The sarcophagus of Wereshnefer is a really interesting piece in the MET. Wereshnefer was a priest of the goddesses 𓊹𓏏𓏪 Mut 𓏏𓄿𓀭, Nephytys 𓉠𓏏𓆇, Satis 𓋴𓄝𓏏𓏏𓀭 and Neith 𓈖𓏏𓋌𓀭 and he lived during the 30th Dynasty to the early Ptolemaic Period. Despite being a priest 𓊹𓍛 in Upper Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖, his sarcophagus was found at Saqqara.
One of the interesting things about his very large coffin is that the funerary/religious texts that are engraved into the stone are from writings that predate Wereshnefer by about one thousand years! The lid (which is pictured) shows images and texts related to the sun’s journey through the sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯 during the day 𓉔𓂋𓏺𓇳, which in Egyptian religion, acts as a metaphor for the journey from death 𓅓𓏏𓏱 to life 𓋹 that one would take while accompanying the sun 𓇳𓏺.
What is so interesting about Wereshnefer’s sarcophagus is that it shows the Earth 𓇾𓇾 as being round. This is the first evidence that scientists and historians have of the Earth 𓇾𓇾 being depicted as a round object (as we know, most people thought that the Earth 𓇾𓇾 was flat). Nut 𓏌𓏏𓇯𓀭, the goddess 𓊹𓏏 of the sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯, is seen arched over the rounded Earth 𓇾𓇾 and is supported by Shu 𓇋𓅱𓀭, the god 𓊹 of the atmosphere. At Nut’s 𓏌𓏏𓇯𓀭 feet is Geb 𓅭𓃀𓀭, the god 𓊹 of the Earth 𓇾𓇾. It is fascinating to me that the Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 would depict the Earth as being round!
This copy of the Book of the Dead (known to the Egyptians as the Book of Coming Forth By Day) belonged to a priest 𓊹𓍛 of Horus 𓅃𓀭 named Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪! Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪, Priest 𓊹𓍛 of Horus 𓅃𓀭, lived during the early Ptolemaic Period (between 332-200 B.C.E.) Fun fact: the word priest 𓊹𓍛 actually translates to “god’s servant”!!!
Now, this is definitely not that Imhotep from “The Mummy” (1999), however, this is still a funny coincidence! I always get a laugh when I see this in the museum! The Book of the Dead was created for Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 so he could have a successful journey into the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐. The spells on the papyrus 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 were also meant to ensure his safety and well-being in the duat 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐(realm of the dead).
The Book of the Dead is interesting because it doesn’t follow a particular story. The spells do seem to be grouped by theme, and sometimes pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 can be representative of the spells as well. The scene shown here is the Weighing of the Heart, in which the deceased’s heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 was weighed against Maat’s 𓐙𓌴𓂣𓏏𓁦 feather. More details on that scene later in the post!
Imhotep’s version of the Book of the Dead is complete, and is over 70 feet long!
This page illustrates spell 110, which gives Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 the ability to enjoy various earthly activities. This takes place in the Field of Reeds, which is also known as The Field of Offerings. Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 is actually seen doing work in the field 𓇏𓏏𓈇 – he can be seen using a scythe to harvest grain, plowing the field, and doing other various activities. In the top left, there are hieroglyphs “𓃹𓈖𓈖𓆑𓄿𓇏𓏛𓐝𓏭𓏏” that translate to “it is he in the Field of Offerings.” The Field of Reeds could also be written as 𓇏𓏏𓈅𓇋𓄿𓂋𓅱𓆰𓊖
I have provided some close up images of some of the aspects of the image that I mentioned in the caption above!
Let’s take a look at some other portions of the Book of the Dead!
I only have the drawings in this photograph, but to the left of the images would be the Hieratic script which would spell out the Sun Hymns. The Sun Hymns would allow Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 to be turned into a spirit and join the Khepri 𓆣𓂋𓇋𓁛 in the daily cycle of death and rebirth (rising and setting of the sun). During the night 𓎼𓂋𓎛𓄛, Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 would travel through the Duat 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐 underworld/netherworld) and be born again the next morning in the form of ba 𓅡𓏺 (individual’s soul that was depicted as a human headed bird).
The top image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 shows the goddesses 𓊹𓊹𓊹𓏏 Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁥 and Nephytys 𓉠𓏏𓆇 attending to the sun god Khepri 𓆣𓂋𓇋𓁛, who is in the form of a scarab 𓆣. The middle image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 shows the sun 𓇳𓏺 in human form and is attended by two 𓏻 ba 𓅡𓏺 and baboons. The bottom image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 shows Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 and his wife* receiving offerings.
*Since Imhotep’s 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 mother 𓅐𓏏𓁐 is mentioned a lot throughout his Book of the Dead, many people think that the woman who always accompanies Imhotep in the images 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 is his mother 𓅐𓏏𓁐 and not his wife!
