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Egyptian Artifacts

Amphora with an Ibex Head

This amphora ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ with an ibex ๐“ˆ–๐“„ซ๐“ƒต head is so beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹! An amphora ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ is a special type of pottery ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ that has a pointed bottom and two ๐“ป handles that was used for the storage and transport of various things in the ancient world! While Greek amphoras ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹๐“ช are the most recognizable, the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช had their own style too!

Amphora with an Ibex Head
Amphora with an Ibex Head at the MET

Ancient Egyptian amphoras ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹๐“ช, such as this one found at Malqata, were usually made of red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ and then covered with a cream colored coat. They were then painted ๐“ž๐“œ with blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ, red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ, or black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ. This vase ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ has some pretty ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ lotus flowers ๐“†ธ๐“†ธ๐“†ธ and other types of flowers ๐“†ผ๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ painted ๐“ž๐“œ on it!!

Amphora with an Ibex Head
A closeup of the Ibex head on the amphora at the MET

The best part about this vase ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ in my opinion is the ibex ๐“ˆ–๐“„ซ๐“ƒต head that is on it! The ibex ๐“ˆ–๐“„ซ๐“ƒต head was not actually found attached to the amphora ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹, but it was found nearby and reattached. You can actually see where it was reattached by the line going across its neck! Also, take a look at how the head of the ibex ๐“ˆ–๐“„ซ๐“ƒต is in relation to the body of the animal – the head has a 3D effect which is just too cool! The body of the ibex ๐“ˆ–๐“„ซ๐“ƒต is painted on the vase ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹, while the head/neck of the ibex ๐“ˆ–๐“„ซ๐“ƒต kind of โ€œjump offโ€ the vase ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹! So creative!

While historians will refer to this type of pottery as an โ€œamphora,โ€ in Middle Egyptian, the standard word โ€œmni ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹โ€ was used which basically just means pot or pottery! 

This piece is dated to the reign of Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  (18th Dynasty) and was found at his palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ in Malqata. 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission. 

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Reading Hieroglyphs Video

Cartouches of Montuhotep II – Video

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Today we are going to learn about the Cartouches of Montuhotep II!

In the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, you can see Montuhotep IIโ€™s ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช birth name and throne name (both with titles). 

๐“†ฅ(๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช) – King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Montuhotep II (Birth Name)

๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ(๐“‡ณ๐“Šค๐“ŽŸ) – Son of Ra, Nebhapetra (Throne Name)

Letโ€™s look even closer at the individual glyphs!

Cartouches of Montuhotep II
The Throne Name cartouche of the pharaoh Montuhotep II

๐“‡ณ – Ra

๐“ŽŸ – โ€œNebโ€ (nb)

๐“Šค – โ€œHapetโ€ (แธซrw or แธฅjpt)

Cartouches of Montuhotep II
The Birth Name cartouche of the pharaoh Montuhotep II

Montuhotep ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช is his birth name/given name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! 

Letโ€™s look even closer at the individual glyphs!

๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ – Montu (๐“  – mn) (๐“ˆ– – n) (๐“ฟ- t) (๐“…ฑ – u/w)

๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช – Hotep (๐“Šต – htp) (๐“ – t) (๐“Šช – p) 

This raised relief is originally from Montuhotep IIโ€™s ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. This relief was part of one of the main areas of the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ that was added at the end of Montuhotepโ€™s ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช reign ๐“‹พ. This dates the relief to c. 2010โ€“2000 B.C.E. (Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 11).

Cartouches of Montuhotep II
Relief of Montuhotep II at the MET. Can you see the Cartouches of Montuhotep II on the full relief?

This is my personal video, photographs, and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Blog Video

Birthday Haul – Video

Here’s a birthday haul video!

A big Thank You ๐“‹ด๐“๐“ฏ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข to my family ๐“…•๐“‰”๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ฆ for getting me such nice and thoughtful gifts for my birthday ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“ฏ๐“ƒญ๐“๐“Žฑ!!! Donโ€™t you all love how everything was ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– themed??!!ย 

This is not an ad – just me sharing some stuff that I got for my birthday!!ย 

Birthday Haul
A closeup of the Anubis statue that my sister got me for my birthday!

