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Egyptian Artifacts

Flowers in Ancient Egypt

When we envision Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, we usually think of an arid desert π“…Ÿπ“‚‹π“π“ˆŠ environment. While Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– is certainly a desert, it did have its own beautiful 𓄀𓆑𓂋 plants 𓆾𓆰𓆰𓆰 and flowers that were definitely appreciated by the ancient Egyptians π“†Žπ“π“€€π“π“ͺ!Β 

Plants 𓆾𓆰𓆰𓆰 were used for food 𓇬𓀁𓅱𓏔π“₯ and medicine π“‡‹π“…±π“ˆŽπ“π“†°π“¦, so they were vital in that respect. Plants 𓆾𓆰𓆰𓆰 were considered to be so important that Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ actually sent out an expedition of people to go and look for new plants 𓆾𓆰𓆰𓆰 that could be used for food 𓇬𓀁𓅱𓏔π“₯ or medicine π“‡‹π“…±π“ˆŽπ“π“†°π“¦! The word for β€œmedicine π“‡‹π“…±π“ˆŽπ“π“†°π“¦β€ in Middle Egyptian even has one of the plant hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ in it! 

Speaking of hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ, there is an entire section of Gardiner’s Sign List dedicated to all of the plant symbols! There are 44 hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ that represent plants 𓆾𓆰𓆰𓆰! For example, the phonogram/ideogram for the Nile Valley/Upper Egypt is 𓇗 – which represents a flowering plant.

Flowers in Ancient Egypt
Different fragments from Amarna that show different flowers in ancient Egypt (Brooklyn Museum)

Here are some beautifully π“„€ colored pieces of art that represent different plants 𓆾𓆰𓆰𓆰! On the bottom left is a lotus flower 𓆸 and some grapes, the top right is a palm tree, and the bottom right is a small plaque or tile of some kind with daisies/rosettes! 

I love how bright the green 𓇅𓄿𓆓𓏛 and yellow colors are! I will never stop being amazed that all of these beautiful pieces are still so vibrant after thousands of years!

These pieces are at the Brooklyn Museum and are dated to the Amarna Period (Dynasty 18).Β The Amarna Period is another phrase that Egyptologists and historians use to mark the reign π“‹Ύπ“ˆŽπ“ of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ–.

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