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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Osiris’ Name in a Cartouche

Osiris’ ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท? Usually the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป appears in a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท! While this doesn’t happen often, there are instances where the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a god ๐“Šน will appear in the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท!

This is a fragment of a beautifully ๐“„ค painted ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ. I would estimate its from around the later New Kingdom period or later because thatโ€™s when painted ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ sarcophagi ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ๐“ช such as these became popular!ย 

Osiris' Name in a Cartouche
Osiris’ name in a cartouche on a sarcophagus fragment

I love this piece because of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท, but also because there is so much other stuff going on even though itโ€™s small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ! The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are: ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ŽŸ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› which translates to โ€œOsiris, Lord of Eternity.โ€ Letโ€™s break down the symbols! 

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – Osiris

๐“ŽŸ – Lord

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

I havenโ€™t seen that many pieces like this, so I just found this one so cool! Usually the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป is what appears in a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท, but in this case itโ€™s Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ and his title! The top of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท also has the Atef Crown ๐“‹š on it, which is the crown that is associated with Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. 

The ancient Egyptians talked about โ€œeternity ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›โ€ a lot and were actually the civilization to derive the concept of โ€œeternity ๐“†–.โ€ There were two ๐“ป very common ways they expressed the word for โ€œeternityโ€ in hieroglyphic symbols:ย 

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

๐“†– – Eternity/Everlasting

There are some other popular hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that appear on this piece!! See if you can spot them! 

๐“„‘๐“‚ง๐“๐“Š– – Edfu

๐“Šน๐“‰ผ – Great God

Both of the phrases appear symmetrically on either side of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท which is something that is common on these types of pieces! 

Letโ€™s take a look at some of the deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน that appear! If you look in the lower left, you can see part of the god ๐“Šน Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ with a large table of offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ in front of him. On the top left, below the winged ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ sun disk ๐“‡ณ๐“บ is a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ which is representative of the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. On the top right, there is an ibis ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค which is representative of the god ๐“Šน Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ. 

On either side of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท, the god ๐“Šน Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“Šช๐“ญ๐“ˆ˜ (god ๐“Šน of the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ/flooding of the Nile) is shown. There are two ๐“ป of him because if you look closely, you can see both symbolically tying up papyrus ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ and lotus ๐“†ธ plants together. This was meant to represent the union of Upper ๐“‡“ and Lower ๐“†ค Egypt! You can easily recognize Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“Šช๐“ญ๐“ˆ˜ because of the papyrus flowers ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ on his head! 

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Blog

I Miss You Nonno

โ€œAll of this is all for you, Oh, I swear to God, you’re living, Through everything I’ll ever do.โ€ – โ€œTwo of Usโ€ by Louis Tomlinson – this song really hits if youโ€™re dealing with the death of a loved one. Itโ€™s raw and poignant and hard to listen to, but I feel like these particular lyrics really describe a lot.ย 

Nicole (as an infant) and Nonno!
Nicole (as an infant) and Nonno!

Today is a very difficult day for me (and my family), because itโ€™s been three years since my Nonno passed away. Itโ€™s been three years since Iโ€™ve seen him, since we talked, since we laughed. There are times when Iโ€™m overwhelmed with sadness because I still cannot believe it happened. We spent so much time together and life still feels empty without my Nonno here. Iโ€™m not going to lie – I spent a lot of yesterday crying, and I will probably spend today that way too.ย 

Nicole and Nonno with a statue of Tutankhamun at the British Museum
Nicole and Nonno with a statue of Tutankhamun at the British Museum

This website (and my original Instagram account) is basically a manifestation of my grief and I started it in April 2020 as a way to try and manage my grief because it was overwhelming me. This account is also a way for my Nonnoโ€™s name and image to continue on. All I want is for people to see what an incredible person my Nonno was and how much he meant to me.ย 

Nicole and Nonno at Circus Maximus in Rome
Nicole and Nonno at Circus Maximus in Rome

Iโ€™m so lucky that my Nonno shared his passion for history with me at such a young age, and started my lifetime passion. Every time I post, youโ€™re seeing an extension of what my Nonno knew, because he either taught it to me, or graciously gave me his books to read. All of this is Nonno – Iโ€™m just the messenger.ย 

Nicole and Nonno outside of the British Museum

Nonno and I have been best buds since day one and while Iโ€™m so lucky I had my Nonno with me for 27 years, I still feel like we needed more time. But if Iโ€™m being honest, no amount of time wouldโ€™ve been enough. 

