Categories
Ushabti Friends

Ushabtis of Seti I – Ushabti Friends

Ushabtis of Seti I

As part of my โ€œUshabti Friendsโ€ series, I am teaching you how to look at the different characteristics of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ to show how unique and wonderful these pieces are! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at the ushabtis of the 19th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ !ย 

Pharaoh Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  had an estimatedย  1000+ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช, however, only about 700 remain! Most of Seti Iโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช were wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ and when Giovanni Belzoni discovered Seti Iโ€™s tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ in the Valley of the Kings in 1917, he used a lot of the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช as torches (this fact still haunts me – it was also one of my Nonnoโ€™s favorite stories to tell). Anytime Seti I came up in conversation my Nonno would say โ€œcan you believe some idiots used his ushabtis as torches??!!โ€

Besides the tragic wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabtis, Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ– had many faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช. His faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช are such a beautiful ๐“„ค blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ color and are inscribed with the Shabti Spell in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช.

Ushabtis of Seti I

Some of the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช contain hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช as well, however, the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are better preserved on some pieces better than others because wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ will naturally deteriorate over time due to the nature of the organic materials. 

So how can we tell these are ushabtis of Seti I from the 19th Dynasty? 

  1. The ushabtis were found in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings
  2. The ushabtis are inscribed with his throne name (๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ ) and birth name (๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ–).
  3. The ushabtis have characteristics of the 19th dynasty such as the faience ushabtis which are holding a hoe in each hand ๐“Œธ (typical of 18th-25th dynasties)
Ushabtis of Seti I

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblogย onย Instagramย andย TikTokย to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!

Ushabtis of Seti I
Categories
Blog

Hatshepsut Brochure

My Nonno was the type of person to keep brochures of the places he visited, and I have always done the same because he always told me to! Looking back, Iโ€™m so glad he always told me to keep stuff because I love looking back and remembering the fun things we got to do!

Hatshepsut Brochure
Hatshepsut Brochure

I was going through some of my old stuff yesterday, and I found this wonderful little Hatshepsut Brochure! While this is just a piece of paper to most, I picked up this little audio guide ad while at the โ€œHatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaohโ€ exhibit that the MET put on in 2006! I remember loving it because it has a picture of my absolute favorite Egyptian antiquity on it! The white limestone statue of Hatshepsut will always be my absolute favorite piece!

My whole family came with me for my birthday and we had such an incredible day at that exhibit. The memories of that day are something that I will cherish forever. Finding this also made me really miss my Nonno; while I miss him so much every single day, finding this made it even more prevalent and Iโ€™m still feeling it this morning as I write this out.ย 

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!

Categories
Ushabti Friends

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis – Ushabti Friends

As part of my โ€œUshabti Friendsโ€ series, I am teaching you how to look at the different characteristics of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ and how those characteristics can help you to narrow down the age/time period that the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is from! Today we are going to look at Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis!

All of the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ we are going to look at today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ are royal ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that all belonged to pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ from the 18th Dynasty! The 18th Dynasty is almost the โ€œgolden ageโ€ of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ because these little guys undergo much development during this time period and have so many different characteristics!ย 

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis
The wooden ushabti of Amenhotep III

The wooden ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  is very interesting because it has a very distinct characteristic of 18th Dynasty ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that is not just one found on royal ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ!

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis
A closeup of the wooden ushabti of Amenhotep III to highlight where a hoe or other tools would have been placed in his hands!

There is a space in the hands where tools would have been inserted – such as a hoe ๐“Œธ. Tools that were attached separately were only found in the 18th Dynasty!

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis
The Shabti Spell on the ushabti of Amenhotep III

The โ€œShabti Spellโ€ is also on the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ!ย 

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis
Limestone ushabti of Amenhotep II

The rock based ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช and Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– are all seen holding Ankh symbols in their hands which are crossed over their chest in a mummiform fashion.

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis
Ushabti of Akhenaten holding Ankhs in each hand

I have only seen royal ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ with Ankhs ๐“‹น! I find this to be commentary on the religion because a deceased pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป would not have to be doing work anyway – he probably was buried with ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ just in case! This is probably why some of the royal ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ have Ankhs ๐“‹น and not tools!ย 

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis
Ushabti of Akhenaten holding Ankhs in each hand

These ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ also have false beards and are wearing some type of royal crown to distinguish that they are pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ!

Ushabti of Akhenaten wearing a royal crown and false beard

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs Ushabti Friends

Ushabti of Nebhor – Ushabti Friends

Let me introduce you to another one of my Ushabti Friends – the Ushabti of Nebhor ๐“ŽŸ๐“…„!