This is my personal video, photograph, and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Hounds and Jackals Game

The ancient Egyptians loved playing games ๐“‡‹๐“ฒ๐“๐“Š‘๐“„›๐“ฆ, and many of examples of ancient games ๐“‡‹๐“ฒ๐“๐“Š‘๐“„›๐“ฆย  such as senet ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“  and Mehen ๐“Ž”๐“ˆ–๐“†“/๐“Ž”๐“ˆ–๐“†— exist both as actual artifacts and as depictions in art!

Hounds and Jackals Game
The Hounds and Jackals Game was named after the Hounds and Jackals that appear on the top of the pegs! This is the most complete version of the game that’s ever been found!

The game ๐“‡‹๐“ฒ๐“๐“Š‘๐“„›๐“ฆ in this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is one that was named โ€œHounds and Jackalsโ€ by Howard Carter! Carter named the game after the hounds ๐“ฟ๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“„›๐“ช and the jackals ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ๐“ฆ that are at the tops of the pegs. This particular piece is the only game of โ€œHounds and Jackalsโ€ that has been found with the pegs! The game has also been referred to as โ€œ59 Holesโ€ due to the holes that are on each side of the palm tree!ย 

No one knows the rules to this game, but it is thought to be symbolic of the deceasedโ€™s ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ journey to the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ and that the hounds ๐“ฟ๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“„›๐“ช and the jackals ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ๐“ฆ were used as pieces because they could be related to Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, the god ๐“Šน of mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž and protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. Other less-complete versions of this game have been found in other tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ. 

Unlike senet ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“  and Mehen ๐“Ž”๐“ˆ–๐“†“/๐“Ž”๐“ˆ–๐“†—, games ๐“‡‹๐“ฒ๐“๐“Š‘๐“„›๐“ฆ which seem to have persisted throughout Egyptian history, โ€œHounds and Jackalsโ€ seems to be a Middle Kingdom exclusive! This piece is made of the wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ from a sycamore tree ๐“ˆ–๐“‰”๐“๐“†ญ and ivory ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ŒŸ. 

This piece was discovered in 1910 by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon – I find this to be so cool because this was about twelve years before they discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“! This piece is dated to the Middle Kingdom, reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Amenemhat IV ๐“‡ณ๐“Œถ๐“‚๐“Šค๐“…ฑ (12th Dynasty). 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Mother’s Day – Isis and Mut

Happy Motherโ€™s ๐“…๐“๐“ Day to all of the moms – and especially to my Mom, Nonna, and Oma! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ Iโ€™m going to do a post about some of the Moms ๐“…๐“๐“๐“ช of Ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– who happen to be goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“!ย 

Mother's Day Isis
A calcite statue accented with bronze of Isis feeding the baby Horus (Brooklyn Museum)

The first ๐“ƒ picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows a calcite ๐“ฑ and bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. This is one of the most popular images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of the Third Intermediate Period, Late Period and even through the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods.  This image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ has even appeared on the back of Roman Coins! 

Symbolically, Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ was thought to be the mother ๐“…๐“๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, and was often associated with motherhood, the protection of women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“, and she was also a user of magic ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ.

Mother's Day Mut
A sunken relief of the goddess Mut, from a Ramesside-era stela (Brooklyn Museum)

The second picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“ whose name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– happens to mean โ€œMother!โ€ Symbolically, Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“ was also thought to be the divine mother ๐“…๐“๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, and this idea became popularized as Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ (her husband) became one of the most worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน during the 18th Dynasty.ย  Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“ didnโ€™t appear in religious texts until the Middle Kingdom, and some think she was โ€œinventedโ€ to be Amunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ wife and a mother ๐“…๐“๐“ figure.ย 

The word for “mother ๐“…๐“๐“/๐“…๐“” in Middle Egyptian seems to predate the appearance of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“, so it’s possible that her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– was intended to mean “mother.”