Nonno, I love you and miss you so much.

๐“™๐“‹น๐“†–๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Common Hieroglyphic Phrases

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

This hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ text from the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ of Imhotep contains some really common hieroglyphic phrases and words!  These phrases are short and easy to recognize, so once you learn them, youโ€™ll be reading through some partial inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ in no time! 

Some parts of this papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› are written in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, which is very cool because I can read it! I have not mastered Hieratic at all, which is what a lot of papyri ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“›๐“ฆ and Books of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ are written in! Hieratic is pretty much short-hand hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! I really want to learn Hieratic, and itโ€™s one of my long term goals, but there are a lack of books on the subject which has hindered me from learning!

Common Hieroglyphic Phrases

Letโ€™s break down the following text: ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“€ญ๐“™๐“Šค

๐“ƒน๐“ˆ– – It Is

๐“„ค – Perfect/Beautiful

๐“€ญ – God

๐“™๐“Šค – True of Voice/Justified

All together the text reads: โ€œIt is ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ– the perfect god ๐“„ค๐“€ญ, true of voice ๐“™๐“Šคโ€ฆโ€ 

The phrase โ€œIt isโ€ can be written as ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ– or ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ– – both are grammatically correct, itโ€™s just spacing that can become an issue which is why sometimes only one โ€œ๐“ˆ–โ€ appears! 

Letโ€™s break down each of the symbols individually!

The โ€œhare ๐“ƒนโ€ is normally used as a biliteral phonogram. The  ๐“ƒน represents the sounds โ€œwn.โ€

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

The โ€œheart and windpipe ๐“„คโ€ symbol is a triliteral phonogram that represents the sound โ€œnfrโ€ which in modern times we pronounce like โ€œnefer.โ€

The โ€œseated god ๐“€ญโ€ symbol is a determinative for the word โ€œGodโ€ or โ€œKing.โ€ 

The โ€œplatform ๐“™โ€ symbol is a triliteral phonogram which represents the sound โ€œm3หโ€ which would be pronounced like โ€œmah.โ€ 

The โ€œoar ๐“Šคโ€ symbol is a triliteral phonogram and represents the sound โ€œแธซrw.โ€ 

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Book of the Dead of Nauny

The Weighing of the Heart (sometimes called the Judgement of Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น) is my absolute favorite part of the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ. I love how each version is unique and not a single one is the same! I find this particular papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› to be absolutely stunning.ย 

The Book of the Dead of Nauny

In ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, the Book of the Dead was actually called โ€œComing Forth By Day ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ,โ€ and it was a collection of magic spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ to help the deceased enter the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰, and eventually the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š–.ย 

The Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ is interesting because it doesn’t follow a particular story.ย  The spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ do seem to be grouped by theme, and sometimes pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ can be representative of the spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ that are written!ย 

This particular Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ belonged to a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ named Nauny ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“ who lived during the 21st Dynasty reign of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Psusennes I ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“…ฎ๐“‡ผ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ–๐“Š–. Naunyโ€™s ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช are also at the MET!ย 

The Book of the Dead of Nauny
Isis (left) and Nauny (right)

Starting from the left: the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is shown next to Nauny ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“, who is shown holding her eyes ๐“น๐“น and mouth ๐“‚‹ in her hands. Naunyโ€™s ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“ heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ is weighed by Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ against Maat ๐“ฆ. Usually, Maatโ€™s ๐“ฆ feather ๐“†„๐“บ is used, but this time Maat ๐“ฆ herself is shown on the scale, and is represented by the hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ that is used in her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ is shown on top of the scale, and his job is to record the findings. Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น presides over the scene.ย 

