I am standing in front of the Name ๐๐ Panels for the Middle Kingdom Pharaoh ๐๐ป Senwosret I ๐๐ด๐๐๐๐. These panels were originally part of his pyramid ๐๐ ๐๐ด complex and were reconstructed from many pieces that were found during excavations.
Senwosret Iโs ๐๐ด๐๐๐๐ throne name, Kheperkare ๐ณ๐ฃ๐, is seen multiple times along with his Horus name โ๐น๐โ which means โliving in births.โ
These large panels represent the world ๐พ๐พ according to Egyptian religious beliefs. The falcon god ๐น Horus ๐ ๐ญ is seen at the top of all the panels because the sky ๐ช๐๐ฏ is the realm of Horus ๐ ๐ญ. Beneath the sky ๐ช๐๐ฏ is the realm of the pharaoh ๐๐ป, or the โtwo lands ๐ฟ๐ฟ.โ Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐ was always referred to as the two lands ๐ฟ๐ฟ due to the distinction between Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt.
This beautifully ๐ค painted sarcophagus ๐๐น๐๐๐ญ belonged to a woman ๐๐๐๐๐ named Madja who lived during the 18th Dynasty (c. 1550 – c. 1069 BCE). The sarcophagus ๐๐น๐๐๐ญ was found in a cemetery in West Thebes ๐๐๐, which overlooked Deir el-Medina.
The thing that is most striking about the sarcophagus ๐๐น๐๐๐ญ is how the painted images ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ฆ stand out in contrast to the white ๐๐๐ณ background. On the bottom there are four ๐ฝ panels, each with different images. From the lest you can see the Eye of Horus ๐ on a shrine, two ๐ป female ๐๐๐๐๐ mourners, and two ๐ป priestesses ๐น๐๐๐ฆ with the sarcophagus ๐๐น๐๐๐ญ. On the middle panels are two ๐ปtimages ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ฆ of the god ๐น Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ on top of a shrine.
The hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช going down the middle of the lid consist of the standard funerary offering formula:
๐๐๐ต๐๐ฉ๐น๐ญ๐๐ฝ๐ฝ๐๐ ฑ๐๐น๐ป๐๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ – โAn offering the king gives Osiris, Lord of Djedu, the Great God, Lord of Abydos, Given a voice offering of…โ
โ๐ฉ๐น๐ญโ is not a common variation of Osirisโ name ๐๐ but it can be seen on a lot of 18th Dynasty sarcophagi.
๐ฝ๐ฝ๐๐ ฑ๐ is also a variation of Djedu which is more commonly written as โ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ ฑ๐.โ
I got this book, โKing Tut: The Journey Through The Underworld,โ at the MET gift shop on my birthday this year (thanks Mom and Dad ๐) and to say I absolutely loved it is an understatement!
I almost didnโt get the book because โKing Tutโ was in the title and his mask was on the cover! And thatโs not because I donโt love King Tut – I absolutely love Tutankhamunโs story, the story of his tomb, etc! I already have so many books specifically about Tutankhamun that I didnโt need another one!! Iโm thankful my Mom pointed this one out to me and told me to just skim through it because she wanted to buy it for me! It is now one of my favorite books that I own!
First off, this book is absolutely gorgeous. The photographs are spectacular! While โKing Tutโ is in the title, the book isnโt just focused on him or his tomb (although the picture focused on him are incredible in their own right) – there are photographs from many different Egyptian tombs, temples, and artifacts from across Egyptโs history.
Secondly, I love how the book is organized into chapters that go in the exact order a person would go through on their journey to the afterlife. The text has the beautiful pictures to demonstrate the journey to the reader and makes this central aspect of the ancient Egyptian religion/culture come alive. This book is also wonderful for people like me who have read about this subject for years, but also for people who are just starting to learn.
While this book is definitely geared more towards adults, the photographs can be enjoyed by Egyptologists of all ages! I know I would have loved this book as a kid because of the photographs and how the journey to the afterlife was divided into chapters (I read at a high level as a kid, but the reading level of this book is more like 9th grade and up).
