Author: ancientegyptblog7

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Egyptian Artifacts

Monkey Statue from Amarna

How cute is this blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸𓏥 faience 𓋣𓈖𓏏𓏸𓏼 statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 of a monkey 𓎼𓄿𓆑𓃸?

Monkey Statue
A blue faience monkey statue from Amarna on display at the Brooklyn Museum

This statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 is from Amarna 𓈌𓏏𓉐𓇋𓏏𓈖𓊖 and is dated to Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 reign 𓋾𓈎𓏏 in the 18th Dynasty. This piece strikes me as interesting for an Amarna-era piece because it doesn’t look like the “typical” Amarna-era art style! It’s more realistic looking instead of having exaggerated features! 

One really cool feature about this monkey 𓎼𓄿𓆑𓃸 statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 is that his ears are pierced! It’s possible that in antiquity the statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 had earrings – how cool is that? The Brooklyn Museum has speculated that the presence of an earring would be an indication that this statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 represented a household pet. If a person had a monkey 𓎼𓄿𓆑𓄛 as a household pet in ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖, that meant that the person was extremely wealthy because monkeys had to be imported into Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 from far away and were extremely expensive! 

The monkey 𓎡𓇌𓃸 also seems to be holding something round in his hands – my guess is that it’s some type of fruit! 

There are a lot of different ways to write the word for “monkey” in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪, however, a lot of these variants are similar except for the determinative used at the end! Here’s a list of some of the variants here (there are actually too many to list): 

𓎼𓄿𓆑𓃻

𓎼𓄿𓆑𓃸

𓎼𓄿𓆑𓄛

𓎼𓄿𓆑𓄜

𓎡𓇌𓃸

𓆓𓎛𓆓𓎛𓃻

Thank you to my sister 𓌢𓈖𓏏𓁐 for taking this wonderful picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

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Reading Hieroglyphs Video

The Royal Titularly of Hatshepsut – Video

Let’s read some Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! In ancient Egypt many pharaohs had five names, so let’s learn the Royal Titularly of Hatshepsut! 

This stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 is one of my absolute favorite pieces because depicts Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 and Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 during their joint reign. Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is wearing the blue crown 𓆣𓂋𓈙𓋙 and making an offering of nemset jars 𓏌𓏌𓏌 to Amun-Ra 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓇳𓏺. The stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 was meant to commemorate restoration works in Thebes 𓌀𓏏𓊖!

The Royal Titularly of Hatshepsut

The most interesting parts about this stela is that it is one of two pieces (that I know of) that contains Hatshepsut’s entire titulary in one place! The only other place I know that has all of Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 names 𓂋𓈖𓏦 is the Obelisk at Karnak. 

Let’s take a closer look at all of Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 names 𓂋𓈖𓏦! The names 𓂋𓈖𓏦 can be found on the top two rows of hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 on the bottom of the stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸!

Horus Name: 𓄊𓋴𓏏𓂓𓂓𓂓 – “Wosretkau” translates to “The Mighty of the Kas” or “The Mighty of the Souls.”

The Royal Titularly of Hatshepsut
The Horus Name of Hatshepsut

Nebty Name: 𓅒𓇅𓏏𓆳𓆳𓆳 – “Wadjet renput” translates to “Flourishing of Years.”

The Royal Titularly of Hatshepsut
The Nebty Name of Hatshepsut

Golden Horus Name: 𓅉𓊹𓏏𓈍𓏦 – “Netjeret khau” translates to “Divine of Appearances.”

The Royal Titularly of Hatshepsut
The Golden Horus Name of Hatshepsut

Throne Name: 𓇳𓁦𓂓 – “Maatkare” translates to “Truth is the Soul of Re.” 

The Royal Titularly of Hatshepsut
The Throne Name of Hatshepsut

Birth Name: 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓄂𓀼 – “Khnemet Amun Hatshepsut” translates to “United with Amun, Foremost of the Noble Women.” This version of the Birth Name that appears on this stela is a variant of 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪. A “variant” is just a different way to spell out a person’s name 𓂋𓈖!

The Royal Titularly of Hatshepsut
The Birth Name of Hatshepsut

If you watch the video on TikTok below, there is music accompanying the images! I hope you enjoyed learning about The Royal Titularly of Hatshepsut!

