Month: July 2022

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Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of Pharaoh Pepy II and his Mother

Pharaoh Pepy II ๐“Šช๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“‡‹ ruled during Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– 6th Dynasty (Old Kingdom). He became pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป at only six years old, and his mother ๐“…๐“๐“ (Ankhnes-meryre II) served as his co-regent. His throne name, Neferkare ๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“‚“ means โ€œThe Soul of Re is beautiful.โ€

Pepy IIโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“‡‹ reign actually marked the decline of the Old Kingdom – this was due to the fact that the power and influence of the governors (also called nomarchs) were growing, so the powers of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป declined. Since there was no strong central power, chaos began to erupt amongst the nomarchs.

This alabaster piece at the Brooklyn Museum is one of the more famous representations of Pepy II ๐“Šช๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“‡‹ and his mother ๐“…๐“๐“, mostly because the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ has two โ€œfrontโ€ sides!! The statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ shows Pepy II ๐“Šช๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“‡‹ seated in his motherโ€™s ๐“…๐“๐“ lap. By placing Pepy II ๐“Šช๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“‡‹ and his mother ๐“…๐“๐“ in opposite directions, it creates a multi-view statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ! This is very different than other art from the Old Kingdom!

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Throne Name of Amenhotep III in Hieroglyphs

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

Today we are going to be looking at the cartouche of the throne name of pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“‹พ๐“‹†! Amenhotep III ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“‹พ๐“‹† ruled during the 18th Dynasty and his rule ๐“‹พ was a time of prosperity for Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, especially in regards to the arts and international influence!

This piece pictured is a reconstruction of the original by the MET – the blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ pieces are original, but the gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ and plaster are not. 

Letโ€™s take a closer look at the symbols in the cartouche: 

๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  – Nebmaatra (Possessor of the Truth of Ra or Possessor of the Maat of Ra) 

The โ€œ๐“‡ณ sun discโ€ symbol is an ideogram for โ€œraโ€ or โ€œre,โ€ but can also be a determinative in words such as sun, day, and time. The single symbol alone (like in cartouches) would be pronounced like โ€œraโ€ or โ€œre.โ€

The โ€œ๐“ง goddess with a featherโ€ symbol is a determinative in the name of the goddess Maat, and is also an ideogram for Maat. The single symbol alone would be pronounced like โ€œMaat.โ€

The โ€œ๐“Ž  basketโ€ is a biliteral phonogram symbol that has the sound of โ€œnb,โ€ which is inferred to be pronounced like โ€œneb.โ€ The ๐“ŽŸ alone can also mean the word โ€œLord,โ€ especially in the titles that come before a pharaohโ€™s cartouche. 

Now, reading three symbol cartouches can be confusing – sometimes you start with the middle symbol, sometimes you start with the last symbol. There is no way to know for sure – it comes with practice!

Fun Fact: Amenhotep III ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“‹พ๐“‹† was the fatherย ๐“‡‹๐“๐“€€ย of Akhenatenย ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Montu in Hieroglyphs

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

Today we are going to learn how to read the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the god ๐“Šน Montuย ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ!ย Montuย ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“€ญย was a war god and was worshipped widely during the 11th Dynasty/Middle Kingdom.ย 

A closeup of the name “Montu” in hieroglyphs from a stela at the MET

The โ€œ๐“  game board and piecesโ€ is a phonogram sign. It is a biliteral sign, which means that it represents two consonants. The โ€œ ๐“ โ€ is associated with the sound โ€œmnโ€ which could be pronounced like โ€œmen,โ€ โ€œmun,โ€ โ€œmon,โ€ etc. 