Overall, I think this is a fantastic book and something I would definitely recommend if you are interested in ancient Egyptian funerary beliefs! Also, if you enjoyed Moon Knight and want to learn more about the actual Egyptian afterlife, this would be a great supplemental read!
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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.
This is a really interesting piece from the British Museum!
It is a sandstone ๐๐ ฑ๐ง๐๐๐ statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ of a falcon ๐๐๐ก๐ headed sphinx ๐๐ ฑ๐ญ๐ค! Usually sphinxes ๐๐ ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ are depicted as being the body of a lion ๐ณ๐น๐ฟ๐ with the head ๐ถ๐บ of a man ๐๐๐ค, but obviously this one is quite different!
This particular statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ is dated to c. 1250 B.C.E.; the reign of Rameses II ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ด๐. This sphinx ๐๐ ฑ๐ญ๐ค and many other similar ones used to stand guard at Rameses IIโs ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ด๐ temple ๐๐๐ at Abu Simbel.
Sphinxes ๐๐ ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ are incredibly powerful creatures because not only do they represent the physical strength ๐๐๐๐ญ of a lion ๐ณ๐น๐ฟ๐, but also the power of a pharaoh ๐๐ป. While the pharaohโs ๐๐ป head ๐ถ๐บ isnโt represented on this sphinx ๐๐ ฑ๐ญ๐ค, a falcon is. Falcons ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฆ are associated with the god ๐น Horus ๐ ๐ญ, who is the personification of the pharaohโs ๐๐ป power. Since one of Horusโ ๐ ๐ญ roles is as the god ๐น of pharaonic power, it makes sense that sphinxes ๐๐ ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ can also represent pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฆ while using a falcon ๐๐๐ก๐ head ๐ถ๐บ.
This is one of the more interesting pieces that I have ever seen in a museum! I donโt believe I have seen anything like it outside of the Petrie Museum in London! It combines two of my favorite things – ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ and Egyptian jewelry!
This broad collar ๐ ฑ๐ด๐๐บ๐ is dated to the 21st Dynasty (Third Intermediate Period c. 1069 – 747 B.C.E.). There are 62 ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ป faience ๐ฃ๐๐๐ธ๐ผ ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ that make up their broad collar ๐ ฑ๐ด๐๐บ๐ and they come in green ๐ ๐ฟ๐๐ and blue ๐๐น๐๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฅ colors! The ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ are about 4cm in height so they are pretty tiny! I love tiny things so tiny ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ to me are just so cute!! There are also beads of many different colors that adorn the broad collar ๐ ฑ๐ด๐๐บ๐.
Normally, ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ were buried with the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ and were meant to be their servants in the afterlife ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐. I do not know if the ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ in this broad collar are supposed to be worker ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ or are for adorning a mummy ๐๐น๐ ฑ๐พ for burial!
Normally ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ are buried in shabti boxes and inscribed with a spell that tells you what their function was. When Osiris ๐น๐จ ๐ญ called upon the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ for labor, the deceased would say the spell on the ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ and it would come to life and perform the labor in place of the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ!
As a kid I really loved ushabtis ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ because they reminded me of little dolls and my Nonno used to tell me stories about them! He loved them too and he made leaning about them so much fun!
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!
Hereโs another piece from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology! This is a small limestone ๐๐๐๐ stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ of the pharaoh ๐๐ป Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ (by small, I mean it is only about 8.5cm in height)!
While the image ๐๐ ฑ๐ is very crudely drawn, it is quite obvious that we are looking at Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ here because art during the period of his rule was incredibly unique! On the stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ, Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ can be seen standing in front of two ๐ป vases of incense with his arms raised in a worshipping position. The Sun ๐ณ๐บ, or the Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ, can be seen above Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ head ๐ถ๐บ.
