Category: Egyptian Artifacts

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Egyptian Artifacts

Rameses II at the Museo Egizio

Todayโ€™s ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ are from Nonnoโ€™s point of view! While I have never been to the Museo Egizio in Torino, my Nonno had been there many times and always spoke so highly of it. He took these photos ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ on one of his trips there. He spoke about this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ a lot because he thought it was just stunning ๐“„ค. It is one of my dreams to go to the Museo Egizio one day – I just wish Nonno and I could have gone there together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—. 

Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“

This granodiorite ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“๐“ŠŒ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ is one of the most majestic pieces in the museumโ€™s collection and one of the most lifelike statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช there is of Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–. This may just be mine (and Nonnoโ€™s) opinion, but I think it is one of the most majestic of all of the pharaonic statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช (Besides Hatshepsutโ€™s of course)!!! 

Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– is depicted here wearing the khepresh crown ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ (also known as the blue crown) and he is holding a scepter ๐“‹พ in his hand. On his feet he is wearing sandals ๐“ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ธ๐“ช, but under those sandals ๐“ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ธ๐“ช are nine bows ๐“‰บ๐“๐“Œ”๐“ฆ which represent the enemies ๐“๐“†‘๐“๐“€๐“ช of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! 

On either side of Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ legs, there are two ๐“ป smaller figures. On the right side is Queen Nefertari ๐“๐“…‘๐“„ค๐“๐“‡‹๐“ฎ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“ and on the left is Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ and Nefertariโ€™s ๐“๐“…‘๐“„ค๐“๐“‡‹๐“ฎ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“ first ๐“ƒ born son ๐“…ญ Amunherkhepeshef ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ท๐“บ๐“„˜๐“€ผ. 

Amunherkhepeshef ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ท๐“บ๐“„˜๐“€ผ
Queen Nefertari ๐“๐“…‘๐“„ค๐“๐“‡‹๐“ฎ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“

While it may be difficult to see in the photographs, a special symbol appears on both sides of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ. This symbol, called the sema-tawy ๐“‹, is a combination of many different symbols all combined into one! 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. Due to this, the sema-tawy ๐“‹ is thought to be the symbol of a unified Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–.

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. 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 Rameses II’s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ most beautiful ๐“„ค statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช!

Some Egyptologists think that this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ looks like Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ–, and that Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ usurped it from his own father ๐“‡‹๐“๐“€€. However, there are no signs of reworking on the cartouche or on the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– as a whole, so the two ๐“ป pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ probably just resembled each other!ย 

This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is dated to the first 30 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† years of the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“, because Nefertari ๐“๐“…‘๐“„ค๐“๐“‡‹๐“ฎ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“ died during Year 30 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† of Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“. 

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Cartouches of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

While this may just seem like the broken fragment of a statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ (and I guess it is), I love this piece at the MET because it contains the cartouches of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“‡๐“˜๐“ป๐“—!ย 

The Amarna Period, and the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— has always fascinated me, ever since I was a child ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€”. Professional Egyptologists have tried to piece together the series of events that shaped this tumultuous time period of Egyptian history, mostly by looking at the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช themselves.

Fragmented statue containing the cartouches of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Letโ€™s start at the right column, since the directional symbols point that way!

๐“†ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt

๐“‹น – Life

๐“ – On

๐“ง – Maat

๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands

๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“†ฃ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“Œก๐“ˆ–- Neferkheperura-waenre which means “Beautiful are the Forms/Manifestations of Re, the Unique one of Re” (Akhenatenโ€™s throne name)

๐“™๐“‹น – Given Life

Now on to the left column! This first part is cut off, but itโ€™s probably a variant Nefertitiโ€™s title of โ€œKingโ€™s Great Wife, as you can see the ending of the word โ€œ great ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“โ€

๐“ˆ˜๐“๐“†‘ – His Beloved

๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“‡๐“˜๐“ป๐“— – Nefertiti (Neferneferuaten Nefertiti)