Ushabti of Nebhor
The Ushabti of Nebhor

This is one of my absolute favorite ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures at the MET just because he is so adorable! This ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is dated to the 21st-22nd dynasties and is made out of blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ and has features and inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on it that are painted ๐“ž๐“œ with black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ.

We can tell the age of this ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ just by looking at it! Letโ€™s go through the process of narrowing down the age: 

  1. This ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is holding a hoe ๐“Œธ in each hand, which is characteristic of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that were made from the 18th Dynasty to the 25th Dynasty!ย 
  2. This little guy is also holding a bag on his back (I donโ€™t have a picture of that Iโ€™m sorry), which narrows down the age from the 19th-23rd Dynasties!ย 
  3. This ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is also wearing a headband, which is usually only found on ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that were made from the 21st-22nd Dynasties, which is the defining characteristic and allows us to really narrow down the age!ย 

Since I canโ€™t help myself, Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

๐“Šฉ๐“น – The Osiris 

๐“ŽŸ๐“…„ – Nebhor

๐“™๐“Šค – True of Voice

โ€œThe Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“นโ€ part of the inscription means that Nebhor ๐“ŽŸ๐“…„, through the process of mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž, becomes ๐“†ฃ like the god ๐“Šน Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น who is the main god ๐“Šน of the dead. This means that Nebhor ๐“ŽŸ๐“…„ will live on in the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ (afterlife) just like Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น has! 

โ€œTrue of Voice ๐“™๐“Šคโ€ means that Nebhor ๐“ŽŸ๐“…„ has lived a just and true life! This phrase appears quite often amongst funerary objects!

The Ushabti of Nebhor on display at the MET

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!

Categories
Ushabti Friends

18th Dynasty Ushabtis – Ushabti Friends

As part of my โ€œUshabti Friendsโ€ series, I am teaching you how to look at the different characteristics of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ and how those characteristics can help you to narrow down the age/time period that the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is from!

18th Dynasty Ushabtis
18th Dynasty Ushabtis at the Brooklyn Museum

Both of these ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that we are going to look at today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ are from the Brooklyn Museum! Both of these ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ are beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ and unique and are dated to the same time period even though they look different and are made of different materials! In the first image, the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ on the left is made of limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰, while the painted ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ on the right is made of faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ. 

Both of these ushabtis are dated to the 18th Dynasty, but how do we know? Letโ€™s go through the process of narrowing down the age: 

  1. In each hand, both of the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ are holding a hoe ๐“Œธ which is characteristic of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that were made from the 18th Dynasty to the 25th Dynasty!ย 
  2. The real defining characteristic are the baskets that the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ are holding in each hand – this is only found on ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ dated to the 18th Dynasty!
The Ushabti of Sati at the Brooklyn Museum (18th Dynasty Ushabtis)
18th Dynasty Ushabtis
A closeup of the Ushabti of Sati holding a basket!

If you see a ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ and itโ€™s holding a basket or a pot in each hand, it is an 18th Dynasty ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ!

18th Dynasty Ushabtis
Limestone ushabti at the Brooklyn Museum
18th Dynasty Ushabtis
A closeup of the limestone ushabti at the Brooklyn Museum which highlights the baskets that it is holding!

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!

Categories
Ushabti Friends

Ushabti on a Bier – Ushabti Friends

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at a very peculiar type of Ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figure that does not appear much! Iโ€™ve been wanting to write about this piece for so long so this series is the perfect opportunity!

Ushabti on a Bier
A “Ushabti on a Bier”

These type of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ are referred to as โ€œUshabti on a Bierโ€ because they appear lying flat on a table like a mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ. While there are not many of this type of ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, there are similar (yet more elaborate) ones at the Museo Egizio in Torino, the Louvre in Paris and the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden. 

There is actually no information about this piece on the MET website, but based on the piece and what I know about ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, I am going to make some inferences here! 

I am going to infer that this piece is dated to the 18th Dynasty for two reasons: the first is that the similar ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ located in other museums are all dated to the 18th Dynasty (New Kingdom) and the second is that this piece is in a gallery at the MET that contains New Kingdom era pieces!ย 

Ushabti on a Bier
The “Ushabti on a Bier” on display at the MET. This piece is shown amongst other artifacts dated to the 18th Dynasty!

This piece also seems to be made of limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰, and was part of a non-royal but still wealthy personโ€™s burial. 

