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Egyptian Artifacts

Djed Pillar Amulets

I absolutely love amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช because I love tiny ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ things! The MET has an incredible collection of amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช, and I feel like most people just walk by them because they’re so small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ! But even small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ objects can tell incredible stories about history!

In ancient Egyptian religion and culture, amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช were thought to have magical ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ powers and bestow them upon its wearer. Worn by both the living and the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, different amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช served various religious and protective functions. Amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช were usually made of faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ, which is a cheap and easy material to work with. Most faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ pieces have a green/blue ๐“‡…๐“†“๐“› color. This is because these colors were thought to represent life ๐“‹น and regeneration.

The djed pillar ๐“Šฝ was associated with Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ and his regenerative powers and is thus considered an amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† of power. The djed pillars ๐“Šฝ are usually blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ or green ๐“‡…๐“„ฟ๐“†“๐“› in color to represent the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ. These amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช date back to the Old Kingdom, and were used throughout Egyptian history. In the New Kingdom, they were strung around the neck of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. In hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, the djed ๐“Šฝ symbol means โ€œstabilityโ€ or โ€œenduring.โ€

The djed pillar ๐“Šฝ has also been thought to represent the spine of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, as referenced in The Book of the Dead: โ€œRaise yourself up Osiris. You have your backbone once more, weary-hearted One; you have bones.โ€

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Egyptian Artifacts

Sketch of a Hippo

This is a sketch of a hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ completed by an artist during the joint reign of Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช and Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ (c. 1479โ€“1425 B.C.E., 18th Dynasty). Ostraca were pieces of limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ that artists would practice drawing and writing on, simply because papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› was very expensive!

In Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ were both feared and respected ๐“ˆ™๐“†‘๐“„…. They were feared because they were one of the most dangerous animals in the Nile Valley ๐“‡—. However, in some cases, hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ were also thought to be powerful protectors ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ against evil!

For example, the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Taweret ๐“๐“„ฟ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— was represented as a hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ standing on two ๐“ป feet. Taweret ๐“๐“„ฟ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— was the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of childbirth and was the protector of women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“๐“ช and children ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€•๐“ช. However, when the hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ was in its animal form, the hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ was a representation of Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ, the god ๐“Šน of chaos!

In this image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“however, I donโ€™t believe thereโ€™s any hidden meaning or good ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ vs. evil ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…จ debate going on! I think the artist was just simply practicing! Usually ostraca contain guidelines or a grid, but this one does not! Iโ€™m assuming this means that this was the work of an experienced artist! Also, the hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ is beautiful ๐“„ค, and itโ€™s also colored in, so it looks like a completed work and not necessarily a sketch!

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Red Crown of Lower Egypt (Amulet)

The Red Crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹” of Lower Egypt ๐“†ค (left) was the headdress that was associated with the area of Lower Egypt ๐“†ค (North) while the White Crown ๐“„ค๐“‹‘ (middle) was associated with the area of Upper Egypt ๐“‡“ (South). Combined, the two ๐“ป crowns represented a United Egypt (right). The combined crown is on a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† that most likely represents the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ! Today I am going to focus on the Red Crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹” amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† because it is a favorite of mine!

Known as the deshret to the ancient Egyptians, the Red Crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹” in amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† form was considered to be an amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† of power. The word โ€œdeshretโ€ in Middle Egyptian could both refer to the color red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ, or the desert ๐“…Ÿ๐“‚‹๐“๐“ˆŠ/๐“ˆŠ๐“๐“บ. Sometimes, Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– was even referred to as the โ€œRed Landโ€ in ancient Egyptian texts.

While the Red Crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹” was first worn by the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Narmer ๐“†ข๐“‹, it was only first seen in amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† form during the First Intermediate Period. The Red Crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹” of Lower Egypt is a cylindrical headpiece with a tall spike in the back and a long spiral in the front. This crown has been named the โ€œred crownโ€ by Egyptologists because it is usually depicted in a red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ color in Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ art. While usually depicted in red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ, most amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช are in the blue/green ๐“‡…๐“†“๐“› color that is typical of faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ.

