Category: Egyptian Artifacts

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Book of the Dead – The Field of Reeds

“The Field of Reeds” from the Book of the Dead of Imhotep (MET)

This is another closeup image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ from Imhotep’s ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช Book of the Dead (Early Ptolemaic Period) at the MET. Fun fact: Imhotep’s ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช version of the Book of the Dead is mostly complete, and is over 70 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† feet long!

This page illustrates Spell 110, which gives Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช the ability to enjoy various earthly activities. This takes place in the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š–. Spell 110 states โ€œโ€ฆbeing in control there, being a blessed one there, plowing and harvesting there, eating and drinking there, and doing everything that one was used to do on earth.โ€

Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช is actually seen doing work in the field ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ‡ – he can be seen using a scythe to harvest grain (just like Spell 110 states)! So the things he used to do on earth, he could also accomplish in the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š–. This is where ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures came into play – instead of the deceased doing all of the work, the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures would have taken care of it all!

The Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š– was mentioned a lot on Marvelโ€™s show Moon Knight! In the show, Marc and Steven traveled through the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ on a boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž, but in reality, this mode of transport was typically reserved just for pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ!

On the show, the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š– was literally depicted as just a field ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ‡, while in Egyptian culture it was meant to be a better version of life ๐“‹น on earth. There were many different depictions; a lush land with waterfalls, islands that could be traveled amongst by boats ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž๐“ฆ, farmland, and lots of parties! Access to the Nile ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ and the ability to farm were considered to be the ultimate reward for a good and truthful ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„ life ๐“‹น!

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

The Emperor Augustus

The Emperor Augustus depicted on the Temple of Dendur at the MET

Here is the Emperor Augustus ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚‹! He doesnโ€™t look like an Emperor though – he looks like a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป! Augustus is seen wearing the Atef crown ๐“‹š, a false beard, a broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹, armlets ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Žก๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ฆ, and bracelets ๐“‚๐“ ๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“‡›๐“ฆ. These are all features that are associated with Egyptian pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ, even though Augustus was Roman.

In this sunken relief, Augustus ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚‹ is making an offering ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ of Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ to another god ๐“Šน. Augustus had many temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ฆ constructed that adhered to Egyptian religion and culture instead of the Roman/Hellenistic ways. This was a strategy that Augustus used to legitimize himself as the ruler of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– and gain the respect ๐“ˆ™๐“†‘๐“„… of the local population. This particular image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is from the Temple of Dendur, which is at the MET.

To me, what is most interesting though are the cartouches of Augustus! Unlike the Greek rulers of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– that spelled out their names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ using phonogram symbols, Augustus went a different route when having his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– represented in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช. In this image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ you can see two ๐“ป (of his three ๐“ผ) cartouches:

๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚‹ Augustus (Autokrator)
๐“ˆŽ๐“‡Œ๐“Šƒ๐“‚‹๐“Šƒ๐“‹น๐“†– Augustus (Kaisaros)

โ€œAutokratorโ€ is the Greek word for โ€œEmperor,โ€ while โ€œKaisarosโ€ is the Greek word for โ€œCaesar.โ€

Augustus chose to have various words for โ€œrulerโ€ as his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช. Again, this was probably a way to assert his power as the first Emperor of the Roman Empire. He didnโ€™t want anyone to question his right to rule!

A close-up of Augustus’ cartouche on the Temple of Dendur at the MET

Here is another variant of Augustusโ€™ cartouche:
๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“€€

This cartouche I have always found so fascinating because it is literally the word for pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป in Middle Egyptian plus the determinative sign ๐“€€. Most names (even when spelled out with phonograms) are followed by a determinative for a male ๐“€€ person or female ๐“ person. By choosing to have his name depicted in this way, Augustus was literally calling himself the Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–!

In Middle Egyptian the word for pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป literally translates to โ€œGreat House. โ€œ this is a direct reference to the palace where the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป resided during his/her rule.

๐“‰ – House
๐“‰ป – Great

Augustus chose to have various synonyms for โ€œruler ๐“‹พโ€ as his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช (Emperor, Caesar, Pharaoh). Again, this was probably a way to assert his power as the first Emperor of the Roman Empire. He didnโ€™t want anyone to question his right to rule!

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Egyptian Artifacts

“The Two Lands are in a Festival of Light”

“The Two Lands are in a Festival of Light” at the MET

I absolutely love this piece and I have been very excited to write about it! The relief that I am highlighting is part of a larger display at the MET called โ€œThe Two Lands are in a Festival of Light,โ€ and they were originally from the palace ๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‰๐“บ walls at Amarna ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–. 

Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is my second favorite pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป (Hatshepsutย ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is obviously my first favorite) and I love to see statues, reliefs, or anything from the Amarna ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– Period! I find everything to do with Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– so interesting because he was the โ€œtroublemakerโ€ pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป who completely changed everything about the Egyptian religion (polytheistic to monotheistic), moved the capital to Amarna ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–, and generally was very much disliked by the Egyptian people ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช.ย 

On this relief, we can see a large boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž on the Nile ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ. At the front of the boat is a central structure that houses Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–, Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ and one of the princesses (who is very small and difficult to see). Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– can be seen striking down an enemy. The Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ is shining above Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and sending light rays down to him.ย 

“The Two Lands are in a Festival of Light” at the MET – closeup of Akhenaten (right) and Nefertiti (left)

Since these were on the palace ๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‰๐“บ walls, it makes sense that Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– would want himself portrayed as very strong and striking down enemies. Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is usually always depicted with his family ๐“…•๐“‰”๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ฆ, so enemy smiting was clearly a royal family ๐“…•๐“‰”๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ฆ affair! The depiction of the royal family ๐“…•๐“‰”๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ฆ from this time period is fascinating because usually pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ were depicted alone, however in reliefs, Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–, Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ, and the princesses are always shown together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—.ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Hatshepsut

Nicole with the white limestone statue of Hatshepsut at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC

Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is my favorite Egyptian Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป! Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช as not only the most successful female pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, but in my opinion, is one of the most successful pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ in all of Egyptian history. She ruled for 20 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž† years, commissioned many building projects (her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹๐“‚ฆ๐“ฅ๐“‰ being the most magnificent) and sent an expedition to the land of Punt  ๐“Šช๐“ƒบ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ˆ‰ . 

Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is her given name and means โ€œForemost of the Noble Women.โ€ Her throne name, which is the name she took when she became pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป is Maatkare ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ which translates to โ€œTruth is the Soul of Re.โ€ Most pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ had five ๐“พ names, but the given name and throne name are the most popular to find in inscriptions! 

Ever since my Nonno told me that a woman once ruled ๐“‹พ Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– as pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, I have been obsessed with Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช!