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Reading Hieroglyphs

Funerary Vessel Painted to Imitate Stone

Let’s read some Hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!

Today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‡³ we are going to look at a really cool vase π“ π“ˆ–π“‡‹π“‹ that is on display at the Brooklyn Museum! The museum has named this piece β€œInscribed Funerary Vessel Painted to Imitate Stone” and I just love that because it is such a great description of the piece! 

I believe that the rock π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‚‹π“ˆ™ that this vase π“ π“ˆ–π“‡‹π“‹ is supposed to be imitating breccia, which is a sedimentary rock π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‚‹π“ˆ™ commonly found in Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– and was primarily used for pottery and stoneware during the early dynastic period and Old Kingdom! 

We know that this piece is a funerary vase because of the inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ that is on it! Starting an inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ with β€œRevered before *name of god*” is a very common way to begin funerary inscriptions π“Ÿπ“›π“₯!Β 

Funerary Vessel Painted to Imitate Stone
Inscribed Funerary Vessel Painted to Imitate Stone on display at the Brooklyn Museum

Let’s take a closer look: 

π“„ͺπ“π“‡Œ – Revered 

𓐍𓂋 – Before

π“Ήπ“Š©π“€­ – Osiris

π“ƒ‚π“ˆ– – Wab Priest (can also be written as π“ƒ‚π“ˆ— or 𓃂) 

π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ– – Amun

All together, the inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ reads β€œRevered Before Osiris, the Wab Priest of Amun…” – then I can’t see the rest of it! 

In ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, the Wab Priest π“ƒ‚π“ˆ– was the most common type of priest and they performed the tasks of maintaining the temples π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰π“ͺ and could be placed in charge of funerals. This was considered to be the lowest class of priests. The Middle Egyptian word, β€œGod’s Servant π“ŠΉπ“›β€ usually referred to the High Priests. 

This piece is dated to the late 18th – early 19th dynasties! 

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

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