Category: Egyptian Artifacts

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Egyptian Artifacts

A Beautiful Broad Collar

โ€œ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“‡‘๐“‡‘ – How Beautiful This Is!โ€ – I feel like this is the only appropriate phrase to describe this broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ at the MET! I have used this Middle Egyptian phrase to describe broad collars ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹๐“ฆ in past posts too! I just think they are gorgeous ๐“„ค pieces of jewelry especially this one, because it is so colorful! 

In Middle Egyptian, the word for broad collar was ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ (pronounced โ€œwesekh) or simply just the determinative hieroglyph ๐“‹๐“บ could be used for the whole word.

The broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ was the necklace of choice by both the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน and the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ. The broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ reached peak popularity during the 18th Dynasty and this particular one was made during the reign of Akhenatenย ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– (c. 1353โ€“1336 B.C.E.).

Broad collars ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹๐“ฆ could be made of many different types of materials, including gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰, but the one shown in this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is made of colorful faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ beads. The beads are each representative of a different plant ๐“‡๐“…“๐“†ฐ! The center row has blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ, yellow, green ๐“‡…๐“„ฟ๐“†“๐“›, and red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ cornflowers. Then there are three rows of dates (in yellow, green ๐“‡…๐“„ฟ๐“†“๐“›, and red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ), and the outer beads are white ๐“Œ‰๐“†“๐“‡ณ lotus petals. 

This broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ looks like it is in almost perfect condition, however, the beads were re-strung during modern times! 

Fun Fact: This broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ is actually from the private collection of Howard Carter! 

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Two Alabaster Monkey Vases

These are two ๐“ป alabaster vases at the MET which show a mother ๐“…๐“๐“ monkey holding a baby monkey!

These are dated to Dynasty Six of the Old Kingdom (c. 2289โ€“2246 B.C.E.). Archaeologists think that these vases allude to fertility because they were probably given to some of the pharaohโ€™s ๐“‰๐“‰ป favorite couriers during the jubilee. In the second picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, the vase on the left is inscribed with the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Merenre ๐“‡ณ๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– and the vase on the right is inscribed with the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Pepi I ๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“Šช๐“‡‹ (you canโ€™t see it in my picture – sorry!).

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

๐“†ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt (He of the Sedge and the Bee)

(๐“‡ณ๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–) – Merenre

๐“†– – Eternal

๐“‹น – Life

Iโ€™ve said this before (itโ€™s still true), that the names of the earlier pharaohs are a great way to practice reading phonogram hieroglyphs! Letโ€™s take a closer look at Merenre ๐“‡ณ๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! 

The symbol โ€œ๐“‡ณ – sunโ€ is usually seen as an ideogram for โ€œRa/Re.โ€ The symbol โ€œ๐“‡ณ – sunโ€ can also be a determinative for sun, day, and time. โ€œRa ๐“‡ณโ€ is written in the cartouche first and said last due to honorific transposition.

The โ€œhoe ๐“Œปโ€ (and itโ€™s variants ๐“Œธ, ๐“Œบ, and ๐“Œธ) are biliteral phonograms that represent the sound โ€œmrโ€ (might have been pronounced like โ€œmerโ€). 

The โ€œ mouth – ๐“‚‹โ€ is a uniliteral phonogram for the sound โ€œrโ€ and can be an ideogram for the word โ€œmouth 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€ 

All together, the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Merenre ๐“‡ณ๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– means โ€œThe Beloved of Reโ€ or โ€œThe One Re Loves.โ€ 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Bust of Akhenaten at the Louvre

Letโ€™s take another look at an Amarna Period piece! This is a limestoneย ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ย bust of Akhenatenย ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–ย that is currently in the Louvre! While you all know Hatshepsutย ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ชย is my favorite pharaohย ๐“‰๐“‰ป, Akhenatenย ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–ย is my second favorite! I always refer to Akhenatenย ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–ย as โ€œmy favorite disasterโ€ because I think that is quite the succinct way to describe his 17 ๐“Ž†๐“€ year rule ๐“‹พ of Egyptย ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–!ย 

While it canโ€™t be seen in my pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ, some of the paintย ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆย is still preserved on the bust! One of the places that still has traces of paint is the Blue Crown (Khepresh)ย ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ย that Akhenatenย ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–ย is wearing. Also, the ears and back of the neck still have traces of paint.ย 

The Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— is missing from the front of the Blue Crown ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™, and it was probably lost in antiquity. The Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— symbolizes divine authority, royalty, supremacy, and also acted as protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ for the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. Fun Fact: no example of the Blue Crown (Khepresh) ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ has been found by archaeologists! 