๐“‹น๐“ – May She Live/The Living

๐“†– – Everlasting/Eternal/Eternity

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

What always gets me is Akhenatenโ€™s throne name of ๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“†ฃ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“Œก๐“ˆ–- Neferkheperura-waenre. This particular spelling of the throne name is only seen after he changed his given name from Amenhotep IV ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“Œ€ to Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. The original spelling, before the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– change was โ€œ๐“œ๐“„ค๐“†ฃ๐“ฆ๐“‡ณ๐“Œก๐“ˆ–.โ€ The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– is still pronounced the same and has the same meaning, but the falcon glyph ๐“œ was changed to just the sun disc ๐“‡ณ (both pronounced Re/Ra).ย  Also, all of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– other names (Horus name, etc) underwent a change, to remove the other deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, but this one didnโ€™t.ย 

I wonder why Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– didnโ€™t change the throne name (๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“†ฃ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“Œก๐“ˆ–) to represent the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, just like how all of his other names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ were changed.ย  Nefertitiโ€™s name also underwent a change; her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– went from just Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— to Neferneferuaten Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“‡๐“˜๐“ป๐“— around year 5 of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– reign. Year 5 in the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– is significant, because that is when we see most of the changes to Atenism begin to take place. Year 5 is when Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ became the supreme and only god ๐“Šน, and the other deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน could not be worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข.

Since this piece contains the โ€œupdatedโ€ version of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– throne name and the longer version of Nefertitiโ€™s ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“‡๐“˜๐“ป๐“— name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, we can assume that this piece was made during or after year 5 of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“.

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Shrine or Pylon Stela

While this piece doesnโ€™t look like a regular stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ (stone, rounded top), it is still considered to be one! This stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ has taken the shape of a shrine ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰ or pylon ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‰ and thatโ€™s what makes this wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ piece very unique! I also love this stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ because it shows the two ๐“ป sisters ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“๐“๐“ช Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡ and Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ!

On the left, we see an image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡, and on the right we see an image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡. Part of a spell ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“› recited by the two ๐“ป sisters ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“๐“๐“ช are located in the middle of the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ. I love how symmetrical ancient Egyptian art is!

The crowns on their heads is one of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that is used in their names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ (๐“‰ and ๐“Šจ), which makes both Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡ and Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡ very easy to identify in Egyptian art.

You can also identity Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡ and Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡ by reading the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

Starting on the left:

๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ– – Words Spoken By

๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡ – Nephthys

Now on the right:

๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ– – Words Spoken By

๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡ – Isis

๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“ – Great One

The Middle:

๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“๐“ฅ๐“ˆ– – Words Spoken By

๐“…’ – The Two Ladies (Nekhbet and Wadjet)

๐“‡…๐“๐“ญ๐“‡…๐“๐“ – The Two Crowns (๐“‡…๐“‡…๐“๐“ญ๐“๐“ and ๐“‡…๐“‡…๐“๐“ญ๐“†˜๐“†˜ is another way to write this)

๐“ŽŸ๐“ฒ๐“ฆ – Lords/Master

๐“‰๐“บ – House

๐“†– – Eternity

This piece is dated to the Ramesside Period (19th-20th Dynasties, c. 1295โ€“1070 B.C.E.).

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

“Wide Heart” or “Happiness”

๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ – โ€œBe Happy, โ€œHappiness,โ€ โ€œBe Cheerful,โ€ โ€œJoy,โ€ – or in Middle Egyptian, โ€œWide Heart.โ€ย 

๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“‡‘๐“‡‘ – How beautiful is this piece!? While this piece of jewelry may be unassuming to most who walk past it in the galleries as it is very small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ, it carries such a universal message that has permeated for thousands of years – Happiness ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ! I LOVE how the actual Middle Egyptian version of the word is โ€œWide Heartโ€ – I think it carries so much meaning in such a little phrase. โ€œAncient Egypt makes my heart wideโ€ sounds cooler than โ€œAncient Egypt brings me joy/happinessโ€ 

I always love seeing Happiness/Joy ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ written on objects because that is exactly how I felt when I was in a museum and looking at Egyptian artifacts with my Nonno. The only emotion I could feel at the time was joy ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ and I was so lucky. I would do anything to go to a museum with my Nonno and experience those emotions again. While I do feel immense joy ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ in museums now, thereโ€™s always a sadness to it as well because I truly miss my Nonno more than anything. I would love a piece like this as a necklace – sometimes we all need a reminder to find joy ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ! 

๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ๐“, ๐“„ซ๐“๐“„ฃ๐“บ, and ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ๐“บ are all common variants of the word, that I have seen many times in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ too! 

This beautiful ๐“„ค clasp belonged to the princess Sithathoryunet, who is thought to be the daughter ๐“…ญ๐“ of the 12th Dynasty (c. 1887โ€“1813 B.C.E) Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Senwosret II ๐“„Š๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ–. She is thought to be his daughter ๐“…ญ๐“ because her tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ is linked to his. Flinders Petrie was actually the one to discover her tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰. Despite being robbed in antiquity, the tomb robbers left a chest full of beautiful ๐“„ค jewelry behind! The clasp is made out of gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ and carnelian, which is a stone with a red color. I will speak more about the jewelry in future posts, it is is so beautiful ๐“„ค and I love jewelry!

Since I shared what makes me happy ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ, Iโ€™d love to hear from all ๐“ŽŸ of you! Share something that makes you happy/your heart wide ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Ushabti or Shabti?

Seeing ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures in museums will always bring me back to seeing them with my Nonno as a kid. Just like with the Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช, he was always so excited to show my sister ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ and I the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures and tell us all about them.ย I wish I could hear Nonno tell his ushabti stories again. I miss listening to him speak about ancient Egypt and ancient history more than anyone can even realize. He was always so passionate when he spoke about these things, and I think I get that from him because other people tell me that I am the same way.

Many people debate if the word is โ€œshabtiโ€ or โ€œushabti,โ€ when in reality, both pronunciations would be correct because it appears both ways in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช too! โ€œ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ usbtyโ€ is where โ€œushabtiโ€ comes from and  โ€œ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ sawabtiโ€ is where โ€œshabtiโ€ comes from! My Nonno always said โ€œUshabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พโ€ so that is what I tend to use as well!

Here are some other variations for โ€œushabtiโ€ in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that arenโ€™t used as much as the ones I have listed above. These variants are basically shortened versions of ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ or just use a different determinative!

๐“†ท๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ

๐“†ท๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ

๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€ญ

๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€ญ

๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ฒ๐“˜๐“‡‹๐“†ฑ (the ๐“†ฑ symbol as a determinative is interesting – probably because wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabtis were popular in the 19th Dynasty).

The text ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ ushabti ๐“†ท๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ is a version of the โ€œShabti Spellโ€ from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. This spell ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“› gives the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ the power to complete tasks (farming, manual labor, etc) for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ in the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š–.

The โ€œShabti Spellโ€ usually starts off with the following phrase: 

๐“‹ด๐“Œ‰๐“†“๐“‡ถ – The Illuminated One

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – The Osiris

Then the โ€œShabti Spellโ€ will usually list the deceasedโ€™s ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ job/titles: 

๐“Ÿ – Scribe

๐“‰’ – Treasury

So this specific ushabtiโ€™s spell starts off with โ€œThe Illuminated One, The Osiris, The Scribe of the Treasuryโ€ฆโ€

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Relief of Anubis

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ I am going to be re-sharing one of my absolute favorite reliefs of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ! This relief of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is from a larger limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ piece that was made for Amenemhat Iโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“„‚๐“ โ€œHeb Sedโ€ festival,ย  better known as the 30 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† Year Jubilee!ย 

There are so many amazing facts about Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ข; I could probably write a book about him! Aptly named, โ€œLord of the Necropolis ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡พ๐“‚ฆ๐“ˆŠ,โ€ he was guardian of tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ and cemeteries. Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ข was the god ๐“Šน of mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž, and the title โ€œHe who is in the mummy wrappings ๐“‡‹๐“ถ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“Ž๐“Š–โ€œ signifies Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ role in the mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž process, which is what he is most known for.ย 

