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Reading Hieroglyphs

One Thousand in Hieroglyphs!

Happy 1,000 ๐“†ผ Posts to my Instagram @ancientegyptblog ! To celebrate this momentous occasion, letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to be looking at the โ€œlotus plant ๐“†ผโ€ symbol! The โ€œlotus plant ๐“†ผโ€ has many functions in Middle Egyptian and it is a symbol you will see a lot!

One Thousand in Hieroglyphs
The “Lotus Plant” symbol which is used to write the number one thousand in hieroglyphs!

The most common way you will see the โ€œlotus plant ๐“†ผโ€ symbol used is when it is used as an ideogram to represent the number โ€œone thousand ๐“†ผ.โ€

For example:ย 

๐“†ผ – 1,000

๐“†ผ๐“†ผ – 2,000

๐“†ผ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ – 3,000

One Thousand in Hieroglyphs
How many times do you see “one thousand” written in the inscription above? Read to the bottom of the post to see the answer!

Used in a sentence (the Offering Formula), it looks like this:

๐“‰“๐“†ผ๐“๐“Š๐“†ผ๐“ƒพ๐“…ฟ๐“†ผ๐“ฑ๐“‹ฒ

โ€œ A voice offering ๐“‰“ (of) a thousand ๐“†ผ bread ๐“ and beer ๐“Š, a thousand ๐“†ผ ox ๐“ƒพ and fowl ๐“…ฟ, a thousand ๐“†ผ alabaster ๐“ฑ and linen ๐“‹ฒ.โ€

The Offering Formula on stelae ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ๐“ฆ and False Doors will be the most common way you will see this symbol in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ! 

The โ€œlotus plant ๐“†ผโ€ is a biliteral phonogram and represents the sound โ€œแธซ3.โ€ The โ€œlotus plant ๐“†ผโ€ symbol can also be simply used as an ideogram for the word โ€œlotus plant ๐“†ผ๐“บ.โ€

Some words that can be written with the โ€œlotus plant ๐“†ผโ€ are:

๐“†ผ๐“…ก๐“‹ด๐“‡ผ๐“‡ผ๐“‡ผ – Starry Sky

๐“†ผ๐“๐“‰๐“ญ – Office

๐“๐“†ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“ฃ – Illness/Disease

๐“‹ด๐“†ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ – To Remember

I cannot believe itโ€™s been almost four ๐“ฝ years since I stated this account, let alone the fact that I have written 1,000 ๐“†ผ posts about ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! Thatโ€™s a lot of โ€œLetโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช,โ€ mythology, art, pharaohs, and talking about my Nonno!

Pharaoh Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  was buried with over 1,000 ๐“†ผ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ so now I have as many posts as Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  had ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ!

The answer to the question above is: four times!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Necklace of Princess Sithathoryuet

This beautiful ๐“„ค necklace ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“‹ 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 pyramid.ย 

Necklace of Princess Sithathoryuet
The Necklace of Princess Sithathoryuet

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 ๐“‚๐“๐“ข behind! 

The necklace ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“‹ is made out of gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰, carnelian (stone with a red color), lapis lazuli ๐“๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“‚ง๐“ง, turquoise ๐“…“๐“†‘๐“‚“๐“๐“ˆ“, green feldspar, and garnet ๐“„‘๐“›๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“Œณ๐“„ฟ๐“…“๐“ฒ๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ! 

Letโ€™s take a look at all of the beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ symbolism and imagery ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ that is compressed into this piece!

Necklace of Princess Sithathoryuet
A closeup of the Necklace of Princess Sithathoryuet highlighting the intricate design.

The necklace ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“‹ is centered around the throne name cartouche of Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Senwosret II ๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ๐“†ฃ.

Each side is symmetrical, and if we start by looking at the outermost part, the Falcon represents the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ god ๐“Šน Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› and he is is holding a shen ๐“ถ symbol. The shen ๐“ถ symbol is a circle of rope that is tied at the end. The tied rope symbolizes the completeness and eternity ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› of the reign of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. 

There are two Ankh ๐“‹น symbols that are hanging on two cobras ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜๐“ช who are representative of Nekhbet ๐“‡‘๐“ƒ€๐“๐“…๐“ŽŸ and Wadjet ๐“‡…๐“‡Œ๐“๐“†˜, two traditional goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ who are protectors of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. Underneath the cartouche is the god ๐“Šน Heh ๐“จ, who is the personification of infinity and eternity ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›. His hieroglyphic symbol is actually the symbol for the number โ€œone million ๐“จ,โ€ thus ensuring that the kingโ€™s rule is eternal ๐“†–. 