This โ€œUshabti on a Bierโ€ that is pictured plus the ones in other museums donโ€™t contain any hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on them which is interesting because many ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ do contain hieroglyphic inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ.

To me, the โ€œUshabti on a Bierโ€ figures look like the wooden mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ figures that would be placed on the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ model boats ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž๐“ฅ that went in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช during the Middle Kingdom. 

These types of ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures leave me with more questions than answers which to me is both fascinating and frustrating! 

  1. What was the purpose of these unique type of ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures?ย 
  2. Why do all instances of these ushabtis not contain any hieroglyphs?ย 
  3. Were these ushabtis inspired by the wooden model boats of the Middle Kingdom?
  4. Why are all examples of these only dated to the 18th Dynasty, and why did they stop being made?

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

The High Ground

May the Fourth Be With You! Happy Star Wars Day everyone! Today I am going to do a Star ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“„ฟ๐“‡ผ Wars ๐“‚‹๐“†ฑ๐“‚๐“๐“ฆ themed post!ย 

The High Ground

โ€œI have the high ground ๐“€ โ€ is one of the most quoted lines from Star ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“„ฟ๐“‡ผ Wars ๐“‚‹๐“†ฑ๐“‚๐“๐“ฆ! The hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ literally means โ€œhigh ground ๐“€ โ€ and looks very similar to Obi-Wan during the end fight scene on Mustafar from Revenge of the Sith! 

Whenever I see this hieroglyph in ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ inscriptions๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ I get very excited solely because I relate it to Star ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“„ฟ๐“‡ผ Wars ๐“‚‹๐“†ฑ๐“‚๐“๐“ฆ and I absolutely love Star Wars! 

This particular hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ symbol has been named the โ€œexcited manโ€ by James Allen (but I will be calling it โ€œKenobiโ€), and I happen to think that is a very fitting description! The โ€œexcited man ๐“€ โ€ functions as both an ideogram and a determinative.

When acting as an ideogram, ๐“€  means โ€œhigh ground.โ€

When acting as a determinative, ๐“€  can be found at the end of words such as:

๐“„ฟ๐“Ž›๐“€  โ€“ Mourn
๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“‚๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€  โ€“ Joy
๐“ฏ๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ™๐“€  โ€“ be strong, be honored
๐“‹ด๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“€  โ€“ raise, to set right
๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“€  โ€“ to be high, to be loud

These words all express strong emotions, so the โ€œexcited man ๐“€ โ€œ is definitely a symbol that summarizes the meaning of the word!

Since โ€œRevenge of the Sithโ€ is one of my absolute favorite movies, I am really quite amused by the meaning of this hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ! It is such a cool coincidence!

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!

Categories
Ushabti Friends

Wax Ushabtis – Ushabti Friends

This is the first post in a new series I am doing called “Ushabti Friends,” which aims to educate on the fascinating funerary objects called Ushabtis!

Ushabti Friends

There are so many different types of ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures! Today, we are going to start off with the first known ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figure which is called a “wax ushabti”

Wax Ushabtis

Before ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช we know and love evolved in the 12th Dynasty, wax ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“ธ๐“ฆ figurines that looked like humans (and had their own mini coffins ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ๐“ฆ) were placed in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช with the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ! They are known to Egyptologists as โ€œwax ushabtis.โ€ 

These precursor-ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช were made of beeswax and beeswax was said to have magical ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ powers of protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ, resurrection, and regeneration. 

The figures are somewhat detailed and were wrapped in a linen cloth ๐“ฑ and placed in the mini-coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ. The coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ did not identify any role or jobs that the figure had (like the text on a ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ could identify what itโ€™s job was), but it did identify the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. Sometimes even the standard Offering Formula (๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™ an offering the king gives) appeared on the mini-coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ as if it were a real one! 

If these figures werenโ€™t workers, then what was their purpose? It is thought that this figure would take the place of the body should the body of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ be destroyed. 

Not many of these โ€œwax ushabtisโ€ have been found, especially in comparison to the amount of ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช that have been found! 

Ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช evolved into the little worker figures we know today during the 12th Dynasty, but became very popular during the New Kingdom. 

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

“Image” in Hieroglyphs

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to be looking at the word โ€œImage ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ.โ€ย 

Image in Hieroglyphs
“Image” in sunken relief hieroglyphs

The word โ€œ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พโ€ is one I use frequently in my descriptions and I always get excited when I see it appear in inscriptions! The reason I get so excited is because it was one of the first words I learned how to read in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช and I remember being so proud that I knew what it meant! 

I have provided two different examples of the word – the first one is in sunken relief/carved hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช while the second is in cursive hieroglyphs! Cursive hieroglyphs is the version of hieroglyphs that would appear on handwritten papyri!ย 

Image in Hieroglyphs
“Image” in Cursive Hieroglyphs from a funerary papyrus

So what does โ€œ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พโ€ mean? The word โ€œ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ,โ€ which can also be commonly written as โ€œ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“โ€ or less commonly โ€œ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“›โ€ can mean Image, Likeness, Statue, Figure, and Complete. The word has a phonetic value of โ€œtwt,โ€ but is inferred to be pronounced like โ€œtut.โ€ 

Letโ€™s break down the symbols! 

The โ€œflat loaf of bread ๐“โ€ is a uniliteral phonogram used to represent the sound โ€œt.โ€

The โ€œQuail Chick ๐“…ฑโ€ is uniliteral phonogram that is representative of the sound w/u. 

The โ€œMummy Standing ๐“€พโ€ symbol is both an ideogram and a determinative! The symbol is an ideogram for โ€œtwt – Statue and Likeness.โ€ It is a determinative for โ€œMummy, Statue, Likeness, and Form.โ€ 

The reason why โ€œ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ or ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“โ€ was one of the first word I learned how to read is because it appears in the cartouche of Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“! Tutankhamunโ€™s name means โ€œLiving Image of Amun.โ€ 

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht

This section of a papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› is from the โ€œFunerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakhtโ€ which is dated to the Ramesside Period (New Kingdom c. 1320โ€“1200 B.C.E.). Sethnakht ๐“ƒฉ๐“๐“‚ก๐“€ฝ was the tax master ๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ด๐“‚ก (Iโ€™m sure he was popular) and this high position is what allowed him to have such a gorgeous funerary papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“›!

This entire papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› is composed of what has been called Chapter 168 of the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ, otherwise known as the “Chapter of Offerings.โ€ However, most of the time this text is found alone and not with other parts of the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ (as is the case with this papyrus) and is considered now to be its own text and not necessarily a part of the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ. 

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

Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht
A section of the “Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht”

The two sections of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช point in two different directions; the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช above the Falcon headed god Osiris-Wennefer ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ˆ–๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ point to the right while the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช above Sethnakht ๐“ƒฉ๐“๐“‚ก๐“€ฝ point to the left. We are going to start with the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช above Osiris-Wennefer ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ˆ–๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹.ย 

Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht

Here is the text all together: ๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ˆ–๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“„๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ

Here are the individual phrases broken down:

๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ– – Words Spoken By 

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ˆ–๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ – Osiris Wennefer

๐“„ – Foremost

๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ – West

Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht

Here is the translation: โ€œWords Spoken By Osiris-Wennefer, Foremost of the West.โ€ This is a super common introduction for a god in a funerary text. It also lets you know who is depicted in the images!ย 

Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht

Before we read the next section of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, letโ€™s take a look at some of the art! On his shoulder, Sethnakht ๐“ƒฉ๐“๐“‚ก๐“€ฝ is holding the goddess Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ while he is holding up his other hand in adoration of the god Osiris-Wennefer ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ˆ–๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹. Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ is the goddess of truth ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„ and justice ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„๐“œ and we know itโ€™s her because of the feather ๐“†„ thatโ€™s on her head!ย 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! We are going to be reading the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that are above Sethnakht ๐“ƒฉ๐“๐“‚ก๐“€ฝ. These hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช point to the left so we will start reading them from the left!ย 

Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht

Here is the text all together: ๐“๐“‡ผ๐“€ข๐“ˆ–๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“„๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“‰ป๐“‚๐“›๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ด๐“‚ก๐“„“๐“‰๐“ค๐“ƒฉ๐“๐“‚ก๐“€ฝ

Here are the individual phrases broken down:

๐“๐“‡ผ๐“€ข – Praise/Worship (should actually be written as โ€œ๐“‡ผ๐“๐“€ขโ€)

๐“ˆ– – of

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – Osiris

๐“„ – Foremost

๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ – West

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – The Osiris

๐“‰ป๐“‚๐“› – Great

๐“ˆ– – the/of

๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ด๐“‚ก – Tax Master 

๐“„“๐“‰๐“ค – Overseer

๐“ƒฉ๐“๐“‚ก๐“€ฝ – Sethnakht

Here is the translation: โ€œPraise for Osiris, Foremost of the West, the Osiris, the Great Tax Master, the Overseer Sethnakht.โ€ 

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!