False Door of Merykhufu

This is a False Door for the inspector and priest 𓊹𓍛 named Merykhufu (𓐍𓅱𓆑𓅱)𓌸𓂋.

False Doors were an important aspect of Egyptian funerary practices and served as ways for the living relatives to make offerings to the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱. While this piece most likely dates to the 4th Dynasty, False Doors have been found throughout various periods of Egyptian history.

This piece strikes me as super interesting because at first glance, it looks like it belongs to the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Khufu 𓐍𓅱𓆑𓅱, because his cartouche is present. However, this person’s name is Merykhufu (𓐍𓅱𓆑𓅱)𓌸𓂋 – he incorporated the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Khufu’s 𓐍𓅱𓆑𓅱 name into his own. His name actually means “Beloved of Khufu.”

Merykhufu’s (𓐍𓅱𓆑𓅱)𓌸𓂋 wife, son 𓅭, and daughter 𓅭𓏏 are also present on the False Door. This is hard to date because Khufu 𓐍𓅱𓆑𓅱 was admired by a cult long after his death. However, the wig that Merykhufu’s (𓐍𓅱𓆑𓅱)𓌸𓂋 wife is wearing is an early dynastic style, which is why this piece most likely dates to the Old Kingdom (Dynasty 4).

The word “beloved” can also be written like this “𓌻𓂋𓇌“ and is actually the more phonetic way to write it. However, sometimes words were shortened to fit the piece/person – almost like an abbreviation!