Underneath the god ๐“Šน Heh ๐“จ, are stones arranged to look like the โ€œripple of water ๐“ˆ–โ€ hieroglyph, which is representative of the primordial waters that the land came from in the Egyptian creation myth. Much like the water ๐“ˆ— of the Nile ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ supported Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, the primordial waters support this piece!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut

A couple of weeks ago I asked on my Instagram if there was an object people wanted to see more of, and someone suggested the Maned Sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ of Hatshepsut ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“, so here it is!ย 

Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut
I took a selfie with the Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut!

Pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ were commonly represented as sphinxes ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ฆ in ancient Egyptian art for many reasons. A sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ is a mythical creature that has the body of a lion ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„› and the head of a human. In ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, lions ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„›๐“ช have been associated with kingship ๐“‡“๐“‡Œ since prehistoric times due to their strength ๐“Œ€ and ferocity. The sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ was the perfect representation of the strength ๐“Œ€ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป due to its lion ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„› body, while the face still preserved the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of the king ๐“‡“ himself/herself.ย 

A closeup of the hieroglyphs on the Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut.

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

(๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“) – Maatkare

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– – Amun

๐“Œบ๐“๐“‡Œ – Beloved

๐“‹น๐“๐“™- Life Given

๐“†– – Eternity

โ€œMaatkare, Beloved of Amun, Given Life for Eternity.โ€

I know this is strange, but โ€œGiven Lifeโ€ is actually written backwards! It should be โ€œ๐“™๐“‹นโ€ not โ€œ๐“‹น๐“™โ€ as itโ€™s written (this inscription is read from right to left, because thatโ€™s the way the directional symbols are pointing). 

Thereโ€™s also an added ๐“, which makes it the feminine form! Thereโ€™s a second sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค just like this one in the Cairo Museum, and on that sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค, there is no added ๐“! Why would one sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค use the feminine form and one use the masculine?! We will probably never know!ย 

Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut
The hieroglyphs on the Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut with their English translation next to them!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Fragment of Akhenaten

This is a fragment of what used to be a limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of the pharaoh Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–! This (and many others like it) were found during Flinders Petrie and Howard Carterโ€™s excavation at present-day Amarna in 1891, which in ancient times was called Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–. Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– was the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–.ย 

Fragment of Akhenaten
A Fragment of Akhenaten – many of Akhenaten’s statues were intentionally destroyed after his reign

Many of Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช not only have the faces destroyed, but are also in hundreds of pieces. This deliberate destruction of his statuary was an attempt to destroy his image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ so he would be forgotten from history. Images/statues of a person, and the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a person held immense power in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– so if a name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– and image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ was destroyed, its power was removed!ย 

A Fragment of Akhenaten – a front view of the statue where the extent of the damage to his face can be clearly seen.

Why did Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– successors want his image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ destroyed? Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is infamous for completely changing the Egyptian pantheon from polytheistic worship of the traditional gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน to the monotheistic worship of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ and people definitely did not like that! When Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– son, Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ became the pharaoh, he reinstated the old religion and moved the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– back to Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š–. 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Blog

In Memory of Nonno

February 12th is an extremely difficult day for me, as it has been four years since my Nonno passed away. Everything I do is in memory of Nonno. Below is an excerpt of a speech I gave honoring my Nonno at one of his services:ย 

I have always told people that my Nonno is my favorite person and my favorite teacher.ย  Iโ€™ll tell everyone I meet how much I love my Nonno and Nonna.ย  Nonno and I shared a love of ancient Egyptian history and this common interest created such a bond between us. My best childhood memories are the two of us looking through one of his hundreds of books in the basement while we sat at his desk or on the couch.ย  Half of the books in my own collection are actually his. Either because he gave them to me, or because I just took them.

In Memory of Nonno
Nonno and I in September 2013

The best day of my life was when we finally got to walk the streets of Pompeii together.ย  I had been waiting my whole life for those couple of hours. My sister said to me โ€œhe had been waiting his whole life for someone to care about that stuff as much as himโ€ and she was so right.ย 

In Memory of Nonno
Nonno and I walking the streets of Pompeii together. This is my favorite picture of us.

My cousin said to me โ€œeravete โ€“ e sempre sarete un team bellissimo.โ€ You have been and always will be the most beautiful team. And we are. We are the book hoarding, history loving, rock collecting, Italian speaking, Pompeii exploring, drive the rest of the family crazy in museums team. And we always will be.

In Memory of Nonno
Nonno and I outside of Circus Maximus in Rome. My Nonno loved Roman chariots and chariot races!

While there are no words to describe my Nonno, I want to share something I wrote over 25 years ago, that he still has proudly displayed: 

My Nonno

My Nonno is so funny

He is very very silly

I love my Nonno very much

In Memory of Nonno
A poem I wrote about my Nonno on his cabinet.