The artistic style during Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule ๐“‹พ was very different than the traditional Egyptian art styles, which makes pieces like this bust so weird and wonderful in their own way! I will never get tired of studying Amarna art!ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Small Ivory Chair of Akhenaten

This tiny ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ ivory chair ๐“Ž›๐“Šจ๐“๐“†ฑ probably held a tiny ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ at one point! This chair ๐“Ž›๐“Šจ๐“๐“†ฑ is only about 5cm in height so it is very tiny! The amount of detail that the artist was able to carve into such a small piece is incredible! 

On the back of the chair ๐“Ž›๐“Šจ๐“๐“†ฑ, Akhenatenโ€™s nomen (birth name) and prenomen (throne name) are carved underneath the rays of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ. Letโ€™s break down the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ! 

๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– – Akhenaten โ€œLiving Spirit of the Atenโ€ – this is his โ€œbirth nameโ€ – though not really because Akhenaten changed his name to Akhenaten from Amenhotep IVย ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“Œ€!ย 

๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“†ฃ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“Œก๐“ˆ– – Neferkheperrua โ€œThe Beautiful One of the Manifestations of Raโ€ is the throne name, which was probably taken when he was still calling himself Amenhotep IV ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ, since the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– contains โ€œRa ๐“‡ณโ€ and not โ€œAten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ.โ€ 

๐“‹ โ€“ this symbol on the back of the chair ๐“Ž›๐“Šจ๐“๐“†ฑ is a combination of many different things! Most prominently, it is thought to be representative of the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ and the windpipe ๐“„ฅ. The lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ are a symbol of Upper Egypt ๐“‡“ and the windpipe ๐“„ฅ was a symbol of Lower Egypt ๐“†ค. Just like how the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ and the windpipe ๐“„ฅ need to work together in order for a person to survive, Upper ๐“‡“ and Lower ๐“†ค Egypt needed to be unified in order for Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– to be a strong country!

The lung ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ and windpipe ๐“„ฅ design ๐“‹ was usually found on objects that belonged to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป.

The three ๐“ผ men ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ฆ on the side of the chair ๐“Ž›๐“Šจ๐“๐“†ฑ represent foreigners – a Libyan, an Asiatic, and a Nubian all of which are kneeling and raising their arms in a worshipping ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข stance. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Doorjamb from a Temple of Rameses II

This large piece at the MET is referred to as a โ€œDoorjamb from a Temple of Rameses II.โ€ Basically, that means these blocks came from a gateway at a temple that was built in honor of one of Rameses IIโ€™sย ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–ย royal jubilees.ย 

The offering scene that is on the doorjamb is Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– making an offering to the god ๐“Šน Ptah-Tatanen ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฏ, who was the patron god ๐“Šน of the jubilee. Ptah-Tatanen ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฏ is a combination of the deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ (the creator god ๐“Šน) and Tatanen ๐“ฏ, a lesser known deity who was the personification of the primordial mound that rose during the Egyptian creation myth. Tatanen ๐“ฏ is often compared to Geb ๐“…ญ๐“ƒ€๐“€ญ (the god ๐“Šน of the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ), however Tatanen ๐“ฏ is often associated with things that come from the interior of the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ such as minerals, rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ, and plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ! 

So Geb ๐“…ญ๐“ƒ€๐“€ญ is the Earthโ€™s ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ surface (The Upper Earth), while Tatanen ๐“ฏ is the Earthโ€™s ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ interior (The Lower Earth)! As a geologist, I love how the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช were able to make this distinction between the spheres of the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ in their mythology! They also recognized the atmosphere (another sphere of the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ) as the god ๐“Šน Shu ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ! Itโ€™s all so impressive to me! 

Ptah-Tatanen ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฏ in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช is broken down like this: 

๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž› – Ptah (spelled out with phonogram symbols)

๐“ฏ – Tatanen (the determinative/ideogram)

Ptahโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ determinative was basically replaced with the determinative for Tatanen ๐“ฏ to make the godโ€™s ๐“Šน name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! 

Can you spot Ptah-Tatanen ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฏ in the inscription on the doorjamb???

(Also Rameses IIIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“ˆ˜๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– cartouches appear on this too on the bottom of the doorjamb – he clearly usurped this piece for his own use and didnโ€™t change all of the cartouches!)