The โ€œripple of water ๐“ˆ–โ€ is also a phonogram sign, except it is uniliteral sign, which means that it just represents one consonant. The โ€œ๐“ˆ–โ€ is associated with the sound of โ€œn!โ€ 

The โ€œ๐“ฟ hobble/tieโ€ is also a uniliteral phonogram sign. The โ€œ๐“ฟโ€ is associated with the sounds of โ€œแนฏโ€ or โ€œt.โ€ 

The โ€œQuail Chick ๐“…ฑโ€ is a super popular symbol! It is a uniliteral symbol that is representative of the sound w/u, and it is also an ideogram for the word โ€œchick ๐“…ฑ๐“บ.โ€

The final symbol in the name, โ€œ๐“€ญ seated god,โ€ is one that is not pronounced! This is a determinative symbol, which means that it is a symbol used to show the general meaning of the word! It is basically used as punctuation at the end of the word to show you that it is over!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Vessels of Pepy II

Here are some vessels from the MET that are from the rule of Pepy II ๐“Šช๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“‡‹. Made of alabaster, the purpose of these vessels was to keep cosmetic oils cool.

In the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ above, on the middle vessel you can see Pepy IIโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“‡‹ cartouche. On the vessel to the left, you can see his throne name, Neferkare ๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“‚“, which means โ€œthe soul of Re is beautiful.โ€

In the picture๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ above, the vessel on the right is a little more clear. You can see Pepy IIโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“‡‹ cartouche, however the title ๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ, โ€œSon of Ra,โ€ is also embedded in the cartouche instead of on top of it. This was a stylistic thing that occurred during the Old Kingdom. However, the title ๐“†ฅ, โ€œKing of Upper and Lower Egyptโ€ is present before the cartouche in this instance. The placement of the hieroglyphs can be super interesting!

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Blog

Ushabti Friends!

Just hanging out with my ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ friends!

Me and the Ushabti display at the Brooklyn Museum!

I love ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ so much, and itโ€™s probably because my Nonno loved them. If you canโ€™t tell, Iโ€™m really happy in this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ – even with the mask on you can tell Iโ€™m smiling big!

Nonno always pointed them out in museums and he would tell me stories about how the ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ were buried with the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช so they could do chores in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ and I thought that was so cool! I also liked them because they reminded me of little dolls!

As the display shows, ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ come in all different sizes and colors. Depending on the time period they were also made of varying materials such as faience, clay, limestone or sometimes even bronze (which is much rarer).

The ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ(most of the time people were buried with 365 worker ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ -one for each day ๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“บ๐“‡ณ of the year and then also a bunch of overseer ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ) often had spells inscribed on them which showed the task they were responsible for!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Two Sides of the Same Coffin!

Dedication to Osiris on a coffin at the Brooklyn Museum

In the picture above, you can see a dedication to Osiris – ๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™ ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ ๐“ŽŸ๐“Šฝ๐“‚ง๐“…ฑ๐“Š– – โ€œAn offering the king gives Osiris, Lord of Djeduโ€

Djedu ๐“Šฝ๐“‚ง๐“…ฑ๐“Š– refers to the birthplace of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. The eyes ๐“น๐“๐“ฆ on this side of the sarcophagus would allow the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ to see outside of it!

Dedication to Anubis on a coffin at the Brooklyn Museum

In the picture above, you can see a dedication to Anubis – ๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ ๐“ถ๐“บ๐“ˆ‹ ๐“†‘ – โ€œAn offering the king gives Anubis, upon his hill…โ€

โ€œUpon his hillโ€ is in reference to Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ being the god ๐“Šน of cemeteries, and looking over cemeteries from the cliff or hill above it!

Why dedications to Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ and Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ?! They are the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน most commonly associated with death!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Sandstone Stela of Rameses II

This is a large sandstone stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ of Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“.

Sandstone Stela of Rameses II at the Brooklyn Museum

The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช talk about how Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ founded the town of Meriamun, and how he established the cult of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– there. The stela was a way to commemorate Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ presenting statues to the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“บ๐“‡ณ.