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ also could act as a guide to souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ in the Underworld ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰(referenced in the Pyramid Texts of Unas ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ด). One of his most famous roles is in the Weighing of the Heart, in which the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ personโ€™s heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ would be weighed against Maatโ€™s ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ feather ๐“†„๐“บ by Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ.  Basically, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ played a big role in all aspects of a personโ€™s death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, and death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ was a huge part of the Egyptian religion. 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช (the ones above Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ head)! This is part of a much larger inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ!

๐“ถ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“Ž- He Who is in the Mummy Wrappings – (the first symbol is cut off in my picture, ๐“‡‹๐“ถ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“Ž๐“Š–, but it actually can be written both ways)

๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands (we have seen this one many times before – part of the titles of the pharaoh)!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Gold Statuette of Amun

This gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ statuette ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of the god ๐“Šน Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ is so beautiful ๐“„ค to see in person! In the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ looks large but it is only about 7 inches (~18cm) tall! This statue is dated to the 22nd Dynasty (c. 945โ€“712 B.C.E.). While the artistic features of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ definitely reflect this Third Intermediate Period, there are some callbacks to the 18th Dynasty artistic styles (the facial features in particular).ย 

This solid gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is a very rare example of the statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช that filled the sanctuaries of the temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰. There is a trace of a loop on Amunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ crown, which means that this statuette ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ could have been worn by a priest ๐“Šน๐“› or by another statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ. Or, the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ could have been mounted on top of a scepter or standard. The exact use is speculation right now! The color of gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ was often associated with the sun ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“‡ถ, and the skin of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน were thought to be made of gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰. 

Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ is depicted with his flat topped crown, with the characteristic feathers ๐“†„๐“†„๐“†„ having been lost in antiquity. He is wearing the false beard, and is carrying the Ankh ๐“‹น, a symbol of life ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“, in his hand. In the other hand he carries a scimitar ๐“Œ›๐“บ, which in temple reliefs, Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ is usually seen presenting to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. This gift of a scimitar ๐“Œ›๐“บ is usually meant to ensure military victories!

The god ๐“Šน Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ gained popularity during the Middle Kingdom, however, it was during the New Kingdom (18th Dynasty in particular) that Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ became the most important/most prominent god ๐“Šน in the Egyptian pantheon. Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ had many different roles and was worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข as a creator god, solar god, fertility god, warrior god, and king of the gods. Amunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ is also considered the โ€œuniversal godโ€ meaning that his power permeated the cosmos and all that the cosmos contained! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Magical Stelae – “Cippus”

These pieces are known as Magical Stelae, or a Cippus.

The Cippus depicts Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ (or technically Harpokrates ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ๐“…ฎ๐“„ฟ๐“„ก๐“‚‹๐“‚ง๐“€”๐“€ญ, the Greek version of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ) standing on two ๐“ป crocodiles ๐“…“๐“‹ด๐“Ž›๐“†Œ๐“ฅ and holding other dangerous animals such as snakes ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜๐“ช and scorpions ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“†ซ๐“ช in each hand. The god ๐“Šน Bes ๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“„œ also appears above Horusโ€™ ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ head ๐“ถ๐“บ. Bes ๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“„œ was known to ward off evil ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…จ and bad luck.ย 

Normally, stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ were used to commemorate the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ so a Cippus is almost like a protective amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† in the form of a stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ. This Cippus was used by the living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช for protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ. Since the Old Kingdom, Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ was called upon as a defender against snake ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜ or scorpion ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“†ซ bites. Placing the Cippus on a wound would evoke its magical ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ and healing powers. Cippus stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ like this were usually kept in homes ๐“‰๐“ฆ due to their protective nature.

Cippus pieces have also been found in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช, so we can assume that the Egyptians thought it not only would help protect ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ the living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช , but the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ too. 

