This (left) mummiform coffin ๐ ฑ๐๐พ belonged to a singer named ๐๐ Harmose who lived during the joint rule of Hatshepsut ๐๐ ๐๐น๐๐๐๐ผ๐ช and Thutmosis III ๐ณ๐ ๐ฃ(New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, c. 1479โ1458 B.C.E.). While Harmose was not royal, this coffin ๐ ฑ๐๐พ is still quite striking. The face is overlaid with gold ๐๐๐๐ foil while the eyes ๐น๐๐ฆ are made out of inlaid alabaster (white ๐๐๐ณ) and obsidian (black ๐๐ ). The coffin ๐ ฑ๐๐พ was found in the vicinity of Senemutโs ๐ข๐๐ ๐ผ tomb ๐๐ซ๐๐ during excavations funded by the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the 1935-1936 dig season.
Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! By now, Iโm sure those of you who have been following me for a bit can now recognize parts of the standard offering formula!
๐๐๐ต๐ – โAn offering the king gives…โ
๐ฉ๐น – โ…Osiris…โ (this is a not as common variation of his name)
๐พ๐๐ – โ…Ruler of…โ
๐ – โ…Eternity…โ
๐ผ๐น – โ…The Great Godโ
๐ – โ…Lord…โ
๐๐๐๐ – โ…of Abydos…โ (this is another variation – Abydos is more commonly written as ๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐)
Here is a scarab ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฃ of Hatshepsut ๐๐ ๐๐น๐๐๐๐ผ๐ช from the MET! The MET has so many of these beautiful ๐ค scarabs ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฃ๐ช and I honestly love looking at them! I really like tiny things, so scarabs ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฃ๐ช and other amulets ๐๐ช๐ ๐ช are some of my favorite pieces to see in museums!
This scarab ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฃ has a very simple message:
๐น๐ค – โPerfect Godโ
๐ณ๐ง๐ – โMaatkareโ
Interestingly, Hatshepsutโs ๐๐ ๐๐น๐๐๐๐ผ๐ช throne name Maatkare (which translates to โTruth is the Soul of Reโ) is usually written as ๐ณ๐ฆ๐, however on the scarab ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฃ, the symbol for Maat is slightly different! On this scarab ๐๐ช๐๐๐ฃ, the symbol shows Maat holding an ankh ๐ง! Itโs a very subtle but cool variation. It doesnโt change the meaning or the pronunciation of her name ๐๐, but I love seeing little changes like this! Clearly, this was an artistic choice!
When learning hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช, throne names are a great place to start learning because the names arenโt too complex! Letโs use Maatkare ๐ณ๐ง๐ as an example!
๐ณ – Re
๐ง – Truth (Maat)
๐ – Soul (Ka)
With the three ๐ผ symbol cartouche, especially when Re ๐ณ๐บ is involved, itโs read middle-right-left. So why is Re ๐ณ๐บ written first but said last!? Honorific transposition! As a sign of respect, Re (or another god ๐น) is always written first!
This statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ is very interesting because it was originally made for the pharaoh ๐๐ป Amenemhat II ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ during the 12th ๐๐ป Dynasty. However if you look at the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช, the cartouches of Rameses II can be read! The pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฅ used to recycle statues ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช all the time – this is a process known as usurping (taking one pharaohโs monuments, erasing their name๐๐, and putting yours!). Itโs kind of like ancient plagiarism!
This statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ is made of granodiorite, a type of volcanic (igneous) rock ๐๐๐๐. It was quarried at Aswan ๐ด๐น๐๐๐ฒ๐ and then transported up the Nile ๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐บ to Memphis ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ด๐, where it was sculpted.
Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช!
๐ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt
๐๐ฟ๐ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands
(๐ณ๐๐ง๐ณ๐๐) – Rameses II (throne name Usermaatre)
๐ ญ๐ณ – Son of Ra
๐๐ – His Beloved
(๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ด๐) – Rameses II
๐ณ๐๐บ – Like Ra
The image ๐๐ ฑ๐ below shows some of the ancient erasing that took place!
