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Egyptian Artifacts

Symbolism on Hatshepsut’s Statue

No surprise here, but I am back speaking about the white π“Œ‰π“†“π“‡³ limestone π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“Œ‰ statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ of Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ! I want to highlight a detail on the side of the statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ that I have not spoken about yet on this account!

𓋍 – this symbol on the side of the statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ is a combination of many different things! Most prominently, it is thought to be representative of the lungs π“Šƒπ“Œ΄π“„₯π“…±π“„Ί and the windpipe π“„₯. The lungs π“Šƒπ“Œ΄π“„₯π“…±π“„Ί are a symbol of Upper Egypt 𓇓 and the windpipe π“„₯ was a symbol of Lower Egypt 𓆀. The pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 was always referred to as the β€œLord of the Two Lands π“ŽŸπ“‡Ώπ“‡Ώβ€ or β€œKing of Upper and Lower Egypt π“†₯” because Upper 𓇓 and Lower 𓆀 Egypt, although united, were in fact very different from each other. They each had their own natural resources, cultures and local gods π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ.

Just like how the lungs π“Šƒπ“Œ΄π“„₯π“…±π“„Ί and the windpipe π“„₯ need to work together in order for a person to survive, Upper 𓇓 and Lower 𓆀 Egypt needed to be unified in order for Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– to be a strong country!

The lung π“Šƒπ“Œ΄π“„₯π“…±π“„Ί and windpipe π“„₯ design 𓋍 was usually found on objects that belonged to the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻. In this case, it is on the side of one of Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ most beautiful π“„€ statues π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ!

The design 𓋍 also contains elements that look like lilies 𓇕𓇕𓇕 and papyrus 𓇉𓇉𓇉! It’s such a cool design 𓋍 with so much to interpret! I remember being so puzzled by it as a kid when I saw it for the first time!