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Egyptian Artifacts

Early Dynastic Turtle Art

Today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‡³ we are going to look at some Early Dynastic art which is dated to c. 3100 – 2650 B.C.E. Both of these pieces represent turtles π“ˆ™π“π“…±π“†‰π“¦! I want to give a shoutout to my friend Matt (@archaeoresearch on Instagram) for inspiring me to look at these pieces more closely!Β 

While not as popular as some iconography, throughout Egyptian history, in the early dynastic periods turtles π“ˆ™π“π“…±π“†‰π“¦ took the form of vessels, palettes π“π“Šƒπ“π“†±π“¦, and even game boards π“‡‹π“²π“π“Š‘π“„›π“¦! I love how the ancient Egyptians adopted the natural shape of the animal and incorporated it into their objects!Β 

Turtles
The “Turtle Figurine” (left) and the “Turtle as a Votive Mehen Game” (left)

The piece on the right is β€œTurtle as a Votive Mehen Game.” Mehen π“Ž”π“ˆ–π“†— was a popular game π“‡‹π“²π“π“Š‘π“„›π“¦ during the Old Kingdom and persisted from c. 3,000 B.C.E. to about c. 2,300 B.C.E. The game board usually consists of a coiled snake π“‡‹π“‚π“‚‹π“π“†˜, however in this case, the turtle’s shell contains the concentric circles that is used as the game board!Β 

Turtles
The “Turtle as a Votive Mehen Game”

The piece on the left is referred to as a β€œTurtle Figurine” and not much is written about this piece at all! It’s smaller than the Mehen Turtle, and does not have the circles on it!Β Β 

Turtles
The “Turtle Figurine”

While we don’t have much information about the views on turtles π“ˆ™π“π“…±π“†‰π“¦ during the early dynastic period, in later religious views, turtles π“ˆ™π“π“…±π“†‰π“¦ were seen as an ambiguous force because they were creatures of both land 𓇾 and water π“ˆ—. 

Turtles π“ˆ™π“π“…±π“†‰π“¦ were also seen as the enemy of Ra 𓇳𓏺𓁛, and in chapter 162 of the Book of the Dead, it is stated that β€œMay Ra live, and may the turtle die.”

If you are interested about turtles π“ˆ™π“π“…±π“†‰π“¦ in ancient Egypt, there is a great publication from the MET that you can read here!

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

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