Fun fact! The words for “night 𓎼𓂋𓎛𓄛“ and “end 𓎼𓂋𓎛𓂝𓏛“ were very similar in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!!!
Now on to my favorite scene from the Book of the Dead (in more detail)!
While I have already posted a pic of the Weighing of the Heart, I wanted to post some alternative angles because this series of images is my absolute favorite – no matter whos Book of the Dead it is from!
Here, 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. Thoth 𓅤𓀭 records the findings. Ammit waits to eat the heart if it’s unworthy!
Here we can see that Imhotep’s 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 is balanced against the feather! There are some really cool images in this particular scene – instead of just being a feather on the scale, it is the hieroglyph determinative for Maat (𓁧). Also, in the last picture, Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 is accompanied by a feather with a human body! This is probably a representation of Maat 𓌴𓐙𓂣𓏏𓁦, though she is usually depicted as a woman with a feather on her head and rarely as just a human body with a feather.
This is the last picture I have from Imhotep’s 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 Book of the Dead. Due to the way that the papyri 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛𓏦 are displayed at the MET, it can be very difficult to get clear pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏥. I’m happy that I went back through my pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏥 because I had taken some better ones than I initially thought!
In this image, you can see some of the hieratic script that the Book of the Dead is written in – don’t ask me to translate, because I can’t read hieratic! I can only read hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! I would love to learn hieratic though! Some of the hieratic is in black ink while some of it is in red. The red ink seems to symbolize either the beginning or the end 𓎼𓂋𓎛𓂝𓏛 of a spell, or it could highlight a word for a noun that was considered “bad” in Egyptian culture. However, sometimes even “offering table” could have been written/drawn in red and offering tables were not bad at all! So, some of the red ink seems kinda random.
Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 is seen here with Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣, who is seated on top of a shrine. As you all know, Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 is my favorite Egyptian god (he is the god of mummification and cemeteries) so I was very excited to see I got an image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 with Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣! I like this image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 because it reminds me of the Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 shrine that was found in Tutankhamun’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇓 tomb – that is one of my absolute favorite pieces of all time! The drawing is also like the hieroglyph determinative “𓃣” for Anubis!
Happy Anniversary to the deciphering of Egyptian Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Seeing the Rosetta Stone in person was a dream come true for me!
Jean-François Champollion was just a teenager in September 1822 when he discovered how to read 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 fully!
I am thankful for the early works of scholars like Champollion because I would not be reading hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 without it!
We are going to be taking a (virtual) trip to the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳! As many of you know, I love ushabti 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 figures, so let’s take a closer look at this one!
The text 𓏟𓏛𓏥 on the ushabti 𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 is a version of the “Shabti Spell” from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. This spell 𓎛𓂓𓏛 gives the ushabti 𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 the power to complete tasks (farming, manual labor, etc) for the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 in the Field of Reeds 𓇏𓏏𓈅𓇋𓄿𓂋𓅱𓆰𓊖. Many people (if they could afford it) were buried with at least 365 𓏲𓏲𓏲𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆𓏾 ushabti 𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 figures – one for each day of the year! Some were buried with even more!
The “Shabti Spell” usually starts off with the following phrase:
𓋴𓌉𓆓𓇶 – The Illuminated One
𓁹𓊨𓀭 – The Osiris
(Look at the first line of text on the ushabti 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 and start reading from the right!)
However, my favorite part of this ushabti 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 figure is that the word “𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 shabti” appears very clearly on the piece! It is part of the spell 𓎛𓂓𓏛 that says: “O these shabtis, if you are counted, to do all the works to be done there in the realm of the dead.”
Can you find “𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾” on the piece in the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏?
There are a bunch of different ways to write “ushabti” in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Just like in other languages, we can use the words “shabti” and “ushabti” to denote the same figures!
This large red granite 𓅓𓌳𓏏𓎶 sphinx 𓎛𓅱𓃭𓏤 of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is not in the “Hatshepsut Gallery” (as I like to call it) at the MET – in fact, she is right next to the Temple of Dendur! Dendur is located in Nubia, and is just south 𓇔𓅱𓏏 of Aswan 𓋴𓃹𓈖𓏌𓏲𓊖.
I find the location of the sphinx 𓎛𓅱𓃭𓏤 an interesting placement in the museum because the temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 and the sphinx 𓎛𓅱𓃭𓏤 are from two 𓏻very different time periods in Egyptian history. The temple of Dendur was built by Augustus 𓉐𓉻𓀀 and building was completed by 10 B.C.E., while Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 ruled 𓋾 during the New Kingdom. This sphinx 𓎛𓅱𓃭𓏤 was sculpted during the joint reign 𓋾 of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 and Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 c.1479–1458 B.C.E.