โ€”โ€”

Iโ€™ve been listening to the song โ€œIl tuo sguardo mancaโ€ by Il Volo a lot leading up to today because the song really describes a lot of my emotions about my Nonnoโ€™s death. This line in particular: โ€œma non passa un attimo, che il tuo sguardo manca in ogni strada, ogni cittร , dovunque vadoโ€ hits especially hard because it is so true.

This whole website, my Instagram page, and everything I do is in memory of Nonno.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Tyet Knot and Djed Pillar

This beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ art is from a Roman Period mummy mask of a woman and is dated to 60 – 70 A.D. Itโ€™s always incredible to me how art that is just about 2000 years old has paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ and colors that still look brand new! This art shows two Tyet Knots ๐“Žฌ and a Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ (middle).ย 

Tyet Knot and Djed Pillar
Two Tyet Knots (right and left) and a Djed Pillar (middle) on a Roman mummy mask

The origin of the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ is most likely from the predynastic times while Tyet Knot ๐“Žฌ is from the First Dynasty/Early Dynastic Period. This means that these symbols were over 3000 years old when this mask was made! It always amazes me how the same religious symbols just persisted through Egyptian history! 

The Tyet Knot ๐“Žฌ, also known as the Isis knot ๐“Žฌ, was considered a very strong symbol of protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ and came to be associated with Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ. The Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช believed that knots ๐“Žฌ were able to bind and then release magic ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ.

The Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ represents the word and concept of Stability in ancient Egypt. The Djed pillar ๐“Šฝ is thought to be the spine ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“๐“„ฆ of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, hence why it takes on the meaning of โ€œstability.โ€ 

The Isis Knots ๐“Žฌ  and the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ were also mostly used in a funerary context, such as amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ฆ that were placed on mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช or as part of spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ in the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ. 

While both the Tyet Knot ๐“Žฌ and Djed Pillar appear in art frequently, they are also both hieroglyphic symbols and appear in inscriptions! 

The โ€œreed column ๐“Šฝโ€ more commonly known as the โ€œDjed Pillarโ€ is a biliteral phonogram that has the sound โ€œแธdโ€ which sounds like โ€œDjed.โ€ It also functions as an ideogram for โ€œStability.โ€ 

The โ€œtie ๐“Žฌโ€ is an ideogram for โ€œTyet Knot ๐“Žฌโ€ or โ€œIsis Knot ๐“Žฌโ€ and is a triliteral phonogram associated with the sound โ€œtjtโ€ which would be pronounced like โ€œtyet.โ€ย 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Reading Hieroglyphs

“Everything Perfect and Pure Which a God Lives Onโ€ย 

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

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to be looking at an inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– that appears along the top line on a Middle Kingdom era coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ! This phrase does appear pretty frequently across funerary equipment (stelae, coffin) so it is definitely a good one to know! 

We will start reading the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– on the right since the directional symbols point to the right!ย 

Everything Perfect and Pure Which a God Lives On
The phrase “Everything Perfect and Pure Which a God Lives On” on a Middle Kingdom era sarcophagus

This is the full phrase: ๐“๐“๐“Šต๐“ฆ๐“ŽŸ๐“„ค๐“ƒ‚๐“๐“‹น๐“๐“Šน๐“‡‹๐“…“. Letโ€™s break down each word! 

๐“๐“๐“›๐“ฆ๐“ŽŸ – Everything 

๐“„ค – Perfect/Beautiful/Good

๐“ƒ‚๐“ – Pure

๐“‹น๐“ – Life/Live

๐“Šน – God

๐“‡‹๐“…“- On (In, There, Among, etc.) 

So all ๐“ŽŸ together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—, the phrase translates to: โ€œEverything perfect and pure which a god lives on.โ€ 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Name in Hieroglyphs

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at the word for โ€œname ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–โ€ in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช and the religious/cultural significance that a personโ€™s name had in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–!ย 

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

Name in Hieroglyphs
The word “Name” in Hieroglyphs as depicted on a relief in an Old Kingdom tomb

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 most importantly, the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–. Without a name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, the other four elements could not exist!

When a personโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– was written in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, it meant that the person would live ๐“‹น forever ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›. The visual representation of a personโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– had the power to give the person eternal ๐“†– life ๐“‹น. This is why pharaohs wanted their name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– on as many monuments as possible – their name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช had immense power! 

This ancient belief about a personโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– having such significance is why I feel like I need to write about my Nonno and speak about him. My entire page is dedicated to his memory, and I feel like sharing his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– and image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ helps me to keep him alive even though he is no longer here. 

Letโ€™s break down each of the symbols! 