In ancient Egypt, red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ was considered a powerful color because it is associated with blood, in particular the blood of Isis. While the Red Crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹” (and all other crowns) would have only been worn by a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช in the shape of crowns would imbue the wearer (even if they were a commoner or non-royal) with the same power or authority as a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป or god ๐“Šน.

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Weighing of the Heart

The Weighing of the Heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ is my absolute favorite scene from the Book of the Dead, and just one of my favorite scenes from literature in general! I have been so fortunate to see many different version of the Book of the Dead in various museums! While this is a simplified version of the scene, I still love it! This papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› is kinda hidden amongst many other papyri ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“›๐“ฆ at the MET, and Iโ€™ve definitely missed it during other visits!

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is the center of the scene so of course it is my favorite! Here, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ข weighs the heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ against Maatโ€™s ๐“Œด๐“™๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ feather. If Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ determines thereโ€™s balance between the two ๐“ป, then the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ would be presented to Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ ๐“€ญ by Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. The deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ would then enter the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰, or the afterlife.

Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ records the findings. While Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ is usually represented in his human body/ibis ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค head form during this scene, that is not the case here! Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ is in his baboon form and is sitting on top of the scale! Ammit ๐“‚๐“…“๐“…“๐“(the Devourer of the Dead/Eater of Hearts) is also absent from this version! Itโ€™s always so interesting to see different versions of the same scene!

In the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, itโ€™s interesting to see Osiris spelled like โ€œ๐“Šฉ๐“นโ€ instead of the common form โ€œ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ.โ€ For some reason Iโ€™m always fascinated when I see alternate spellings; I donโ€™t know why!

In the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, the phrase โ€œ๐“Šฉ๐“น๐“ŽŸ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›โ€ or โ€œOsiris, Lord of Eternityโ€ is written! We have learned all of those words through other posts!! Can you find it?!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Foundation Deposit Brick of Rameses II

Foundation Deposit Brick of Rameses II at The MET

This beautiful ๐“„ค faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ piece is a foundation deposit brick with the cartouche of pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– written on it (19th Dynasty, c. 1279โ€“1213 B.C.E.). I chose this piece for today, because Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– is thought to possibly be the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of the Exodus – there are many theories as to who the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป was that is mentioned in The Bible by Moses. The pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of the Exodus is only referred to as โ€œthe pharaohโ€ in The Bible and not by name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, so historians and religious scholars can only make inferences based on The Bible and archaeological evidence.

It is all so fascinating and based on my research, I believe that the evidence lines up to Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– being the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of the Exodus. Some of the specific references made in the text of Exodus seems to line up really well with the 19th Dynasty time period. Some scholars disagree and think the Exodus happened at a later time period, some believe it happened earlier.

Why would there be no historical record of the Exodus in writings ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ from Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–? Egyptian writing was full of propaganda and only the good stuff was mentioned. Something like the Exodus would have been kept on the down-low.

Foundation deposit bricks were ceremonial offerings that were placed at the corners of buildings, courts, temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ฆ , tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ, and pretty much the foundation of any building. They can almost be thought of as the ancient version of a ground-breaking ceremony. The foundation deposit bricks usually contained the cartouche of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป that the building was constructed under on it! Iโ€™m the early dynastic times, foundation deposits took the form of pottery, but later evolved into different versions of what you see pictured ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Was Anubis Mentioned in the Bible?

As we all know, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is the Egyptian god ๐“Šน of embalming and tombs/cemeteries. This means that Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ was the main protector ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ of the recently deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ! During the New Kingdom, more specifically the 18th Dynasty, it became common for statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ to be placed in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ as a sort of protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ for the dead! The most famous example is the โ€œAnubis Shrine ๐“ƒฃโ€ that was found in Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰! The statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ in this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is from the Late Period.