The Sphinx 𓎛𓅱𓃭𓏤 was one of six 𓏿 large sphinxes 𓎛𓅱𓃭𓏦 that would have lined her temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 at Deir el-Bahri. It is made of red granite 𓅓𓌳𓏏𓎶, which was mined at Aswan 𓋴𓃹𓈖𓏌𓏲𓊖 and then transported ~500 𓏲𓏲𓏲𓏲𓏲 miles up the Nile 𓇋𓏏𓂋𓅱𓈗𓈘𓈇𓏺. Red Granite 𓅓𓌳𓏏𓎶 is a super dense rock 𓇋𓈖𓂋𓊪 so this was not an easy task!
This is a large and absolutely beautiful 𓄤 piece in real life. Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is depicted wearing the nemes 𓈖𓅓𓋴 head cloth and the false beard – typical fashion for a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻! The sphinx 𓎛𓅱𓃭𓏤 was a very popular way for a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 to be represented, and this practice occurred for thousands 𓆼𓆼𓆼 of years. While the most famous sphinx 𓎛𓅱𓃭𓏤 is the great sphinx 𓎛𓅱𓃭𓏤 of Khafre 𓇳𓈍𓆑 at Giza, there are so many other wonderful sphinxes too 𓎛𓅱𓃭𓏦!
This is a “Hieroglyphic Offering Vessel” that is dated to c. 3,000 B.C.E.! For some context, the unification of Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 took place c. 3,100 B.C.E., and this period was known as the Early Dynastic Period.
In Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖, especially during this time period, the distinction between art and writing 𓏟𓏛𓏥 was almost interchangeable – so much so that sometimes it is hard to tell if images 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 are hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪, drawings or even both!
This Offering Vessel is a combination of two 𓏻 hieroglyphic symbols 𓊹𓌃𓏪: the ankh 𓋹 and the ka 𓂓. So, let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!
The “Ankh,” is a triliteral phonogram that has the sound “ˁnḫ” which would sound like “ankh.” Although it can be an ideogram for “sandal strap” and “mirror,” the “sandal strap 𓋹” is much more commonly seen as the word for “Life.”
The “two arms 𓂓” symbol is a biliteral phonogram that represents the sound “k3,” which would be pronounced like “ka.” This is the symbol for the word “soul.” The ka 𓂓 was the soul or life force of a person.
So how do life 𓋹, soul 𓂓 and this Offering Vessel all connect to each other? Together 𓈖𓊗, the life 𓋹 and soul 𓂓 form an essential relationship between the living 𓋹𓈖𓐍 and the dead 𓅓𓏏𓏱. Even if the person is dead, the ka 𓂓 still requires nourishment in the form of food 𓇬𓀁𓅱𓏔𓏥 and drink. This Offering Vessel allows the ka 𓂓 to receive water 𓈗, so it can continue to live on.
Essentially, the vessel allows for the ka 𓂓 to continue to receive offerings 𓊵𓏏𓊪𓏏𓏔𓏦 so it can continue to be sustained! It’s always amazing to me how Egyptian funerary beliefs didn’t really change over time, they just continued to evolve, for example, into False Doors and Offering Tables 𓂝𓃀𓅡𓄿𓋃𓏪!
Is this a beautiful woman 𓄤𓆑𓂋𓏏𓁐 or a cow 𓄤𓆑𓂋𓏏𓃒?! The answer is both because this image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 from The Book of the Dead of Imhotep (at the MET) is of the goddess 𓊹𓏏 Hathor 𓉡 in her cow 𓄤𓆑𓂋𓏏𓃒 form!
Hathor 𓉡 is one of the most prominent goddesses 𓊹𓊹𓊹𓏏 of the Egyptian pantheon, and her roles evolved over time. Along with Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁥, she is regarded as the “divine mother” of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, but is also the goddess 𓊹𓏏 of love, joy 𓄫𓏏𓄣, music 𓉔𓇌𓆸 (she was often depicted on sistrums 𓊃𓈙𓈙𓏏𓏣𓏪), and dance – basically the fun things in life 𓋹! Hathor is also mentioned as the the wife 𓂑𓏏𓁐 of Horus 𓅃𓀭, and the daughter 𓅭𓏏of Ra 𓇳𓏺𓁛, though through times some of these relations have changed/evolved.
The name 𓂋𓈖 “Hathor 𓉡“ in Middle Egyptian translates to “House of Horus” which links Hathor 𓉡 to the sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯 (because the sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯 is where Horus 𓅃𓀭 dwells). Absorbing the roles of pre-dynastic deities, Hathor was associated with both the night 𓎼𓂋𓎛𓄛 sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯 and the Milky Way Galaxy 𓄟𓋴𓈎𓏏𓈊.