The Book of the Dead of Nauny
Anubis

Luckily for Nauny ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“, the scales are in balance which means that she lead a true ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„ and just ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„๐“œ life ๐“‹น and is worthy enough to enter the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š– and enjoy eternal ๐“†– life ๐“‹น with Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น! Above the Weighing of the Heart scene, Nauny ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“ is seen standing by her own tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ and worshipping ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ.ย 

The Book of the Dead of Nauny
Osiris
Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Cartouche Box of Shosenq II

This cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท shaped box is a small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ yet interesting piece at the MET! I stumbled upon this piece because it is in a display with lots of ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures! One of my absolute favorite Egyptian artifacts is Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท box, and while this is a smaller and less elaborate version of Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“, I still love it!ย 

This cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท shaped box is dated to the Third Intermediate Period (c. 825-773 B.C.E.) which would be in the 22nd Dynasty! The box is also inscribed for the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Shosenq II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“†ท๐“†ท๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ.ย 

Cartouche Box of Shosenq II
Cartouche Box of Shosenq II

Even though they may be difficult to see in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands

๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ – Son of Ra

๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ฅ – Lord of Appearances 

๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– – Usermaatre setep en Ra (Throne Name)

๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ – God and Ruler of Heliopolis

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“†ท๐“†ท๐“Žฏ๐“๐“ – Shosenq II (Shoshenk, Son of Bastet, Beloved of Amun)

There are a lot of interesting things going on in this inscription! The first ๐“ƒ interesting thing is that Shosenq II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“†ท๐“†ท๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ has the same throne name as the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Rameses II ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“! The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– โ€œUsermaatre setep en Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–โ€ translates to โ€œThe Justice of Ra is powerful, Chosen of Ra.โ€

The second interesting thing is that all of the titles appear before both names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ, instead of being broken up and appearing before either the throne name or the given/birth name! 

Another interesting thing is that the part of Shosenq IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“†ท๐“†ท๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ birth name, โ€œGod and Ruler of Heliopolis๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ,โ€ appears at the beginning of this birth name instead of at the end, hence why I broke it up in my translation! The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– should appear like this in the inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ: ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“†ท๐“†ท๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ, but instead  appears as ๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“†ท๐“†ท๐“Žฏ๐“๐“! 

The fourth interesting part is that neither the birth name nor the throne name appear in a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท! I guess the whole box is the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท so maybe the artist felt that the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ didnโ€™t need a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท on the inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ?! 

Who knew such a small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ piece could hold so many interesting things! Itโ€™s amazing what can be discovered by just reading a couple of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

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Video

Video – Anubis Statue

This limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ was found near the Sacred Animal Necropolis at Saqqara (Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–). The Sacred Animal Necropolis housed thousands ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ of mummified animals such as falcons ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„๐“ฆ, baboons, ibises ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค๐“ฆ and bulls/cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ. This piece is dated to the Late Period – Ptolemaic Period (664โ€“30 B.C.E.). 

Although mummified jackals ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ๐“ฆ were not found in the area, statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ have been found most likely because Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is the god ๐“Šน of mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž and embalming ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž, so it would make sense that there would be statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of him in the vicinity of this large necropolis. It is thought that Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช such as this were used to guard embalming tents. 

Interestingly, this piece was originally painted ๐“ž๐“œ black ๐“†Ž๐“…“, but through time it has lost its coloring! Itโ€™s hard to see in my pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ (the MET really needs better lighting – the galleries are so dark) but you can still see remnants of some of the black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ on the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ! 

I was very excited to see this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, because there is a similar one in the Petrie Museum in London! I love seeing similar pieces in different museums around the world! It is really cool to see pieces that are similar across museum collections – I can’t explain why, but I just find it incredible! Also (no surprise), I love anything Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, so of course I absolutely love this statue and I need to visit it every time I go to the MET!