@ancientegyptblog

Let’s read some Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! In ancient Egypt many pharaohs had five names! This stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 is one of my absolute favorite pieces because depicts Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 and Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 during their joint reign. Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is wearing the blue crown 𓆣𓂋𓈙𓋙 and making an offering of nemset jars 𓏌𓏌𓏌 to Amun-Ra 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓇳𓏺. The stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 was meant to commemorate restoration works in Thebes 𓌀𓏏𓊖! The most interesting parts about this stela is that it is one of two pieces (that I know of) that contains Hatshepsut’s entire titulary in one place! The only other place I know that has all of Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 names 𓂋𓈖𓏦 is the Obelisk at Karnak. Let’s take a closer look at all of Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 names 𓂋𓈖𓏦! The names 𓂋𓈖𓏦 can be found on the top two rows of hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 on the bottom of the stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸! Horus Name: 𓄊𓋴𓏏𓂓𓂓𓂓 – “Wosretkau” translates to “The Mighty of the Kas” or “The Mighty of the Souls.” Nebty Name: 𓅒𓇅𓏏𓆳𓆳𓆳 – “Wadjet renput” translates to “Flourishing of Years.” Golden Horus Name: 𓅉𓊹𓏏𓈍𓏦 – “Netjeret khau” translates to “Divine of Appearances.” Throne Name: 𓇳𓁦𓂓 – “Maatkare” translates to “Truth is the Soul of Re.” Birth Name: 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓄂𓀼 – “Khnemet Amun Hatshepsut” translates to “United with Amun, Foremost of the Noble Women.” This version of the Birth Name that appears on this stela is a variant of 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪. A “variant” is just a different way to spell out a person’s name 𓂋𓈖! Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! This is my personal video, photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientegypt #egyptianhistory #egyptologist #historytok #languagelearning #hieroglyphs #hieroglyphics #pharaoh #hatshepsut #vaticanmuseum #metropolitanmuseum

♬ Ahsoka – Main Theme – Epic Version – L’Orchestra Cinematique

This is my personal video, photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Animals in Ancient Egypt

Happy World Animal Day! Let’s learn about the significance of Animals in Ancient Egypt!

Animals in Ancient Egypt
Me with a blue faience hippo at the Brooklyn Museum! The blue faience hippos are one of my absolute favorite types of artifacts!

Believe it or not, there is no Middle Egyptian word for “animal” – there was the word “𓌚𓅓𓄛” but it translates more accurately to “beast” than to all animals in general. What I love about language 𓂋𓏺 is that even a small detail such as this can show us so much about the culture of the people who spoke it! 

Animals in Ancient Egypt
An ibis on display at the MET

In ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖, Animals were usually referred to by their name 𓂋𓈖 instead of as a singular category. What I love about Middle Egyptian is that the name 𓂋𓈖 the animal was given was sometimes very similar to the sound the animal made! For example, the Middle Egyptian word for cat is 𓅓𓇋𓅱𓃠 (miu) which can be pronounced similarly to “meow.” The word for dog is 𓃛𓅱𓃛𓅱𓃥 (iwiw) which can almost sound like “woof woof.”

Animals in Ancient Egypt
A cat mummy on display at the MET

Why is this significant? It shows that the Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 didn’t regard animals as different from humans or less than humans (unlike the Greeks and Romans, and eventually Western cultures). Animals were living things that contained a ba 𓅡𓏺 (part of the soul that is active in this world and the spiritual world). They could become gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 through death 𓅓𓏏𓏱 and mummification 𓋴𓂧𓐍𓅱𓐎 just like humans. 

Animals in Ancient Egypt
Hathor in her cow form from the Book of the Dead of Imhotep at the MET

Animals like cats 𓅓𓇋𓅱𓃠𓏪, ibises 𓉔𓃀𓅤𓏪, cows 𓄤𓆑𓂋𓏏𓃒𓏦, snakes 𓇋𓂝𓂋𓏏𓆘𓏪, hippos 𓌉𓏏𓃯𓏦, and many others were held in high regard due to the gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 and goddesses 𓊹𓊹𓊹𓏏 who could take the form of those animals! 