There are multiple variants for โ€œmotherโ€ in Middle Egyptian/hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, so letโ€™s take a look at them:

๐“…๐“๐“

๐“…๐“๐“๐“

๐“…๐“

๐“…๐“…†๐“†‡

๐“…๐“๐“Ž

๐“…๐“๐“๐“…†

Happy Mother’s Day!

These are my personal photographs and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Ushabti of Thutmosis IV

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at a ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that belonged to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ! This picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ also shows a shabti coffin! The shabti coffin allowed for the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ to take the place of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ in case the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ was destroyed! I like to think of this as a call back to the original โ€œwax ushabtisโ€ of the Middle Kingdom, which served the same purpose.ย 

Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ was the eighth pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of the 18th Dynasty and he was actually not supposed to be pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป! His brother ๐“Œข๐“ˆ– was chosen successor by their father ๐“‡‹๐“๐“€€ Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช, but Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ usurped the throne and made himself the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป!ย 

Ushabti of Thutmosis IV
A Ushabti of Thutmosis IV (left) and a shabti coffin that also belonged to Thutmosis IV (right) on display at the MET

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!!!ย Letโ€™s take a closer look at the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– on the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ:ย 

๐“Šน๐“„ค – Perfect God 

๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands

๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ – Menkheperura โ€œEstablished Manifestations of Raโ€ (Throne name of Thutmosis IV)

๐“™๐“Šค – True of Voice (Justified)

๐“น๐“Šจ – Osiris (Osirisโ€™ name is written without the determinative symbol here (๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ))

๐“Œธ๐“‡Œ – Beloved

So all ๐“ŽŸ together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š— the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– says: โ€œThe Perfect God, Lord of the Two Lands, Menkheperura, True of Voice, Beloved of Osiris.โ€ 

The tomb ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฉ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ in the Valley of the Kings was excavated by Theodore Davis and Howard Carter in 1903, which is where these objects were found! Many blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ pieces were found during this excavation! I love how bright the blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ color still is; itโ€™s really striking in person! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Reading Hieroglyphs

“Words Spoken By” in Hieroglyphs

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

Words Spoken By
A raised relief showing the phrase “Words Spoken By” in hieroglyphs

Here we see an inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– with the symbols โ€œ ๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–.โ€ This is a really popular introduction to an inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– and it translates to โ€œWords spoken byโ€ฆ ๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–.โ€ โ€œ๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–โ€ is usually followed by the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a god ๐“Šน or goddess ๐“Šน๐“. 

The โ€œcobra ๐“†“โ€ is a phonogram, which means that it is a symbol that represents sounds, and is usually part of a larger word! The cobra ๐“†“ is a uniliteral sign, so it represents just one consonant. It represents the sound โ€œแธโ€ which would almost sound like a โ€œjโ€ when pronounced. 

The โ€œstaff or walking stick ๐“Œƒโ€ functions as both a phonogram (in this phrase) and as an ideogram (for the word โ€œ staff ๐“Œƒ๐“บโ€). ๐“Œƒ is a triliteral phonogram symbol and represents the sound โ€œmdw.โ€

The โ€œreed ๐“‡‹โ€ is a uniliteral phonogram for โ€œฤฑอ—,โ€ however it can also function as an ideogram for the word โ€œreed ๐“‡‹๐“บ.โ€ 

The โ€œripple of water ๐“ˆ–โ€ is also a phonogram sign, and it is also uniliteral sign. The โ€œ๐“ˆ–โ€ is associated with the sound of โ€œn!โ€ 

When put together, ๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ– reads like โ€œแธd mdw ฤฑอ—n.โ€ The word ๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–, means โ€œwords spoken byโ€ฆโ€ or โ€œspeech by…โ€

What are some other words that are related to these? Letโ€™s take a look! 

