he always has been! I get so excited whenever I see Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in any form of Egyptian art!

There are two ๐“ป variations of this particular hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ: ๐“ƒฃ and ๐“ƒค. Both can be used pretty much interchangeably and it was mostly style/aesthetics that determined which one was used in inscriptions.

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ can be written a bunch of different ways in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช: ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ข, ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, ๐“ƒฃ, ๐“ข. Once again, style/aesthetics determined which variation was used in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ.

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is commonly associated with shrines, because he is a god ๐“Šน that is associated with themes surrounding death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ (mummification, burial places). While the word in Middle Egyptian for shrine is ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰, shrines associated with Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ had their own word! A shrine associated with Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ was called ๐“‰ฑ๐“Šน, or the โ€œGodโ€™s Booth.โ€ One of Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ titles that commonly appears after his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช is: ๐“…๐“Šน๐“‰ฑ or โ€œIn front at the Godโ€™s Booth.โ€

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Egyptian Artifacts

Two Wooden Statues of Metjetji

Whenever we were in a museum, my Nonno would always point out the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช whenever they were in great condition. He always explained to me that wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ decayed quickly and was harder to preserve than stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช, so it was always remarkable whenever a wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ was able to retain its beauty ๐“„ค and not decay over thousands ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ of years. Thanks to my Nonnoโ€™s teachings and enthusiasm, I have always been so appreciative of the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ artifacts.

These are two ๐“ป wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of an official ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“€€ named Metjetji who lived during the 5th or 6th Dynasty (c. 2371-2288 B.C.E.). These ๐“ป two statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช seem to represent Metjeti as a younger man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค, while other statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช found in his tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ show him at an older age. When the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช had their likeness preserved for eternity ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›, they wanted themselves to be represented at the best – hence why in most statues/reliefs/paintings that are found in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ, the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ looks so young.

The paint on these wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช is remarkably well preserved, which can happen if the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is under the right conditions for thousands of years (which is rare – usually humidity and time can get the better of organic materials). Metjetji is wearing a kilt and broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ along with other pieces of jewelry. He is also holding a staff in his hand in the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ on the left. In both representations, Metjeti seems to be walking (because one foot is in front of the other – almost like a stride).

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Egyptian Artifacts

Papyrus Depicting a Building Foundation Ceremony

Sorry for the glare, but I quite like this piece! This papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› is a very cool artifact – it is a papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› depicting a building foundation ceremony from the 22nd Dynasty (c. 1069-664 B.C.E.).

On the top right side of the papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“›, Sobek ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“Žก๐“†‹ and Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ are pictured. The names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ of Sobek ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“Žก and Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“ญ๐“ appear above their heads ๐“ถ๐“ฆ, and act almost like captions which I always think is such a cool feature of Egyptian art! The names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ do not include the determinative symbols, just the phonograms! Even without the captions, Sobek ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“Žก๐“†‹ and Neith are easy deities to recognize because Sobek ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“Žก๐“†‹ is usually represented as a manโ€™s ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค body with a crocodile ๐“…“๐“‹ด๐“Ž›๐“†Œ head, while Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ is a slender woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ wearing the Red Crown of Lower Egypt ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹”.

The other people (drum and tambourine players) are dedicating the foundation of the building that is to be built to Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ and Sobek ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“Žก๐“†‹. There are also workers who are breaking ground, using various tools (on the bottom left you can see them using a hoe, which is also a popular hieroglyph ๐“Œบ).

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Sarcophagus of Nectanbo I

Here I am with the sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ of Nectanbo I ๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“‚“, a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป who ruled ๐“‹พ during the 30th Dynasty (c. 379-361 B.C.E.)! In a previous entry I posted, we learned how to read the titularly from this sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ! So letโ€™s take a bigger look at it!

Nectanbo I ๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ was actually the founder of the 30th Dynasty, which is the last native dynasty of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! The inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on this sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ are beautifully ๐“„ค carved!

In the second picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, you can see Nectanbo I ๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ in a kneeling position making an offering ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ of what seems to be bread ๐“‘. I am making the assumption that it is bread ๐“‘ because the carving in the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is the same as the hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ: ๐“‘! You can also see a Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— on his head ๐“ถ๐“ค!

Nectanbo I ๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ was actually a military general ๐“€Ž๐“ฆ and came to power by overthrowing the previous pharaoh, Nepherites II (who ruled ๐“‹พ for only four ๐“ฝ months and has no known cartouches). It is thought that Nectanbo I ๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ killed Nepherites!

Here are Nectanboโ€™s cartouches that appear on the sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ:

๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ – Kheperkare (throne name)
๐“ˆ–๐“†ฑ๐“๐“๐“‚ก๐“ƒญ๐“†‘ – Nakht Nebef (birth name)

The sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ is at the British Museum!

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Blog

The Mummy

This post is a little bit different for today but thatโ€™s okay! I have had this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ in my drafts for a while!

I donโ€™t think that anyone is surprised to hear that my absolute favorite movie of all time is The Mummy (and I also love the Mummy Returns too)! Iโ€™ll never forget watching the movie for the first time when I was eleven years old with my mom. I related so much to Evie because she could read hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช and loved ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– just like me!! Evie instantly became my favorite movie character, and she still is to this day!

At Universal Studios in Hollywood, I ran into the Golden ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ Book ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ from the movie and felt like I met a celebrity (you can definitely see how happy I am in this picture)!! Even though the Golden Book of Amun-Ra and the Book of the Dead (as it is in the movie at least) does not exist historically, they are still such fun and iconic movie props – I always wanted one of my own!

Letโ€™s learn some actual vocabulary associated with the movies!
๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ – Gold
๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› – Papyrus Roll (Book)
๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ – Amun-Ra
๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ – Mummy

While the movies are obviously not historically accurate, The Mummy and the Mummy Returns are my absolute favorite movies so I wanted to make this post about how much I love them! My Nonno really enjoyed them too and we would watch them together! He was always so disappointed that he couldnโ€™t ride Revenge of the Mummy because we all loved it so much (itโ€™s a rollercoaster and he was too old to ride it safely).