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Mislabeled Canopic Jars

These canopic jars are very famous pieces from the British Museum! Any time you read a book on mummification or Egyptian funerary practices, these canopic jars will make an appearance! The first book on Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– my Nonno ever gave me was Carol Andrewsโ€™ book on the mummies at the British Museum, and of course these canopic jars were in the book! It was so exciting to see them in person! However, these are โ€œdummyโ€ canopic jars; they arenโ€™t even totally hollow inside so they definitely werenโ€™t used during the mummification process. 

But thatโ€™s not what is the most interesting here; whatโ€™s most interesting is in the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Each canopic jar has a lid that represents one of the Four Sons of Horus. Each one has the task of protecting a specific organย ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„นย of the deceased!ย 

From the left: 

-Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘๐“€ญ (falcon head) held the intestines ๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฎ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ผ

-Imseti ๐“‡‹๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“ฟ๐“€ญ (human head) held the liver ๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„น๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ธ

-Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ๐“€ญ (baboon head) held the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ

-Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘๐“€ญ (jackal head) held the stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป

Now, if you take a closer look at the inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the jars – Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘๐“€ญ is labeled with Duamutefโ€™s ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘๐“€ญ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– and vice versa! 

Iโ€™m not sure if it is an ancient mistake or a mistake by the museum! Iโ€™m always so amused when I come across stuff like this!

The inscription above the names is a common one that we have gone over before:

๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ– – Words Spoken By

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“Šน – Osiris (the symbol for โ€œgod ๐“Šนโ€ is used as the determinative here instead of the usual โ€œ๐“€ญโ€ – I love seeing variation)!!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Large Seated Statue of Hatshepsut

This is the large granite statue of Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช in comparison to me! This statue is tremendous in size and it so gorgeous to look at! Hateshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช really does look regal in it!

Here’s some family history about Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช, because I don’t think I have ever discussed it much on this page: Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช was the only child of her father, Thutmosis I ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ and his principal wife ๐“‡“๐“๐“๐“ˆž Ahmose.

After the death of Thutmosis I ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“, Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช married her half brother, Thutmosis II ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– who had become the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. While Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช was unable to produce a male heir, Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ was born to one of Thutmosis II’s ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– lesser wives.

Thutmosis II died while Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ was still a child, so Hatsheput ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช became his co-regent until she declared herself the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. After Hatshepsut’s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช death, Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ assumed the role of pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป.

One of the many reasons I look up to Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช so much was because she was so intelligent and ambitious. Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช had an extremely prosperous reign because she was more concerned about expanding Egypt’s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– economy and taking up new building projects as opposed to conquering new lands with her military.

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Temple of Dendur

The room at the MET that houses the Temple of Dendur doesnโ€™t feel like a gallery in a museum – it feels like you are in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. This is one of my absolute favorite places. I could literally just sit in this place for hours just taking in the atmosphere – sometimes just existing and taking in a place without rushing around or having a plan is the best.

The temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ was actually commissioned by Augustus and building was complete by 10 B.C. Dendur is located in Nubia, and is just south of Aswan. Even though the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ was built by Augustus, it definitely follows Egyptian style and not Roman style. The emperor is actually presented as a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป worshipping Egyptian gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน on the walls of the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰. The temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ was primarily used to worship the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Large Granite Sphinx of Hatshepsut

This large granite Sphinx of Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is not in the โ€œHatshepsut Galleryโ€ (as I like to call it) at the MET – in fact, she is right next to the Temple of Dendur! I find it an interesting placement in the museum because the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ and the Sphinx are from two very different time periods in Egyptian history. The temple of Dendur was built by Augustus while Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช ruled during the New Kingdom.

The Sphinx was one of six large sphinxes that would line her temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Deir el-Bahri. It is made of granite, which was mined at Aswan and then transported ~500 miles up the Nile ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ. Granite is a super dense rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช so this was no easy task!

This is a large and absolutely beautiful ๐“„ค piece in real life. Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is depicted wearing the nemes ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด head cloth and the false beard – typical fashion for a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Thutmosis I

Thutmosis I ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ (or ๐“…๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด) was the third ๐“ผ pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of the 18th Dynasty. His name ๐“…๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด means โ€œBorn of Thoth.โ€ Thutmosis I ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ was responsible for many successful military campaigns and building projects, including additions to the Temple of Amun at Karnak. Though, in my opinion, Thutmosis Iโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ most notable achievement is being Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช father ๐“‡‹๐“๐“€€!

This statue is in the British Museum! I dream of going back to the British Museum one day – I was lucky enough to be able to go there twice on my trip to London, and even luckier that I got to explore the museum with my Nonno๐Ÿ’œ.