The Petrie Museum has a lot of unique pieces from Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ reign because Petrie helped to excavate Amarna, which the place in modern-day Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐ where Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ moved the capital to (the capital of Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐ was originally in Thebes ๐๐๐). The new capital was called Akhetaton โHorizon of the Atenโ and it was established ~1332 B.C.E., around the time when the Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ was declared to be the only god ๐น.
One of the reasons I enjoyed my trip to the Petrie Museum so much was being able to see all of these unique pieces that really canโt be seen in other museums! Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ is my second favorite pharaoh ๐๐ป, so I really enjoyed seeing all of the Amarna-era pieces!
This statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ of Rameses II ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ด๐ is one of the largest Egyptian artifacts in the British Museum. The piece is definitely grand, and is even more beautiful ๐ค in person. Rameses II ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ด๐ was Egyptโs ๐๐ ๐๐ most prolific builder, so it makes sense that objects made in his likeness are also grand!
Nicole (me) with the Statue of Rameses II at the British Museum
Rameses II ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ด๐ came to the throne after the death ๐ ๐๐ฑ of his father Seti I ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ , and ruled Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐ as pharaoh ๐๐ป for about 67 years. He was the third pharaoh ๐๐ป of the 19th Dynasty, and is often referred to as โRameses The Greatโ because he built ๐๐ค๐ ฑ๐ด๐ง more monuments than any other pharaoh ๐๐ป and ruled longer than any other pharaoh ๐๐ป.
The monuments attributed to Rameses II ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ด๐ are some of the best preserved in all of Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐ – it seems that he got his wish to be remembered even so long after his death ๐ ๐๐ฑ. Rameses II ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ด๐ built ๐๐ค๐ ฑ๐ด๐ง as much as he could so he could ensure that his name ๐๐ lived on. He also usurped a lot of other previous pharaohsโ ๐๐ป๐ฆ monuments too!
Geology time!!!! This statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ was cut from pink/gray granite ๐๐๐๐๐ณ๐ฟ. Granite ๐๐๐๐๐ณ๐ฟ is an extremely strong rock ๐๐๐๐ and resistant to weathering due to its high quartz content (hence why it is used to make countertops in modern times), so that is why the details on this are so well preserved.
This piece was excavated by Belzoni and was originally from Rameses IIโs ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ด๐ mortuary temple ๐๐๐ at Thebes ๐๐๐ (aka the Ramesseum).
This is a stunning ๐ค statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ of the pharaoh ๐๐ป Rameses IV ๐ณ๐พ๐ฆ who ruled during Egyptโs ๐๐ ๐๐ 20th Dynasty. He is depicted in a kneeling position with offering pots ๐ (for wine or water) in each of his hands. I always find this depiction of a pharaoh ๐๐ป fascinating because pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฆ are considered gods ๐น๐น๐น so they shouldnโt kneel for anyone – except another god ๐น!
The god ๐น that Rameses IV ๐ณ๐พ๐ฆ is making an offering ๐ต๐๐ช๐๐ to is most likely Amun-Ra ๐๐ ๐๐บ๐ณ, since Amun-Ra ๐๐ ๐๐บ๐ณ is mentioned in hieroglyphic texts ๐๐๐ฅ on the back panel of the statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ.
The cartouches for Rameses IVโs nomen (birth name) ๐ณ๐๐๐ and prenomen (throne name) ๐ณ๐พ๐ฆ are on each shoulder. There are many different variants of the nomen and prenomen, so these are not they only way his name ๐๐ appears on monuments! I just used the ones that were also used on the statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ itself! The different ways to write the names ๐๐๐ฆ of pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฆ are called โvariants.โ
While the original provenance isnโt known, it is most likely that they statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ is originally from Amun-Raโs ๐๐ ๐๐บ๐ณ temple ๐๐๐ at Karnak. Rameses IV ๐ณ๐พ๐ฆ was one of the pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฆ who contributed to the decoration of Hypostyle Hall!