Another function that Hathor 𓉡 possessed that not many are aware of was that she was also a prominent funerary goddess 𓊹𓏏! One of her roles was to provide peace and solace to the souls 𓂓𓂓𓂓 of the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 as they entered the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐. She was referred to as “Mistress of the West,” and could be found welcoming the dead 𓅓𓏏𓏱 with fresh water 𓈗. She also earned the title “Lady of the Sycamore,” and was also seen as a tree 𓆭𓅓𓆭 goddess 𓊹𓏏.
This is a blue-green 𓇅𓆓𓏛 faience 𓋣𓈖𓏏𓏸𓏼 cosmetic box at the MET that is in the shape of a column. While the exact date of the box is unknown, this type of column style was popular during the Ptolemaic Period (c. 664-300 B.C.E.), hence why archaeologists think it is from that time period. The reason why the date of the cosmetic box is undetermined is because finding boxes like this is very rare!
These type of cosmetic boxes (where two 𓏻 pieces are attached by a peg that allows it to swing open and closed) are more commonly found in the shape of spoons or boxes and are usually dated to the New Kingdom. The stains on the inside of this box indicate that it may have contained ointment 𓌸𓎛𓏏𓎯𓃋 at one point!
While many noble people𓃝𓏤𓀻𓀻𓀻/aristocrats would have had cosmetic boxes, this one is believed to have been used in a temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 ritual due to the fact that it looks like a column from a temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐!
Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to be looking at a popular inscription 𓏟𓏛𓏥! This inscription 𓏟𓏛𓏥 is on an ostracon, which is basically either a broken piece of limestone 𓇋𓈖𓈙𓌉 (in this case), pottery 𓏠𓈖𓇋𓏋, a rock 𓇋𓈖𓂋𓈙, etc. that was used for drawing/writing practice 𓋴𓅓𓄧𓏜. You can definitely tell that this was practice 𓋴𓅓𓄧𓏜 because you can still see the red 𓂧𓈙𓂋𓅟 grid lines on the limestone 𓇋𓈖𓈙𓌉! The grid lines were really important because it allowed the artist to draw out the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 evenly, so everything was the same size!
I have definitely spoken about this phrase before, but let’s take a closer look!
𓋹 – Life
𓊽 – Stability
𓌀 – Strength
The “sandal strap 𓋹” more commonly known as the “Ankh,” is a triliteral phonogram that has the sound “ˁnḫ” which would sound like “ankh.” Should it can be an ideogram for “sandal strap” and “mirror,” the “sandal strap 𓋹” is much more commonly seen as the word for “Life.”
The “reed column 𓊽” more commonly known as the “Djed Pillar” is a biliteral phonogram that has the sound “ḏd” which sounds like “Djed.” It also functions as an ideogram for “Stability,” like in the inscription above. The Djed Pillar 𓊽 is thought to represent the spine of Osiris 𓁹𓊨𓀭.
The “animal headed staff 𓌀” is a triliteral phonogram that represents the sounds “w3s,” which would probably be pronounced like “was.” The symbol functions as an ideogram for the word “staff,” but most of the time, you will see it represent the word “Strength.”
This common phrase “𓋹𓊽𓌀” is seen everywhere, and a lot of the times appears as “𓏙𓋹𓊽𓌀 – Given Life, Stability and Strength” or “𓏙𓋹𓊽𓌀𓆖 – Given Life, Stability and Strength for Eternity.” This phrase was so popular because it held a lot of meaning in ancient Egyptian culture/religion! This phrase is almost like a blessing, ensuring that the person being spoken about in the inscription 𓏟𓏛𓏥 is all of these qualities! This phrase can be used with both the living 𓋹𓈖𓐍 and the dead 𓅓𓏏𓏱!
Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to be looking at an inscription 𓏟𓏛𓏥 from a Middle Kingdom relief from the reign 𓋾 of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Montuhotep II 𓏠𓈖𓍿𓅱𓊵𓏏𓊪 (c. 2010-2000 B.C.E.).
The inscription 𓏟𓏛𓏥 reads: 𓃺𓈖𓆑𓏅. Let’s break this down!
𓃺𓈖 – Be (could also mean “Exist”) (sounds like “wn”)
𓆑 – He (sounds like “f”)
𓏅 – Foremost (could also be “In Front Of”) (sounds like ḫnt)
So the translation of 𓃺𓈖𓆑𓏅 would be “May He Be Foremost…” or “May He Be In Front Of.” The name 𓂋𓈖 of a deity 𓊹 or other religious figure (such as soul 𓂓) would usually follow, but that part of the relief is cut off!
By itself, the word “𓃺𓈖𓆑” can actually mean “to be glad” or “to be happy” – the last symbol at the end changes the meaning of the phrase!
The word “foremost 𓏅” can also be written as “𓄂𓏏” – “𓄂𓏏” can also be translated as “best.”
Just like any language, in Middle Egyptian there can be two different ways to write/say the same word or one single word can have multiple meanings!