Believe it or not, these two ๐ป pieces were probably my favorite objects that I saw in the Petrie Museum.
I was so excited when I saw them, because Hatshepsutโs ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ throne name appears on it! Since I absolutely love anything to do with Hatshepsut ๐ณ๐ฆ๐, I was incredibly excited to see something with her name on it. These two ๐ป pieces are actually bronze ๐๐ค๐๐ฆ blades that were once attached to a handle.
Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช!
๐ค๐น – Perfect God
(๐ณ๐ฆ๐) – Maatkare (Hatshepsutโs Throne Name – translates to โTruth is the Soul of Re.โ)
๐๐ ๐ – Amun
๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐- Holiest of Holies (Deir el-Bahri temple)
๐บ๐ – Beloved
Put together, the inscription reads: ๐ค๐น(๐ณ๐ฆ๐)๐๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐บ๐ โThe Perfect God Maatkare, Beloved of Amun, Holiest of Holies.โ
This is a small relief with beautifully ๐ค carved hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช that dates to the reign of the pharaoh ๐๐ป Nectanbo ๐ณ๐ฃ๐ in Dynasty 30.
Let’s read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช!
๐ฅ – โKing of Upper and Lower Egyptโ
๐๐ฟ๐ฟ – โLord of the Two Landsโ
(๐ณ๐ฃ๐) – Kheperkare (โThe manifestation of the soul is Reโ)
๐ ญ๐ณ – โSon of Raโ
๐๐๐ฅ – โLord of Appearancesโ
(๐๐๐๐ก๐ญ๐) – (Nakt Nebef โThe Strong One of His Lordโ)
๐๐ง๐๐ – โEdfuโ or โBehdetโ (Egyptian city in Upper Egypt. Horus of the Winged Disc or โBehdetiteโ was the chief god of the city)
This beautiful ๐ค limestone ๐๐๐๐ stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ is titled by the MET as โStela of the Overseer of the Fortress Intef.โ
This stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ is dated to Dynasty 11 of the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-1988 B.C.E.) and we know this because the cartouches of Mentuhotep II ๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ ฑ๐ต๐๐ช (credited with reunifying Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐) appear as a dedication from Intef ๐๐๐๐, the owner of the stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ. Intef ๐๐๐๐ was an official ๐ด๐๐ and โoverseer of the fortressโ – a title that couldโve only been given to him after the reunification of Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐.
Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! While I would love to translate the whole thing for all of you, there is too much text to fit in an Instagram description, and itโs hard to see some of the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช on my picture ๐๐ ฑ๐! so I will do as much as I can! Below are the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช from the first half of top panel of the stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ! I want to translate the other readable parts for you all too so I will do that soon!
๐ ๐ฅ๐ฟ๐ฟ – Horus, Uniter of the Two Lands
๐ ๐ฅ๐ฟ๐ฟ- Two Ladies, Uniter of the Two Lands
๐ – Horus of Gold
๐ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt
(๐ณ๐๐ค) Nebhapetra (throne name)
๐ ญ๐ณ – Son of Ra
(๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ ฑ๐ต๐๐ช) Mentuhotep II (given name)
๐น – Life
๐ณ๐ -Like Ra
๐ – Forever
Here it is all together: ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฅ(๐ณ๐๐ค)๐ ญ๐ณ(๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ ฑ๐ต๐๐ช)๐น๐ณ๐๐
โHorus, “Uniter of the Two Lands,” Two Ladies “Uniter of the Two Lands,” Falcon of Gold, King of Upper and Lower Egypt Nebhepetre, Son of Ra, Mentuhotep, alive like Ra forever.โ
Nicole (me) with the Stela of the Overseer of the Fortress Intef.
Hereโs another piece from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology! This is a really simple piece but I really like it! It probably caught my eye because it has the cartouche of Seti I ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ on it, and Seti I ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ was one of my Nonnoโs favorite pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฆ! The afternoon that Nonno and I spent exploring the Petrie Museum was one of the best days of my life!