Fun fact! There are no temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ฆ dedicated to Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ because all tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ and large burial areas were considered โ€œtemplesโ€ to worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in! It makes so much sense because he is the god ๐“Šน of tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ and mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž!ย 

Anubis Statue
A picture of me with the Anubis statue!
Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Scarabs of Thutmosis III

Look at all ๐“ŽŸ of these scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช!ย 

Scarabs of Thutmosis III

I love these displays at the MET because they have all ๐“ŽŸ of the scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช grouped by the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the pharaoh that is inscribed on them! These scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช contain the throne name of the 18th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Thutmosis III ๐“…๐“„ ๐“‹ด! I also love tiny things, so these displays are some of my favorites! 

The scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ is the personification is the god ๐“Šน Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“‡‹๐“›. The scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช were said to be the most powerful of amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช because the the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช believed that the dung beetle (which the scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ was fashioned after) was capable of eternal regeneration. 

The god ๐“Šน Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“‡‹๐“› symbolizes a โ€œlife cycleโ€ – birth ๐“„Ÿ, death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, and then rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. This cycle was essential to Egyptian religious beliefs, as Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช spent their lives preparing for death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and entering the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ (afterlife).ย 

Scarabs of Thutmosis III
Can you see the throne name (๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ) and variant of Thutmosis III’s throne name (๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“‚“) in the picture?

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

The most common throne name spelling for Thutmosis III ๐“…๐“„ ๐“‹ด is โ€œMenkhepperra ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ.โ€ The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Menkhepperra ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ translates to โ€œLasting is the Manifestation of Ra.โ€

๐“‡ณ – Ra

๐“  – Lasting

๐“†ฃ – Manifestation

One of Thutmosis IIIโ€™s throne name variants appears on one of the scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช- it is rare to see this variant! This throne name variant is โ€œMenkhepperkara ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“‚“โ€ which translates to โ€œLasting is the Manifestation of the Soul of Ra.โ€ I love seeing the variants!ย 

Scarabs of Thutmosis III
Can you spot any of the words in the text below in the picture above?

There are some other common phrases that accompany the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ on these little scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช! See if you can spot them in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“: 

๐“ŽŸ – Lord of/Everything/All

๐“Šน๐“„ค – The Perfect God 

๐“™๐“‹น – Given Life

๐“†– – Eternity

๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Ushabtis of Nauny

Letโ€™s look at some ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures! Gallery 126 at the MET has lot of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ on display and I LOVE being in this room!

These ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures and shabti boxes belong to a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ named Nauny, who lived during the 21st Dynasty reign of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Psusennes I ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“…ฎ๐“‡ผ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ–๐“Š–.ย 

Nauny was buried with a total of 393 ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures that were divided amongst seven ๐“€ shabti boxes. The shabti boxes are made of sycamore ๐“ˆ–๐“‰”๐“๐“†ญ wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ and painted ๐“ž๐“œ with stucco. As demonstrated in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ below, the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช are stored in an upright position in the box!ย 

Ushabtis of Nauny
The Ushabtis of Nauny and the Ushabti boxes

The ushabti figures ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that Nauny was buried with are made of blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ and have featured and inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on them that are painted ๐“ž๐“œ with black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ. The inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the front (and back) of the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช reads:

The ushabti figures with the kilts are Overseer Ushabtis, while the ones with hieroglyphs on the front are Worker Ushabtis.

๐“‹ด๐“Œ‰๐“†“๐“‡ถ – The Illuminated One 

๐“Šฉ๐“น – The Osiris 

๐“‡“๐“…ญ๐“ – The Kingโ€™s daughter 

๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“ – Nauny 

๐“™๐“Šค – True of Voice

โ€œThe Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“นโ€ part of the inscription means that Nauny, through the process of mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž, becomes ๐“†ฃ like the god ๐“Šน Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น who is the main god ๐“Šน of the dead. This means that Nauny will live on in the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ (afterlife) just like Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น has! 