Animals in Ancient Egypt
A fish bowl on display at the Brooklyn Museum

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Rainbow Fish

My sister 𓌢𓈖𓏏 has always said that this piece reminds her of the children’s book “The Rainbow Fish,” and thanks to her that’s how I always refer to this piece! 

The Rainbow Fish
Do you think this little fish rattle at the Brooklyn Museum looks like The Rainbow Fish?

This beautifully 𓄤 colored fish 𓂋𓅓𓆛 represents a tilapia 𓇋𓆛𓈖𓏏𓆛! The Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 viewed the tilapia 𓇋𓆛𓈖𓏏𓆛 as a symbol of regeneration and rebirth 𓄟𓍿𓅱. Both of these concepts were super important in the Egyptian religion, so they held tilapia 𓇋𓆛𓈖𓏏𓆛 in very high regard! 

What is so cool about this piece is that it is actually a rattle! There are little clay 𓊪𓈖𓋴𓈇 pellets inside of it, which represents the eggs. This was most likely a ritual object; either played during childbirth or placed in a tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐 to help the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 with their rebirth 𓄟𓍿𓅱! 

The blue 𓇅𓆓𓏛 coloring on the fish 𓂋𓅓𓆛 is purely decorative as tilapia 𓇋𓆛𓈖𓏏𓆛 are not this color in real life! However, these particular colors used (blue 𓇅𓆓𓏛, red 𓂧𓈙𓂋𓅟 and black 𓆎𓅓) are very typical of the color palette used at Amenhotep III’s 𓇳𓁧𓎠 palace at Malqata and at Amarna 𓈌𓏏𓉐𓇋𓏏𓈖𓊖 during Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 reign. This piece is estimated to be from the late 18th Dynasty and is thought to be from Saqqara 𓏠𓈖𓄤𓆑𓂋𓉴𓊖. 

From a hieroglyphic standpoint, the tilapia symbol 𓆛 is the main determinative for “fish 𓂋𓅓𓆛!” This demonstrates just how important the Egyptians viewed the tilapia – a lot of their fish related words contained the tilapia 𓆛! Tilapia also has its own word which is “𓇋𓆛𓈖𓏏𓆛.” 

The Rainbow Fish
The Rainbow Fish with the word for “tilapia” in hieroglyphs!

Thanks 𓋴𓏏𓍯𓄿𓀢 to my sister 𓌢𓈖𓏏 for taking this picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok

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Video

Inner Cartonnage of Gautseshenu – Video

This stunningly painted piece is the Inner Cartonnage of a person named Gautseshenu. This piece would have been placed inside a larger coffin and is made of cartonnage (ancient paper mache). It is dated to the 25th Dynasty (Third Intermediate Period). It was found in Thebes 𓌀𓏏𓊖 and it’s amazing how well preserved it is and how bright the colors are. 

The Weighing of the Heart scene from the Book of the Dead 𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓏲𓇳𓏺𓍼𓏺 is my absolute favorite type of religious art from ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖. As a kid, I loved it because Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓁢 was the central god 𓊹 in the scene, and Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓁢 is my favorite Egyptian god 𓊹 . As an adult, I love what the scene represents and the symbolism behind it.

For those unfamiliar with the context of the scene, Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓁢 weighs the heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 of the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 against Maat’s 𓌴𓐙𓂣𓏏𓁦 feather. If Anubis determines there’s balance between the two, then the deceased would be presented to Osiris 𓁹𓊨 𓀭 by Horus 𓅃𓀭. The simplified version of the scene represented on this cartonnage is missing Thoth 𓅤𓀭 and Ammit 𓂝𓅓𓅓𓏏. 

If you’re looking at the inner cartonnage/coffin 𓅱𓇋𓀾 from the front, you can see Khepri 𓆣𓂋𓇋𓁛(the winged beetle) and the Four Sons of Horus beneath him. I feel like this coffin 𓅱𓇋𓀾 is the Sparks Notes version of the Book of the Dead 𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓏲𓇳𓏺𓍼𓏺 – it kinda gives you some of the most important parts of it in a very small amount of space! 

You can also watch this video (with music) on TikTok!

@ancientegyptblog

This stunningly painted piece is the Inner Cartonnage of a person named Gautseshenu. This piece would have been placed inside a larger coffin and is made of cartonnage (ancient paper mache). It is dated to the 25th Dynasty (Third Intermediate Period). It was found in Thebes 𓌀𓏏𓊖 and it’s amazing how well preserved it is and how bright the colors are. The Weighing of the Heart scene from the Book of the Dead 𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓏲𓇳𓏺𓍼𓏺 is my absolute favorite type of religious art from ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖. As a kid, I loved it because Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓁢 was the central god 𓊹 in the scene, and Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓁢 is my favorite Egyptian god 𓊹 . As an adult, I love what the scene represents and the symbolism behind it. For those unfamiliar with the context of the scene, Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓁢 weighs the heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 of the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 against Maat’s 𓌴𓐙𓂣𓏏𓁦 feather. If Anubis determines there’s balance between the two, then the deceased would be presented to Osiris 𓁹𓊨 𓀭 by Horus 𓅃𓀭. The simplified version of the scene represented on this cartonnage is missing Thoth 𓅤𓀭 and Ammit 𓂝𓅓𓅓𓏏. If you’re looking at the coffin 𓅱𓇋𓀾 from the front, you can see Khepri 𓆣𓂋𓇋𓁛(the winged beetle) and the Four Sons of Horus beneath him. I feel like this coffin 𓅱𓇋𓀾 is the Sparks Notes version of the Book of the Dead 𓉐𓂋𓏏𓂻𓅓𓉔𓂋𓏲𓇳𓏺𓍼𓏺 – it kinda gives you some of the most important parts of it in a very small amount of space! This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientegypt #egyptianhistory #egyptologist #historytok #egypt #brooklynmuseum #anubis #bookofthedead

♬ snowfall – Øneheart & reidenshi

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Hieroglyphic Vocabulary – Week 5

Let’s read some Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! It’s time for Week 5 of my Hieroglyphic Vocabulary!

In the video above is Week 5 𓏾 of my Hieroglyphic Word of the Day stories all compiled into a video! Learning any language – including hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪/Middle Egyptian doesn’t have to be difficult! 

  1. Voice Offering/Invocation Offering 𓉓
  2. Son of Ra 𓅭𓇳
  3. Before 𓐍𓂋
  4. Priest/High Priest 𓊹𓍛
  5. Lord, Master, All, Possessor 𓎟
  6. Image, Likeness, Statue, Figure 𓏏𓅱𓏏, 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾
  7. King’s Acquaintance 𓇓𓂋𓐍𓏏/ 𓇓𓏏𓂋𓐍𓏏 (female), 𓇓𓏏𓂋𓐍 / 𓇓𓂋𓐍 (male)

These are all words that you will come across in inscriptions! Next time you’re at a museum, see if you can spot these ancient Egyptian words! 

You can also watch the video (with music) on TikTok!

@ancientegyptblog

Let’s read some Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Here is Week 5 𓏾 of my Hieroglyphic Word of the Day stories all compiled into a video! Learning any language – including hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪/Middle Egyptian doesn’t have to be difficult! 1. Voice Offering/Invocation Offering 𓉓 2. Son of Ra 𓅭𓇳 3. Before 𓐍𓂋 4. Priest/High Priest 𓊹𓍛 5. Lord, Master, All, Possessor 𓎟 6. Image, Likeness, Statue, Figure 𓏏𓅱𓏏, 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 7. King’s Acquaintance 𓇓𓂋𓐍𓏏/ 𓇓𓏏𓂋𓐍𓏏 (female), 𓇓𓏏𓂋𓐍 / 𓇓𓂋𓐍 (male) These are all words that you will come across in inscriptions! Next time you’re at a museum, see if you can spot these ancient Egyptian words! This is my personal photographs/video and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientegypt #egyptianhistory #letsreadsomehieroglyphs #egyptologist #hieroglyphs #hieroglyphics #egypt #languagelearning #historytok

♬ Circles – Instrumental – Post Malone

This is my personal photographs/video and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok!

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Reading Hieroglyphs

“Image” in Hieroglyphs

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to be looking at a word that I use frequently in my descriptions, “𓏏𓅱𓏏,” which translates to “image,” “likeness,” “statue,” or “figure.”

Image
The word “Image” in hieroglyphs from a papyrus on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

I also utilize this particular word to translate the words “picture” and “photo” because that would be the closest Middle Egyptian to English translation! For the word “statue,” the “𓀾” determinative is put at the end of the word so it would be spelled like “𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾.” 

