I love the randomness of some museum displays – thereโs always so much to look at! By โrandomness,โ Iโm referring to the varying objects that can be grouped together, however they are from the same time period so the conglomeration of different objects can give you a sense of the varying objects common during that period! It also gives you a look into the art styles that were popular!
Starting from the left, you can see a figure of the god Bes ๐๐ด๐. Bes ๐๐ด๐ didnโt become commonly worshipped until the beginning of the New Kingdom. He was the god of childbirth, protector of the household ๐๐บ, and defender of all that is good! He was considered to be a โdemonic fighter,โ and was also a war god.
There are two ๐ป ushabti ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ figures with beautiful hieroglyphic ๐น๐๐ช inscriptions. These little guys were buried with the deceased and were meant to be their servants in the afterlife ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐. Mostย ushabtisย ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ๐ช are inscribed with a spell that tells you what their function was. When Osiris ๐น๐จ ๐ญ called upon the deceased for labor, the deceased would say the spell on theย ushabtiย ๐ท๐ฟ๐ฏ๐๐๐ฎ๐พ and it would come to life and perform the labor in place of the deceased!
Next are the sistrums ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ช! A sistrum ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ was almost like an ancient tambourine or rattle – while the part that makes the music is often not found intact, the handle with Hathorโs ๐ก face usually is. Sistrums ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ช can be found dating back to the Old Kingdom, but most that are found are usually from the Late – Graeco/Roman periods.
And lastly, a statue of the goddess Sekhmet ๐๐๐ ๐๐! Sekhmet ๐๐๐ ๐๐ was one of my Nonnoโs favorite mythological figures. Sekhmet ๐๐๐ ๐๐ was a war goddess and was associated with the destructive aspects of the sun ๐ณ๐บ (like the unrelenting heat of the desert).