This piece is a fragment from a larger statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ. On the top part of the piece you can even see the bottom part of a broad collar ๐ ฑ๐ด๐๐บ๐. It is made of black ๐๐ basalt, which is an igneous rock ๐๐๐๐. Basalt forms when lava solidifies on the Earthโs surface or under the ocean. The entire ocean floor is made of basalt which means that it is is the most abundant rock ๐๐๐๐ on Earth (and Mars too)!
The hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช on this piece are very simple and easy to read!
๐๐ King of Upperโฆ
๐๐โฆand Lower Egypt
(๐ณ๐ฆ๐ ) – Maatmenra (Seti I – Maatmenra was his throne name)
Usually the title of โKing of Upper and Lower Egyptโ is written as โ๐ฅโ so it is interesting to see it written as โ๐๐๐๐.โ In the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช for this piece, the crown of Lower Egypt ๐ was used instead of the bee ๐ค.
King of Upper and Lower Egypt ๐ฅ can literally be translated to โHe of the Sedge and the Bee,โ which is the title that usually preceded the prenomen, which was also known as the throne name or the royal name. The sedge ๐ was the symbol for Upper Egypt while the bee ๐ค was the symbol of Lower Egypt. This title was symbolic that the pharaoh ๐๐ป was ruling over a united Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐. The first pharaoh ๐๐ป to have this title was the Pharaoh Den ๐ง๐ during the First Dynasty!
This fragment of a limestone ๐๐๐๐ relief shows part of the cartouche for the pharaoh ๐๐ป Thutmosis I ๐ณ๐ป๐ฃ๐! Letโs take a look at his name ๐๐!
While Thutmosis Iโs birth name is usually written as (๐ ๐๐ด) this particular cartouche shows a variant of this name ๐๐. The full variant would most likely read (๐๐ ๐๐ด๐ค๐ฅ๐) which means โThoth is born, who has appeared perfectly.โ
Another variant of his birth name is (๐๐ ๐ณ๐๐๐) which means โThoth is born, who has appeared like Ra.โ The more popular variant of this birth name, (๐ ๐๐ด) simply means โThoth is born.โ
Thutmosis I ๐ณ๐ป๐ฃ๐ (this is his throne name -โGreat is the manifestation of the Soul of Raโ) was the third ๐ผ pharaoh ๐๐ป of the 18th Dynasty. Thutmosis I ๐ณ๐ป๐ฃ๐ was responsible for many successful military campaigns and building projects, including additions to the Temple of Amun ๐๐ ๐ at Karnak. Though, in my opinion, Thutmosis Iโs ๐ณ๐ป๐ฃ๐ most notable achievement is being Hatshepsutโs ๐๐ ๐๐น๐๐๐๐ผ๐ช father ๐๐๐!
Here is a very nice raised relief in limestone ๐๐๐๐ which depicts pharaoh ๐๐ป Thutmosis III ๐ ๐ ๐ด wearing the blue crown ๐ฃ๐๐๐ (left). He can be identified based off of the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช of his name ๐๐ that appear to his right.
Limestone relief of Thutmosis III in the Brooklyn Museum
Here are the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช broken down:
๐ณ๐ ๐ฃ – Menkheperra (Thutmosis IIIโs throne name) ๐น๐ค – The Great God ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands
Also on the right is the remnant of another person – most likely the pharaoh ๐๐ป Hatshepsut ๐๐ ๐๐น๐๐๐๐ผ๐ช (a portion of a shoulder and a crown are seen, so the presence of the crown allows us to infer that it is in fact another royal figure).
What is super interesting about this piece is that the images ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ฆ of the pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฆ that are carved are not the actual pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฆ themselves, but statues ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ช of them! This relief is depicting a religious precession that took place at Hatshepsutโs ๐๐ ๐๐น๐๐๐๐ผ๐ช mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ๐. This piece was excavated from the temple and is dated to c. 1478-1458 B.C.E.