There are two ๐“ป different types of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“: worker ushabtis and overseer ushabtis! Nauny originally had a total of 365 worker ushabtis, one for each day ๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“บ๐“‡ณ of the year. The worker ushabtis are identified by having the inscription on the front! The overseer ushabtis had the job of making sure that the worker ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช were doing their job! The overseer ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช can be identified by the long kilt that they are wearing, and their inscription is located on the back! 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Apis Bull

This artifact is a seemingly bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of an Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ that is dated to either the Late Period or the Ptolemaic Period (c. 664 – 200 B.C.E.). The worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข of the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ can actually be traced back to as early as the First Dynasty!ย 

The Apis Bull in statue form

The Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ was associated with fertility and rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ and was mostly worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข in Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š– near the Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ Temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰. People would travel from various locations to the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ just to worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’, and the mother ๐“…๐“ of the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’. 

While Hathor ๐“‰ก is probably the most famous of the cow ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’ deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ was also very widely worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข and represented eternity ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›and the harmonious balance of the whole universe. The Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ was usually associated with the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป (hence why a lot of pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ were referred to as the โ€œstrong bull ๐“‚ก๐“ƒ’โ€) were used to represent the strength ๐“„‡๐“๐“‚๐“ญ and vitality of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. 

Usually a live bull ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ’ was used to be worshipped, and the bull ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ’ needed to have special markings on it such as a triangle shape on its forehead, or patches that represented wings ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ๐“ฆ on its body. When the bull ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ’ that was being worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข as the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ died, it was embalmed ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž and buried elaborately. A new bull ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ’ would then take its place. 

One of the easiest ways to recognize the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ in statuary is by looking for the sun disc ๐“‡ณ on its head, and the elaborate cloth that is decorating the back of its body. You can easily see the details of this decorated cloth on this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ at the MET! See if you can spot the triangle on his forehead!

The Apis Bull
The Apis Bull in statue form
Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Ushabti Box of Yuya

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

This picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is of the ushabti box (and one of the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures) of a man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค named Yuya ๐“‡Œ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“€ผ. The purpose of the ushabit box was to store the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ person. Since people who could afford it were buried with over 365 ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures, the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช needed a place to store them in the tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ so the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ wouldn’t be all over the place!

Although Yuya ๐“‡Œ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“€ผ and his wife ๐“‚‘๐“๐“ Thuya ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ were not of royal lineage, their daughter ๐“…ญ๐“ Tiye ๐“˜๐“‡Œ๐“ญ๐“— became the โ€œKingโ€™s Great Wife ๐“‡“๐“ˆž๐“,โ€ (queen) of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž .ย 

This part of the 18th Dynasty when when all of the โ€œfunโ€ began! Yuya ๐“‡Œ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“€ผ and Thuya ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ were Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– grandparents and Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ great-parents! Due to their daughterโ€™s ๐“…ญ๐“ status, Yuya ๐“‡Œ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“€ผ and Thuya ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ were given an elaborate burial in the area that is now known as the Valley of the Kings (KV46). 

This ushabti box is made of wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ that has been beautifully ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ painted ๐“ž๐“œ and inscribed ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– with hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช.

The ushabti box (back) and ushabti figure (front) of Yuya at the MET
The ushabti box (back) and ushabti figure (front) of Yuya at the MET

Letโ€™s take a closer look at the inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the ushabti box!ย 

๐“„ช๐“๐“‡Œ – Venerated

๐“๐“‚‹ – Before 

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – Osiris

๐“Žฟ๐“‡Œ – Favored One/Praised One

๐“ˆ– – of

๐“Šน๐“„ค – The Perfect God 

๐“‡Œ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“€ผ – Yuya 

๐“™๐“Šค – True of Voice (Justified)

๐“๐“‚‹ – Before

๐“Šน๐“‰ผ – Great God

The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that appear on this ushabti box are very typical of funerary inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ that appear on many different kinds of funerary equipment ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‹ด๐“๐“๐“Šญ throughout Egyptian history.

This ushabti box is from the 18th Dynasty and is dated to c. 1390โ€“1352 B.C.E. The ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figure in this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ also belongs to Yuya ๐“‡Œ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“€ผ!ย The ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is inscribed with the “Shabti Spell,” which is the magic spell ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“› which makes the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figure come alive to perform a specific task for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ in the Afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰!