Category: Egyptian Artifacts

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Viscera Coffin

This is a โ€œviscera coffinโ€ dated to the 18th Dynasty (c. 1400 B.C.E.). A โ€œviscera coffinโ€ (sometimes called a coffinette) is very similar to a canopic jar because it stored the mummified organ of the deceased, however it looks like a coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ instead of a jar! These were popular during the 18th Dynasty. Most famously, Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น๐“ฆ were found in tiny ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ viscera coffins that were almost exact replicas of the larger coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ that he was found to be buried in!

This viscera coffin is made of wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ and overlaid with gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ leaf, which was a very popular way to make it look like a piece was made of solid gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ when it wasnโ€™t! There are also lots of beautiful ๐“„ค inlaid stones ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช๐“ฆ of many different colors. The stones ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช๐“ฆ make up the Nemes head cloth ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด and the broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ that Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is wearing! While it is it in the most pristine condition, I like how the wear and tear gives us a look into the different materials that make up the piece!

Obviously, I love this piece because this viscera coffin shows Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ! As everyone knows, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is my absolute favorite Egyptian god ๐“Šน so I always get so excited when I see a unique piece that depicts him! Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is the god ๐“Šน of mummification, burial rites and tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฅ/cemeteries, so it makes sense to have him on a visceral coffin!

There are two ๐“ป words for โ€œcoffinโ€ and another for โ€œsarcophagusโ€ in Middle Egyptian:
๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ – Mummiform coffin
๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ – Coffin
๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ – Sarcophagus

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Ushabti Box

I love ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช and so did my Nonno (we have so many pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of them)! During the Ramesside period and onward, due to the increasing number of ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures that people were buried with, the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช started putting them in boxes! Like the example in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, the Ushabti Boxes were used to hold hundreds of ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ.

Much like sarcophagi, ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ boxes usually look different for different people! Some were only single compartment, but some ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ boxes could have up to three ๐“ผ compartments full of the figures! Some were elaborately decorated, but this one is just a plain wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ rectangular box with six ๐“ฟ columns of hieroglyphic text ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the front. Unfortunately due to the angle of the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, I canโ€™t translate the text – but I can see the Offering Formula (๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™) on the first column on the right! I can also see that some of the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช have a dedication to Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ on them!

Usually people were buried with over 400 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ of the figures – one for each day of the year. Fun Fact: the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช had calculated the year to be 365 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“พ days, and then they revised it to 365.25 days – which is the actual length modern scientists calculated! How incredible is that?!

The ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช that you see in this box are worker ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช and you can tell because they are holding tools (๐“Œบ) in their hands ๐“‚๐“ฆ! The remaining overseers ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช were there to make sure all of the others were doing their work!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Symbolism on Hatshepsut’s Statue

No surprise here, but I am back speaking about the white ๐“Œ‰๐“†“๐“‡ณ limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช! I want to highlight a detail on the side of the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that I have not spoken about yet on this account!

๐“‹ – this symbol on the side of the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ 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. The pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป was always referred to as the โ€œLord of the Two Lands ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟโ€ or โ€œKing of Upper and Lower Egypt ๐“†ฅโ€ because Upper ๐“‡“ and Lower ๐“†ค Egypt, although united, were in fact very different from each other. They each had their own natural resources, cultures and local gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน.

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. In this case, it is on the side of one of Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช most beautiful ๐“„ค statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช!

The design ๐“‹ also contains elements that look like lilies ๐“‡•๐“‡•๐“‡• and papyrus ๐“‡‰๐“‡‰๐“‡‰! Itโ€™s such a cool design ๐“‹ with so much to interpret! I remember being so puzzled by it as a kid when I saw it for the first time!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Stelae

Here are two ๐“ป beautifully ๐“„ค decorated stelae from the British Museum. Nonno always loved looking at the various stelae ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ๐“ช in the museums. They were among his favorite artifacts – and he of course passed that love on to me!

In ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ were often used to commemorate the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and keep their memory alive. That is one of the things I am doing for my Nonno through this account – keeping his memory alive and sharing what an amazing person he was with the world ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ. In addition, I am also keeping his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– alive because in Egyptian culture the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– was one of the most important elements of a human. In order to exist, a person needed to have five ๐“พ essential elements: the body ๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“„ผ, the shadow ๐“†„๐“๐“…ฑ๐“‹ผ, the Ba ๐“…ก๐“ค, the Ka (soul/life force) ๐“‚“๐“ค, and the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–.

On the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ on the left, there is a Ba ๐“…ก๐“ค statue attached to the top, which was a very popular style during the Ptolemaic Period (c. 332โ€“30 B.C.E.), so I am going to assume that stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ is Ptolemaic. The Ba ๐“…ก๐“ค is the impression that an individual makes on others – everything except the physical body ๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“„ผ. The Ba ๐“…ก๐“ค can also be thought of as an individualโ€™s personality. When a person died, the Ba ๐“…ก๐“ค was the only part of the person that would be able to travel out of the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰, but it did have to return eventually to be reunited with the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ.

I like the combination of the Ba ๐“…ก๐“ค and the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ because they are connected – the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ was meant to commemorate the deceased, while the Ba ๐“…ก๐“ค was part of their soul. It makes sense for the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช to attach the two ๐“ป together!

I wish I had closer pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of both stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ, but it was probably difficult with the glass. On the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ on the left, the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ is making an offering ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ to Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. On the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ with the Ba ๐“…ก๐“ค, there is so much happening! I would probably need to make three ๐“ผ posts to interpret it all!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Amarna Art (Part 1)

One of the reasons I loved the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology so much was because of the amount of pieces from Amarna (the modern name of Akhenatenโ€™s capital of Egypt) that are in the collection! While Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is my favorite pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is my second favorite! I seem to like the โ€œuntraditionalโ€ pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ who didnโ€™t play by the rules!

One of the many charms of the Petrie Museum is that most of the pieces arenโ€™t considered striking or grand when you first look at them. This museum is for those who truly appreciate ancient Egyptian culture as a whole, not just the shiny gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ pieces or jewels.

This piece is a quartzite inlay or either Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– or Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ. Quartzite is a very difficult rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ to work with because it is so dense and strong. Quartzite is a metamorphic rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ that is formed when heat and pressure is applied to the rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ sandstone ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“‚ง๐“๐“Œ—๐“ˆ™. A process called recrystallization occurs due to the heat and pressure, which causes the sand grains in the sandstone ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“‚ง๐“๐“Œ—๐“ˆ™ to increase in size and become more dense! As a person who knows her geology, always amazes me when the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช worked with quartzite! Quartzite is usually found in quarries ๐“Ž›๐“๐“๐“‰๐“ฆ in Aswan ๐“‹ด๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“ฒ๐“Š–, as is granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ!

Egyptologists canโ€™t tell if the inlay was supposed to be Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– or Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ because they were usually represented very similarly; the 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 it so weird and wonderful in its own way! While this piece itself was an inlay, a stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช was most likely supposed to go in the hole that represents the eye ๐“น๐“ค! So this is two ๐“ป inlays in one ๐“บ!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Amarna Art (Part 2)

Something I love about visiting various museums is seeing similar pieces of Egyptian history no matter where I go! The Brooklyn Museum has a wonderful collection of Amarna-era pieces (many of which were found by Petrie), so itโ€™s no surprise that I have seen similar pieces in various museums around the world!

In the middle of the display, you can see a red quartzite inlay of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. Inlays are part of what archaeologists call โ€œcomposite statues,โ€ or statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ฆ that are composed of many different parts that would come together to form a single statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ! The part that would be the crown, and the stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช that was supposed to go in the hole that represents the eye ๐“น๐“ค are both missing. Either the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ was never finished or both were lost in antiquity.

Next to the inlay of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–, there is another quartzite composite statue but it is a head ๐“ถ๐“ค of possibly Smenkare ๐“‡ณ๐“‹ด๐“Š๐“‚“๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ๐“ช, the mystery pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป that ruled ๐“‹พ for a short period of time in between Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“. The statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is in very bad condition, so it is really difficult to gather much information about it. However, at the time the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ was made, it was made with high quality workmanship!

The 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 these pieces so weird and wonderful in their own way! I will never get tired of studying Amarna art!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Thoth as a Babboon

This is a limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ! The god ๐“Šน Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ was usually depicted as a man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค with the head of an ibis ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค, but was also commonly depicted as a baboon. The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ is actually the Greek version of his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–; the ancient Egyptians referred to him as Djehuty (๐“…-Djhu ๐“- t, y-๐“ญ, ๐“€ญ).

While Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ is mainly known as being the patron of scribes ๐“Ÿ๐“€€๐“ช, the god ๐“Šน of writing ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ, and the creator of language ๐“‚‹๐“บ, he is also considered the god ๐“Šน of the sciences ๐“‚‹๐“๐“๐“œ๐“ฆ and the moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น. The moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น could be thought of as a โ€œnight sun,โ€ which places him as an opposite of the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ god ๐“Šน Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“›. Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ is also credited with inventing the 365-day calendar!

Since the moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น is commonly a symbol of wisdom, Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ was also associated with being very wise. Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ has also provided guidance to the other gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน and can also be associated with truth ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„ and justice ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„๐“œ. Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ was thought to have invented writing ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ, and was thus the god ๐“Šน of all record keeping. These characteristics are why he is the bookkeeper in the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony from the Book of the Dead. The scene acted as the โ€œLast Judgmentโ€ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ.

