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Egyptian Artifacts

First Dynasty Lion Cub

How cute is this lion π“Œ³π“Ήπ“„Ώπ“„› cub?! Whenever I am at the MET, I always make sure to stop by and see him!Β 

When I was a kid π“π“‡Œπ“€”, I absolutely loved this quartzite statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ of a lion π“Œ³π“Ήπ“„Ώπ“„› cub because it reminded me of Simba from The Lion King! Only the main features of the lion π“Œ³π“Ήπ“„Ώπ“„› cub are seen, and none of the features are β€œsharply defined π“‹΄π“Šͺπ“‚§π“šπ“Ίπ“›,” however, it is clear that this is a statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 of a lion π“Œ³π“Ήπ“„Ώπ“„› and it is one of my favorite examples of early Egyptian art!

This cute little lion π“Œ³π“Ήπ“„Ώπ“„› is from the First Dynasty (c. 3100–2900 B.C.E.)! During the Pre-Dynastic through Early Dynastic periods, statues π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ of animals were usually smaller in size (amulet π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…† size or just a little larger – look above the lion π“Œ³π“Ήπ“„Ώπ“„› statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ in the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 to see examples) This statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 thought is almost like a transition piece towards the larger and grander statues π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ of the later dynasties. This little lion π“Œ³π“Ήπ“„Ώπ“„› was originally found in southern 𓇔𓏏 Upper Egypt 𓇓. I love being able to see the changes in Egyptian art through time! 

Geology Time!!! Since quartzite is a very hard stone π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‚‹π“Šͺ, the Egyptians had to learn how to work with and sculpt these types of rocks π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‚‹π“ˆ™π“¦! Quartz π“ π“ˆ–π“Œπ“ˆ™, the mineral π“‡‹π“Œ»π“‚‹π“…±π“ˆ™ quartzite is mostly composed of has a hardness of 7 out of 10 on Moh’s Hardness Scale, which means it is very resistant to being scratched! Quartzite is a metamorphic rock, which means it was originally sandstone π“‚‹π“…±π“‚§π“π“Œ—π“ˆ™ before it was subjected to intense heat and pressure, which recrystallized it into quartzite. Quartzite is a much stronger and durable rock π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‚‹π“ˆ™ than the original sandstone π“‚‹π“…±π“‚§π“π“Œ—π“ˆ™.