One thing I love about this display at the Louvre is now all of the Cippus pieces are together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š— in one single case! I also think the one in the middle, the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of the man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค holding a Cippus is very unique; this was the first time I saw a statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ like that! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Boat of Mutemwia

This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is dedicated to Mutemwia ๐“๐“…๐“…“๐“Šž who was a minor wife ๐“‚‘๐“๐“ of Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ and mother ๐“…๐“๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž .ย 

This statue was originally meant to show Mutemwia ๐“๐“…๐“…“๐“Šž on a sacred boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž(her body has been broken off). The boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž has the goddess Hathor ๐“‰ก on the front. The sides of the boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž are inscribed with the name and titles of Mutemwia ๐“๐“…๐“…“๐“Šž along with a carving of the Wedjat ๐“‚€. Cartouches showing the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ of Mutemwia ๐“๐“…๐“…“๐“Šž and Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  are also inscribed on the boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž. 

Mutemwia ๐“๐“…๐“…“๐“Šž held many titles such as the โ€œGreat Kingโ€™s Wife His Beloved ๐“‡“๐“๐“๐“ˆž๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“๐“ˆ˜๐“†‘,โ€ โ€œLady of the Two Lands ๐“Ž›๐“Œ๐“๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ,โ€ โ€œGodโ€™s Mother ๐“Šน๐“…,โ€ and โ€œKingโ€™s Mother ๐“‡“๐“….โ€ The latter two titles mean the same thing – since the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป (Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž ) was a god ๐“Šน on Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ. 

Something interesting though that these titles listed above were only used after the death of Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ. It seems that Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  elevated his motherโ€™s ๐“…๐“๐“ status when he became the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. In the Luxor Temple, Mutemwia ๐“๐“…๐“…“๐“Šž is depicted in the reliefs of the divine birth of Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  – and these reliefs are almost an exact copy of the ones from the divine birth of Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช at Deir el-Bahri ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹๐“‚ฆ๐“ฅ๐“‰. 

The boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž is made of the rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ granodiorite, which is an igneous (volcanic) rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ that is kind of the mix of both granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ and diorite. Granodiorite is an intrusive rock, meaning it formed underground, which also makes it a very strong and durable piece of material! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Large Scarab at the British Museum

This is definitely the largest scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ that I have ever seen!ย  I was shocked when I saw just how big it was in the British Museum! I have honestly never seen anything like it in any of the other museums I have visited!

This scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ represented Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€ญ. Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€ญ the god ๐“Šน that was associated with the โ€œrising of the sun ๐“…ƒ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญโ€ (these hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช translate to โ€œsun at dawnโ€) and thus he is associated with life ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“ and rebirth. Scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช were extremely popular as amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช, and were considered to have the strongest ๐“„‡๐“๐“‚๐“ญ protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ powers. 

The โ€œscarab beetle ๐“†ฃโ€ hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ symbol is a determinative, ideogram and phonogram symbol! It is associated with the sound แธซpr (like โ€œKheperโ€) is also used to write the words “evolve,โ€ โ€œmanifestation,โ€ and “become.”

From a geologic perspective, this scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ is made of the rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ diorite.  Diorite is an intrusive igneous rock (meaning it forms underground from the solidification of magma). Diorite is an extremely durable rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ (one of the strongest found on Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ), and is comparable to granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ in terms of strength and method of formation.  

However, diorite usually doesn’t contain a lot quartz ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“ˆ™, a very strong ๐“„‡๐“๐“‚๐“ญ mineral which is abundant in granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ, hence the difference between the two ๐“ป rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ. One of the reasons why this scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ is so well preserved, is probably due to the strength of the diorite!  Diorite, like granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ, was usually mined by the Egyptians in Aswan ๐“‹ด๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“ฒ๐“Œ•๐“Š–

As you all know, ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– is one of my biggest passions, however I actually have degrees in Earth and Environmental science! I love combining my passions for Egyptian history and geology together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—!