The importance of the visual representation of the deities 𓊹𓊹𓊹 was embedded in ancient Egyptian religion and culture. For example, when the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 was alive, he/she was thought to be the living image 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹 of the God 𓊹 Horus 𓅃𓀭. 

The Egyptians built temples 𓉟𓏏𓉐𓏪 and shrines 𓐍𓊃𓅓𓂜𓉐𓏦 to their gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 and goddesses 𓊹𓊹𓊹𓏏 because they believed that the gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 could be approached and prayed to through the statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 that resided in these places of worship. The statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏪 or “images of the gods” were thought to be the actual deity and were thus treated with great reverence 𓐍𓄪𓅱 and respect. 

Another example is that when a person’s name 𓂋𓈖 was written down in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪, it meant that the person would live 𓋹 forever 𓎛𓇳𓎛. The visual representation of a person’s name 𓂋𓈖 had the power to give the person eternal 𓆖 life 𓋹. This is why pharaohs wanted their name on as many monuments as possible – their name 𓂋𓈖 in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 had immense power! 

Let’s break down the symbols in the word “𓏏𓅱𓏏!” 

The “Quail Chick 𓅱” is a super common symbol that you will see in a lot of inscriptions! It is a uniliteral phonogram sign, which means it has the sound of a single consonant. The “𓅱” is representative of the sound “w” or “u.” This symbol is also an ideogram for the word “chick 𓅱𓏺.”

The “flat loaf of bread 𓏏” is a uniliteral phonogram used to represent the sound “t.” It also functions as the ideogram for the word “bread 𓏏𓏺.”

So why did I choose to highlight this particular word? “𓏏𓅱𓏏” was one of the first words that I learned when I was first starting to read hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! The reason is because it is part of Tutankhamun‘s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓 cartouche, which translates to “Living Image of Amun!” 

Here is a breakdown of Tutankhamun‘s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓 name 𓂋𓈖:

𓇋𓏠𓈖 – Amun

𓏏𓅱𓏏 – Tut (image)

𓋹 – Ankh (life/living)

𓋾 – Ruler

𓉺 – of/on

𓇓 – Upper Egypt

As a side note, I am a visual learner, and I think that’s why I’m really great at things like reading hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 and geology – both are topics which require the brain to use images and visuals over other types of processing. Even when I speak English and Italian I see the words in my head as if they are subtitles so I think my visual brain is why I am good at languages! Plus I always say that rocks are the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 of the Earth, so I am grouping geology in with languages too! Despite the auditory nature of languages, for me, they are actually more visual.

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Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Hippopotamus Statues

My sister 𓌢𓈖𓏏𓁐 sent me this picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 that she took at the Brooklyn Museum and I immediately knew that I had to share it with all 𓎟 of you! 

Hippopotamus Statues
Hippopotamus Statues from the Middle Kingdom on display at the Brooklyn Museum

It’s no mystery that I love the ancient Egyptian hippopotamus 𓌉𓏏𓃯 statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪! My favorites are the blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸𓏥 faience 𓋣𓈖𓏏𓏸𓏼 ones that are typically dated to the Middle Kingdom time period! 

What I love about this picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 is it shows the diversity of the art that was created during the Middle Kingdom! The blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸𓏥 faience 𓋣𓈖𓏏𓏸𓏼 hippopotamus 𓐍𓃀𓃯 statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 is a lot more detailed and refined, while the clay 𓊪𓈖𓋴𓈇 hippo 𓌉𓏏𓃯 statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 are a little rougher! 

The hippo 𓐍𓃀𓃯 statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 in the forefront of the image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 are made out of clay 𓊪𓈖𓋴𓈇 and were most likely used as a kind of offering during the “Feast of the White Hippopotamus.” During this festival, a hippopotamus 𓌉𓏏𓃯 was dragged on a sled before the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻. The base that these two 𓏻 hippo 𓌉𓏏𓃯 statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 have are representative of that sled! 

The blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸𓏥 faience 𓋣𓈖𓏏𓏸𓏼 hippopotamus 𓐍𓃀𓃯 statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 is always a treat to see and I love seeing them across various museums! There are lotus flowers 𓆸𓆸𓆸 painted on the sides of the hippo 𓌉𓏏𓃯 to represent the different plants that grew along the Nile 𓇋𓏏𓂋𓅱𓈗𓈘𓈇𓏺! The legs on this statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 are actually restored! 

FUN FACT: did you know that most blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸𓏥 faience 𓋣𓈖𓏏𓏸𓏼 hippopotamus 𓌉𓏏𓃯 statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 have broken feet because they were broken on purpose so the hippo 𓌉𓏏𓃯 would not be a threat to the deceased person it was buried with? 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Cartouche of Akhenaten

Let’s read some Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to be looking at the birth name cartouche 𓏠𓈖𓈙𓍷 of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖! 

Cartouche of Akhenaten
The Birth Name cartouche of pharaoh Akhenaten on display at the Vatican Museum

Now, calling this his “birth name” cartouche 𓏠𓈖𓈙𓍷 is a little misleading because Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 birth name wasn’t actually “Akhenaten!” The name 𓂋𓈖 that Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 was given when he was born was Amenhotep 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓊵𓊹𓋾𓌀, and since he was the fourth pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 with that name 𓂋𓈖, Egyptologists have called him “Amenhotep IV 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓊵𓊹𓋾𓌀.” 

Why did Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 change his name 𓂋𓈖 from Amenhotep 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓊵𓊹𓋾𓌀 to Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 during year five 𓏾 of his reign? The change in name 𓂋𓈖 reflects the religious revolution that was happening at the time. Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 is famous for disrupting the entire Egyptian religious tradition and changing it from a polytheistic worship of the traditional pantheon to a monotheistic worship of the Aten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳. 

Let’s break down the meaning of Akhenaten’s name 𓂋𓈖! 

𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳 – Aten 

𓅜𓐍 – Spirit

𓈖 – Of

Cartouche of Akhenaten
The Cartouche of Akhenaten with the meaning of the hieroglyphs written next to the symbols.

So all together, the name “Akhenaten” translates to “Spirit of the Aten.” 

One of the greatest things about reading cartouches 𓏠𓈖𓈙𓍷𓏪 is that practicing with them will allow you to begin to understand hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 much more easily! The names of the pharaohs 𓉐𓉻 contain many common symbols, words, and phrases in Middle Egyptian! One of the ways I started learning was by reading the cartouches 𓏠𓈖𓈙𓍷𓏪!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Rosetta Stone

Happy (late) Anniversary to the deciphering of Egyptian Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Seeing the Rosetta Stone in person was a dream come true for me! When I saw the Rosetta Stone all I could thing was “this rock is the reason I can read hieroglyphs” and I was just in awe. 

The Rosetta Stone
My sister and I with the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum!

Jean-François Champollion was just a teenager in September 1822 when he began to decipher hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 based off of the Rosetta Stone!

The Rosetta Stone is actually a decree issued by priests 𓊹𓍛𓏪 in 196 B.C.E. that affirmed the cult of Ptolemy V 𓊪𓏏𓍯𓃭𓐝𓇌𓋴. Identical decrees were supposed to be placed in every temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 in Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖!

During the Christian period in Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖, the use of hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 began to wane and finally disappeared at the beginning of the 4th Century. The Rosetta Stone contains three 𓏼 languages 𓂋𓏦: Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪, Greek and Demotic. Since Greek was a known language 𓂋𓏺, scholars began to try to use the Greek section of the Rosetta Stone to translate the portion in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪. 

Thomas Young was the first person to show that the name 𓂋𓈖 in the cartouche (𓊪𓏏𓍯𓃭𓐝𓇌𓋴) actually spelled out “Ptolemy,” however, Champollion gets the credit for deciphering hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 because he showed that the phonetic symbols were also used for Egyptian 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐 names 𓂋𓈖𓏦 and not just foreign names 𓂋𓈖𓏦. With his extensive knowledge of Coptic, Champollion was able to begin reading the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 more fully! 

The Rosetta Stone
My sister and I with the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum

I am thankful for the early works of scholars like Champollion because I would not be reading hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 without it! The work that these people did to further the understanding of the Egyptian language, and thus the civilization as a whole is nothing short of incredible! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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