My sister π’ππ has always said that this piece reminds her of the childrenβs book βThe Rainbow Fish,β and thanks to her thatβs how I always refer to this piece!Β
This beautifully π€ colored fish ππ π represents a tilapia πππππ! The Egyptians πππππͺ viewed the tilapia πππππ as a symbol of regeneration and rebirth ππΏπ ±. Both of these concepts were super important in the Egyptian religion, so they held tilapia πππππ in very high regard!
What is so cool about this piece is that it is actually a rattle! There are little clay πͺππ΄π pellets inside of it, which represents the eggs. This was most likely a ritual object; either played during childbirth or placed in a tomb ππ«ππ to help the deceased π ππ± with their rebirth ππΏπ ±!
The blue π ππ coloring on the fish ππ π is purely decorative as tilapia πππππ are not this color in real life! However, these particular colors used (blue π ππ, red π§πππ and black ππ ) are very typical of the color palette used at Amenhotep IIIβs π³π§π palace at Malqata and at Amarna πππππππ during Akhenatenβs ππππ³π ππ reign. This piece is estimated to be from the late 18th Dynasty and is thought to be from Saqqara π ππ€πππ΄π.
From a hieroglyphic standpoint, the tilapia symbol π is the main determinative for βfish ππ π!β This demonstrates just how important the Egyptians viewed the tilapia – a lot of their fish related words contained the tilapia π! Tilapia also has its own word which is βπππππ.βΒ
Thanks π΄ππ―πΏπ’ to my sister π’ππ for taking this picture ππ ±π!
This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.Β