๐“†“๐“‚ง – Say, Tell, Speak

๐“†“๐“Œƒ – Recitation 

๐“†“๐“‚ง๐“๐“ฆ – Sayings

๐“†“๐“‹ด – Self/Own

These hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are from the Chapel of Rameses I ๐“‡ณ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“๐“…ฑ. This chapel was originally located in the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ of Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ–. Rameses I ๐“‡ณ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“๐“…ฑ was old when he took the throne, and most of his monuments ๐“ ๐“ were either finished by or made by his ๐“†‘ son ๐“…ญ, Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ–.ย 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Ushabti of Rameses II

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/name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– can be found pretty much everywhere you look in a museum (this is why his cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ are good to learn – you will see them a lot).ย 

Ushabti of Rameses II
Me with the wooden Ushabti of Rameses II at the Brooklyn Museum!

This beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ piece 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.). 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). 

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 ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures remain! Tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ robbing during ancient Egyptian times was a huge problem even though the tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฅ were โ€œhiddenโ€ in the Valley of the Kings! 

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.ย 

Ushabti of Rameses II
The wooden Ushabti of Rameses II with the Shabti Text carved into the wood

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 ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“› 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–. I love how detailed the hieroglyphs are! 

This ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ has a lot of mummiform details; it is wearing the nemes ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด head cloth and there is an intact Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— on his forehead. Like Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, it is wearing a broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹, and is holding the crook ๐“‹พ and flail ๐“Œ…. 

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Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Menat Necklace

This is a picture of a special type of necklace called a menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง. The menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง necklace is unique because it consists of a keyhole shaped piece and a lot of beads ๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“‚ง๐“๐“ฏ๐“ธ๐“ฆ. The beads ๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“‚ง๐“๐“ฏ๐“ธ๐“ฆ on this menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง are made of blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ and there are some glass ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ beads ๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“‚ง๐“๐“ฏ๐“ธ๐“ฆ near the keyhole piece!ย Blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ is my favorite color, so I really love how blue was such a popular color in ancient Egyptian art!

Menat Necklace
A beautiful example of a menat necklace on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง necklace not only appears a lot in Egyptian art, but it was clearly used by real people too! The menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง necklace was often carried or worn by women during religious ceremonies. Similar to a sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ, the menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง necklace was shaken like a rattle. The person would hold the keyhole piece and then shake the menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง to create the rattle-like sound!

The sound produced was meant to appease gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน or goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“. Similar to the sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ, the menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง necklace was often associated with Hathor ๐“‰ก, who was the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of music ๐“‰”๐“‡Œ๐“†ธ (amongst other fun things).ย Hathor ๐“‰ก is often seen in art giving the menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง to a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป in Egyptian art.

This particular menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง necklace was found at Malqata and is dated to the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  (c. 1390 – 1352 BCE). In order to celebrate his Heb Sed Festival ๐“Ž›๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“Žฑ๐“‡ณ๐“ช, the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  built a new palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ which was referred to as โ€œThe House of Rejoicingโ€ at present day Malqata in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. It would be interesting to know if this menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง was specifically used during his Heb Sed Festival ๐“Ž›๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“Žฑ๐“‡ณ๐“ช!

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Categories
Video

White Limestone Statue of Hatshepsut – Video

Can you tell how excited/happy ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ๐“ I am in this video? 

Itโ€™s no secret ๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“†Ÿ๐“› that the White Limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ Statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is my absolute favorite artifact that has ever been found in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! This is the piece that captured my imagination and Iโ€™ll never forget the first ๐“ƒ time I saw this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ with my Nonno! 

Nonno was always so excited to tell me about Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช, because she was the most successful female pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. Her twenty ๐“Ž†๐“Ž† year rule ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ was marked by big building projects (her mortuary temple ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹๐“‚ฆ๐“ฅ๐“‰), economic prosperity (the expedition to Punt ๐“Šช๐“ƒบ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ˆ‰) and peace! 

Not only is this White Limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ Statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช just absolutely stunning ๐“„ค, I love the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on it because Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช refers to herself using the female form of words in the inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ! These were also some of the first inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ I learned how to read, so they are very special to me!ย 

White Limestone Statue of Hatshepsut
White Limestone Statue of Hatshepsut at the MET

Check out this post for a more in-depth look at this beautiful ๐“„ค statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ! No matter how many times I see it, I am still in awe of its beauty ๐“„ค!

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This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.