Here is another example of a limestone ๐๐๐๐ relief of Thutmosis III ๐ ๐ ๐ด wearing the blue crown ๐ฃ๐๐๐. Menkheperra ๐ณ๐ ๐ฃ (Thutmosis IIIโs throne name) is above his head ๐ถ๐บ on the relief so we know that it is him! This one is in the Vatican Museum!
Limestone relief of Thutmosis III in the Vatican Museum
While many know that the Ankh ๐น is the symbol that corresponds with the word โLife,โ the Ankh ๐น had other symbolic meanings as well – one of which is shown on this relief fragment!
The Ankh ๐น can also symbolize the purifying ๐ด๐๐ power of water ๐. In many temples ๐๐๐๐ฆ in Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐, a pharaoh ๐๐ป (like Thutmosis III ๐ ๐ ๐ด here) is flanked by two ๐ป gods ๐น๐น๐น. One of the gods ๐น๐น๐น who did was was usually Thoth ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ญ, but it is impossible to tell which god ๐น is performing the action in this relief. The gods ๐น๐น๐น would pour a stream of Ankhs ๐น๐น๐น over his head ๐ถ๐บ to cleanse ๐ด๐๐ and purify ๐ด๐๐ him (Fun Fact: cleanse and purify can be the same word in hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช but there are other variations of each word too).
Totally unrelated thought but I have always loved the word for water (๐) because it is the โnโ symbol! Since my name ๐๐ is Nicole and my name would start with ๐ in hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช, as a kid ๐๐๐ I would refer to ๐ and ๐ as โmy symbolโ ๐.
Here is a limestone ๐๐๐๐ fragment of a parapet (c. 1352-1336 B.C.E., New Kingdom Amarna Period) that depicts the pharaoh ๐๐ป Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ and Nefertiti ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ญ. A parapet is a low wall, and it may have been part of a temple ๐๐๐ at one point.
In the image ๐๐ ฑ๐, Nefertiti ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ญ is offering cartouches to the Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ. These cartouches do not belong to Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐, but to the Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ itself which is different because cartouches were usually for pharaohs. Also strange is that other gods ๐น๐น๐น are mentioned in the Atenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ cartouches, even while the Egyptian religion was banned. These might be early cartouches, before a complete ban took effect. There is also a lot of debate because does this mean that Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ was the Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ on Earth ๐พ๐พ, or were they two ๐ป separate beings?
Front side of the limestone parapet from Amarna
Here is a closer look at the cartouches:
(๐๐๐ ๐น๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐) – โ “The living Re-Horakhty, Rejoicing in the horizon”
(๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐ณ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐ณ) – โIn his name as Shu, who is in the Aten”
Also in the image๐๐ ฑ๐, Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ is extending light rays to Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ and Nefertiti ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ญ. The light rays are represented by lines, with hands ๐ง๐๐ฆ on the end that are holding Ankhs ๐น๐น๐น.
Obverse side of the limestone parapet from Amarna
This is the obverse side of the limestone ๐๐๐๐ fragment of a parapet (c. 1352-1336 B.C.E., New Kingdom Amarna Period) that depicts the pharaoh ๐๐ป Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ (left) and Nefertiti ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ญ (right).
The piece is in such poor condition because after the death ๐ ๐๐ฑ of Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐, his city was abandoned and fell to disarray. This makes the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช difficult to translate but I will try! Also, many of the buildings were destroyed by Rameses II ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ด๐ and the materials were then used to build ๐๐ค๐ ฑ๐ด๐ง one of his temples ๐๐๐๐ฆ.
Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! This is the third column from the left:
(๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐) – cartouche of Akhenaten ๐๐ป – โTrue of Voiceโ or โJustifiedโ ๐ข๐๐ณ๐ค – Lifetime ๐ – โheโ or โhisโ
โAkhenaten, true of voice, in his lifetimeโฆโ