The image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows (from left to right) Mut ๐“๐“„ฟ๐“€ญ, Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–, and Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“. Rameses II can be seen wearing the blue crown, also known as the khepresh ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ crown which was very popular among New Kingdom pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป! Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ is receiving symbols of kingship (the crook ๐“‹พ) from the god ๐“Šน Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–. This is meant to represent that Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– saw Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ as a legitimate ruler! The pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป believed that they were direct descendants of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–(in the 18th – 19th Dynasties Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– kind of replaces Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ in popularity as king of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน) and that they were gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน on Earth.

This stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ is quite large (Iโ€™m 5โ€™5โ€)! It was also really cool that five ๐“พ of Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ names appear on this stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ! This was probably meant to show that while he was a divine figure, he also had very human qualities!

Sandstone Stela of Rameses II at the Brooklyn Museum (and me)!
Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Statue of Senwosret III

This is a black granite statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of the 12th ๐“Ž†๐“ป Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Senwosret III ๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“. Senwosret III ๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ is thought to be the most powerful pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of the 12th ๐“Ž†๐“ป Dynasty because his successful military campaigns gave rise to an era of peace ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช. Peace ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช led to economic prosperity, and this led to a newfound revival in artistry and craft works.

Statue of Senwosret III at the Brooklyn Museum

This newfound artistry during this time period then led to some new styles in how the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป was portrayed in statuary. The statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Senwosret III ๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ are so distinctive that they can be immediately recognized as his, even without reading the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช. Some parts of the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ are realistic, like the protruding eye sockets and the lines on his face, while some features, like the young and strong torso, are most likely idealized. Egyptologists can only speculate on why he was portrayed this way – some argue that itโ€™s because Senwosret III ๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ wanted to be seen as human before divine.

This statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ in particular shows Senwosret III ๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ wearing the royal nemes ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด headcloth. Beneath his feet are nine bows – each meant to represent one of Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– enemies. Since the enemies are beneath his feet, it shows successful defeat by the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป!

In the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, you can see his Horus name๐“…ƒ๐“Š[๐“Šน ๐“†ฃ๐“…ฑ] which I think means โ€œHorus in divine form.โ€ Also, you can see his prenomen or โ€œthrone nameโ€ which is marked by the ๐“†ฅ (he of the sedge and the bee aka King of Upper and Lower Egypt) hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช before the cartouche. ๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ means โ€œthe Souls of Ra have returned.โ€

Statue of Senwosret III at the Brooklyn Museum
Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Ancient Egyptian “Tom and Jerry”

I refer to this piece as the โ€œAncient Egyptian version of Tom and Jerryโ€!”

“Cat and Mouse” Ostraca at the Brooklyn Museum.

This is an ostracon (or ostraca), which is pretty much a sketch on a limestone fragment. Instead of using papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“›(which was expensive) to practice drawing, the ancient Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ artists or scribes ๐“Ÿ๐“€€ would use pieces of limestone. It is dated to the 19th-20th Dynasties, aka the Ramesside Period.

Whatโ€™s funny about this is it shows the mouse being served or attended to by the cat ๐“…“๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“ƒ . The cat ๐“…“๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“ƒ  is presenting the mouse with a goose as an offering ๐“๐“Šต while also fanning him. Itโ€™s almost like an opposite because the cat ๐“…“๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“ƒ  is usually the predator while the mouse is the prey. This could have been some type of satire on the elite during the Ramesside period, or a visual representation of a fable that is now lost. Many ostraca from this time period show animals doing human activities!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Painting of Tjepu

This well preserved painting of a beautiful woman ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ named Tjepu is from the 18th Dynasty (rule of Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž ) and was originally found in the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of her son ๐“…ญ. Tjepu is seen in lavish 18th Dynasty style clothing – including a wig, lots of jewelry and a linen ๐“ฑ dress.

Painting of Tjepu at the Brooklyn Museum

When creating tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ art, Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ artists did not โ€œrealisticallyโ€ depict how people actually looked. Instead, they showed people as being eternally youthful. Basically, the artists made people look their best so they could be at their best in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰! While Tjepu would have been around 40 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† years old at the time that this painting was completed, she was definitely not shown as being 40 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†.