Since I am in the process of reading the Bible, hereโ€™s something very interesting about Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ I just learned recently! Did you know that some Bible/religious scholars believe that Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is actually mentioned in Exodus!? When I was reading Exodus, and I caught what I thought was a reference to Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, I was shocked and immediately had to start researching!

โ€œBut not a dog shall growl against any of the people of Israel, either man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.โ€ (Exodus 11:7, English Standard Version) Another translation is “But against all the Israelites, whether man or beast, not even a dog will snarl.”

The plagues of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– can be interpreted as the Egyptian gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน being powerless against God himself – such as when God blocked the Sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ for three ๐“ผ days during the ninth plague, Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› was powerless to stop it. So, the mention of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ can be interpreted as Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ having no power over life and death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, or that Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ will have no power over the death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ of the people of Israel (Canaan ๐“‘๐“„ฟ๐“‰”๐“ˆŠ๐“ญ in The Bible). It can also be taken as God (not Anubis) would bring death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ to Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, but not Israel ๐“‘๐“„ฟ๐“‰”๐“ˆŠ๐“ญ.

Again, these are interpretations of the Bible (including some of my own), and Iโ€™m sure many scholars and other readers have their own interpretations that are different and just as valid!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Frogs and the Exodus

Iโ€™m going to talk about the Second Plague of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– today: Frogs ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†๐“ฆ! Many Biblical/religious scholars believe that the 10 Plagues of Egypt were not only directed by God against the Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป/people of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, but the Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน as well.

These frog ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“† figures are dated to the Early Dynastic Period (c. 3000-2675 B.C.E.) so these are quite old! Frogs ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†๐“ฆ were not really written about at all during these predynastic times, and these statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช predate a lot of religious writing ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ and iconography , however, they are mentioned in Exodus (starting at 8:1).

The Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช believed the frog ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“† to be a symbol of fertility because they would appear after the flooding of the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ, so they were associated with life ๐“‹น/the regenerative qualities of water ๐“ˆ—. The frog ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“† is also associated with the fertility goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Heqet ๐“Ž›๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“† who is represented as a woman with a frog ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“† head.

Heqet ๐“Ž›๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“† also had the task of controlling the population of frogs ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†๐“ฆ in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– by protecting the frog-eating crocodiles. Without Heqet ๐“Ž›๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“†, the frog ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“† population would grow out of control! During the Second Plague, God overwhelmed Heqet ๐“Ž›๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“† hence the large amount of frogs ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†๐“ฆ that appeared in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! It is God who controls fertility, not Heqet ๐“Ž›๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“† because The Lord is all powerful!

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

White Limestone Sphinx of Hatshepsut

I was SO EXCITED to see the white limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ Sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค of Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช again! It has been so long since Iโ€™ve seen this piece; it was honestly like greeting an old friend! This Sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค used to be in the main Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช gallery at the MET, but for some reason itโ€™s no longer there! Now it is hidden in one of the smaller galleries which is a shame because it is such a beautiful piece!

Most of Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช statuary ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that was excavated from her temple ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹๐“‚ฆ๐“ฅ๐“‰ were carved from red granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถ, however this one is carved from limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ – the red granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถ sphinxes ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ฆ and this Sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค are very different too. The white limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ sphinxes ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ฆ have much more feminine features as compared to the red granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถ ones most likely because they were used in different parts of the temple ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹๐“‚ฆ๐“ฅ๐“‰ for different purposes.

This Sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค has been heavily reconstructed by using pieces that were modeled after the second Sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค just like this one, which is in the Cairo Museum. These two ๐“ป sphinxes ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ฆ most likely guarded the upper terrace of Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช temple at Deir el-Bahri ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹๐“‚ฆ๐“ฅ๐“‰ while the red granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถ sphinxes ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ฆ would have guarded the lower terrace.