The โ€œmouth ๐“‚‹โ€ symbol functions most commonly as a uniliteral phonogram and is used to represent the sound โ€œr.โ€ It can also be used as an ideogram for the word โ€œmouth ๐“‚‹๐“บ.โ€ 

The โ€œripple of water ๐“ˆ–โ€ is a phonogram sign, and it functions as a uniliteral sign. The โ€œ๐“ˆ–โ€ is associated with the sound of โ€œn!โ€ The ๐“ˆ– has many grammatical functions on its own, and it can mean โ€œto,โ€ โ€œof,โ€ โ€œfor,โ€ โ€œwe/us/our,โ€ โ€œin,โ€ โ€œbecause,โ€ โ€œthrough,โ€ and some others!ย 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Sistrums with Hathor

Music ๐“‰”๐“‡Œ๐“†ธ and musicians were highly regarded in ancient Egyptian culture. I love music ๐“‰”๐“‡Œ๐“†ธ, and music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ is something that I cannot live without! This is a sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ, which is a musical instrument from ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– that is similar to a modern rattle or tambourine.ย 

Sistrums with Hathor
A faience sistrum with Hathor from the Ptolemaic Period

Since Hathor ๐“‰ก was the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ, she was portrayed on most sistrums ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ช in her human form! However, even though Hathor ๐“‰ก is represented as a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“, she is recognized easily because of her characteristic cow ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’ ears!ย 

Sistrums with Hathor
A closeup view of the sistrum with Hathor’s face! See if you can spot her cow ears!

I love these two sistrums ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ช pictured below because while they are both from the Ptolemaic Period, they look so different! One of the sistrums ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ช is made of blue ๐“‡…๐“†“๐“› faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ while the other is made of silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰.ย 

Sistrums with Hathor
A blue faience sistrum (front) and a silver sistrum (back) both with Hathor’s face on it from the Ptolemaic Period.

Fun fact: in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ was actually considered to be more valuable because it was harder to obtain through trade! Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– does not naturally have a lot of silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰!

The silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ has hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on the handle, however they are very hard to read due to cracks and natural wear. The blue ๐“‡…๐“†“๐“› faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ one has hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that are much easier to read! 

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

๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ – Son of Ra

๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ – Lord of Appearances

๐“Šช๐“๐“ฏ๐“ƒญ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“‹ด – Ptolemaios (Ptolemy I)

๐“‹น – Life

๐“‡ – Like

๐“‡ณ๐“บ – Ra 

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

๐“†– – Eternity

When ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› and ๐“†– are used in the same phrase, itโ€™s usually translated as โ€œEverlasting Eternityโ€ instead of โ€œEternity Eternity.โ€ 

Another way to write โ€œLord of Appearancesโ€ is like this – ๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ฅ – using three strokes โ€œ๐“ฅโ€ instead of repeating the โ€œsun over the horizon ๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ๐“ˆโ€ hieroglyph three times! Both of these ways are the correct way to write the phrase, however the three strokes โ€œ๐“ฅโ€ is usually used more because it takes up less space! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Wooden Model Boat

This is my favorite wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž model that I have seen in any museum!ย 

Wooden Model Boat
Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET

This wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ model boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž is from the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of a man named ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Ukhhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช. Ukhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was the chief treasurer ๐“‹จ๐“…ฑ, which is why he probably received such gorgeous ๐“„ค funerary equipment ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‹ด๐“๐“๐“Šญ. 

This is one of two ๐“ป funerary boats that were found in his tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ – most Middle Kingdom tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ that had wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ models always contained two ๐“ป boats ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž๐“ฆ. In the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰,  one  boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž was oriented to the north ๐“Ž”๐“ and the other towards the south ๐“‡”๐“…ฑ๐“.

During the actual funeral, the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ would take one last journey across the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ.ย  Models of boats ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž๐“ฆ (usually funerary boats), were usually found in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ as a way to symbolically bring the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ into the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰.

Wooden Model Boat
Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET showing the mummy and the two women on either side representing Isis and Nephthys.

I really love this model because of the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ that you can see underneath the canopy! As a kid I always loved that! The canopy also has a leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ skin on the top, and the details on the leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ are just gorgeous!ย ย 

Wooden Model Boat
Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET showing the priests wearing leopard skins.

The mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ is accompanied by two ๐“ป women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“๐“ช mourners – they are probably meant to represent Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ and Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡. There is also a priest ๐“Šน๐“› (dressed in the leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ skin) who holds a scroll ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› with a funerary offering ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ on it. There is a second priest ๐“Šน๐“›, also dressed in leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ skin with his arm ๐“‚๐“บ extended outward in a mourning gesture.

Wooden Model Boat
Wooden Model Boat of Ukhotep at the MET highlighting the detailed leopard on the canopy.

Wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ models were very popular amongst Middle Kingdom tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ. This particular boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž is dated to the 12th Dynasty (c. 1981โ€“1802 B.C.E.)

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.ย 

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