Due to his vast knowledge, Thoth ๐“Ÿ was thought to know magic ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ and secrets ๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“†Ÿ๐“›๐“ฆ that were unknown to the rest of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน in the Egyptian pantheon. This made him an extremely powerful figure!

Thoth can be written as: ๐“…ค๐“€ญ, ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ, ๐“Ÿ. He also had various titles such as โ€œLord of the Divine Words,โ€ โ€œThree Times Great,โ€ and โ€œLord of Maโ€™atโ€ amongst many others!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Marriage Scarab and Senet

I love this display at the Brooklyn Museum because itโ€™s so blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ – blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ is my favorite color (and it was a favorite of the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช too – for various religious reasons)! Both of these pieces are dated to the reign of Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  (Dynasty 18).

The first piece is a scarab ๐“†ฃ that is known as a โ€œMarriage Scarab,โ€ even though it doesnโ€™t mention marriage! During his reign ๐“‹พ, Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  commissioned the production of her 200 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ scarabs ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ that recorded important events. Fifty-six ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“ฟ of the scarabs ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ, like this one pictured, contained information such as Amenhotep IIIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  complete list of names/titles, the boundaries of the empire and Queen Tiyeโ€™s official names and titles/the names of her parents. The mention of Queen Tiye and her relation to Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  is what led Egyptologists to call these the โ€œmarriage scarabs.โ€

Senet ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“  is the worldโ€™s oldest board game – thereโ€™s evidence of its existence all the way back to the First Dynasty (though this particular board is dated c. 1390-1353 B.C.E.). During the New Kingdom, the game represented the journey of the Ka ๐“‚“ (soul) to the afterlife/Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. The word โ€œSenetโ€ ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“  actually means passage or gateway! If you look really closely, you can see details of the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ and the Tyet ๐“Žฌ (Isis Knot) painted on the sides!

Senet ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“  is still a game that can be played today, though some of the rules are debatable! I find it so interesting that board games have been around for so long in history! Some things a about humanity have not changed!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Paddle Dolls

Here are two ๐“ป examples of paddle dolls – contrary to popular belief, these were not toys used by children ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€•๐“ฆ (as a kid I thought they were dolls that Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ children ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€•๐“ฆ played with)!

A paddle doll is usually made of a flat piece of wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ that shows a very rough representation of a head ๐“ถ๐“บ, face, neck and torso of usually a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“. The bodies of the paddle dolls are usually pained in various designs, which are thought to represent either textile patterns or tattoos! The โ€œbeadsโ€ that you see coming off of the head ๐“ถ๐“บ are made of mud pellets, which is representative of hair ๐“ฒ๐“ˆ–๐“ญ. They would also make noise when shaken, similarly to that of a sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ. Sometimes paddle dolls are associated with the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก because of this!

The shape of the body (which is noticeably missing legs) is thought to be similar/representative of the menat necklace ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง that is usually worn by women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“๐“ฆ during religious ceremonies. These paddle dolls, were thought to be part of religious ceremonies due to this connection. It is also possible that these dolls were used as fertility figures, as some of them have been found with painted images of Taweret ๐“๐“„ฟ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— or Bes ๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“„œ; both deities are associated with fertility.

The paddle dolls in this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“are dated to Dynasties 11-13 of the Middle Kingdom (c. 2081-1700 B.C.E.).

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Book of the Dead – The Four Sons of Horus

This copy of the Book of the Dead (known to the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช as the Book of Going Forth By Day) belonged to Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช, Priest ๐“Šน๐“› of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, who lived during the early Ptolemaic Period (between 332-200 B.C.E.). No, it’s not that Imhotep from “The Mummy” (1999), however, this is still a funny coincidence! The Book of the Dead was created for Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช so he could have a successful journey into the afterlife/Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. The spells on the papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› were also meant to ensure his safety and well-being in the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ (realm of the dead).

In this image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, 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 ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Some of the hieratic is in black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ ink while some of it is in red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ. The red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ ink seems to symbolize either the beginning or the end ๐“Žผ๐“‚‹๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“› 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 ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ and offering tables ๐“‚๐“ƒ€๐“…ก๐“„ฟ๐“‹ƒ were not bad at all!

On the top right, you can see Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช standing with his arms raised in a worshipping stance; he is worshipping the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก, who is in her cow form ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’! Next to that, you can see the four Sons of Horus surrounding a canopic chest! The Four Sons of Horus guarded the organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น of the deceased! From the right: Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘(jackal head) held/protected the stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป, Imseti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“˜๐“‡‹(human head) held/protected the liver ๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„น๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ธ, Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ(baboon head) held/protected the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ, and Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘ (falcon head) held/protected the intestines ๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฎ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ผ.