Thanks to Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช drive/intelligence and her architect Senemut ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“…๐“€ผ, Hatshepsut will be remembered as one of the most prolific builders in Egyptian history! Itโ€™s such a shame that she doesnโ€™t get the same recognition that Rameses II ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ gets!

Instead of wearing the typical nemes ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด head cloth that most pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ who were fashioned into sphinxes ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ฆ wear, Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is actually wearing a lionโ€™s ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„› mane! This is very typical of Middle Kingdom art! This piece is dated to 1479โ€“1458 B.C.E., and I love seeing New Kingdom art imitate styles from the past!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

(๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“) – Maatkare
๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– – Amun
๐“Œบ๐“๐“‡Œ – Beloved
๐“‹น๐“๐“™- Life Given
๐“†– – Eternity

โ€œMaatkare, Beloved of Amun, Given Life for Eternity.โ€

I know this is strange, but โ€œGiven Lifeโ€ is written backwards! It should be โ€œ๐“™๐“‹นโ€ not โ€œ๐“‹น๐“™โ€ as itโ€™s written (this inscription is read from right to left).

Thereโ€™s also an added ๐“, which makes it the feminine form! Thereโ€™s a second sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค just like this one in the Cairo Museum, and on that sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค, there is no added ๐“! Why would one sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค use the feminine form and one use the masculine?! We will probably never know!

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

“Osiris Figure of Hatnefer”

This piece, titled the โ€œOsiris Figure of Hatneferโ€ is dated to the joint reign of Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช and Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ (New Kingdom, 18th Dynasty, c. 1479โ€“1458 B.C.E.).

This wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ piece was found in Senemutโ€™s ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰, though it inscribed ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– with the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Hatnefer ๐“„‚๐“„ค๐“. Hatnefer ๐“„‚๐“„ค๐“ was Senemutโ€™s ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“…๐“€ผ mother ๐“…๐“๐“ and due to his status as Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช most trusted advisor, he was able to give his mother ๐“…๐“๐“ a proper burial.

Thisโ€Osiris Figure,โ€ which represents resurrection, is almost a cross between a ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ(it contains the basic funerary text on it) and the popular Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figures of the Late Period. The Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figures always stood on a wooden base just like this. Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figures represented birth, death, and resurrection. Itโ€™s interesting to see how the art has evolved over the years!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!
๐“„ช๐“‡Œ๐“ – Venerated (I believe this is a variant of ๐“„ช๐“๐“‡Œ)
๐“๐“‚‹ – Before
๐“Šฉ๐“น – Osiris
๐“„‚๐“„ค๐“ – Hatnefer

I am always so amazed when wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ pieces are still in such great condition – wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ is organic and it can break down very quickly as compared to a material like rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Bracelet Belonging to the Princess Sithathoryunet

๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“‡‘๐“‡‘ – How beautiful is this?!?!

This beautiful ๐“„ค bracelet ๐“‚๐“ ๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“‡› belonged to the princess Sithathoryunet, who is thought to be the daughter of the 12th Dynasty (c. 1887โ€“1813 B.C.E) Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Senwosret II ๐“„Š๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ–. She is thought to be his daughter because her tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ is linked to his. Flinders Petrie was actually the one to discover her tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰. Despite being robbed in antiquity, the tomb robbers left a chest full of beautiful ๐“„ค jewelry behind! The bracelet ๐“‚๐“ ๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“‡› is made out of gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ and other beautiful stones like turquoise! I just love how the red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ, gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ and blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ colors all look together!

Despite most likely being the daughter of Senwosret II ๐“„Š๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ–, the bracelet displays the cartouche of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenemhat III ๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ–๐“™๐“Œณ๐“‚๐“.

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

๐“Šน๐“„ค – Great God
๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands
๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ–๐“™๐“Œณ๐“‚๐“ – Amenemhat III
๐“™๐“‹น – Given Life

Whatโ€™s exciting about this inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ is that these are all phrases that we have covered in the past! A lot of the same titles and phrases pop up on various types of objects!