The Base of an Offering Table

While this piece is outwardly awkward and simple looking, the beauty 𓄤 of it is in the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! I love these types of pieces – where you really have to examine them and look closer to see the beauty 𓄤 of it! This is the base of an offering table 𓂝𓃀𓅡𓄿𓋃, and obviously the piece is incomplete and was most likely broken in antiquity.

The main highlight is the really long cartouche! Now, this cartouche doesn’t just contain the name 𓂋𓈖 of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, but his title and epithet as well. The title of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 usually came before 𓐍𓂋 the cartouche (and was seated on the top outside of the oval) while the epithet would appear both after the cartouche or inside of it.

Let’s take a closer look! Some of the text is read from right to left and some is read from left to right because the symbols are pointing towards these two directions! It makes it very confusing to type it out but I will do my best! I’m going to type it out as I see it in the cartouche so some of the symbols may be pointing the wrong way in my translation! Hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 are like one big puzzle which is why I love them so much!

The text reads: (𓋹𓏙𓆣𓇳𓏠𓄤𓊹𓇋𓏠𓈖𓇳𓏺𓌺𓇌)

𓏙𓋹 – Given Life
𓇳𓏠𓆣 – Menkheperra (Thutmosis III)
𓊹𓄤 – Great God
𓇋𓏠𓈖𓇳𓏺 – Amun-Ra
𓌺𓇌 – Beloved

So all put together the text reads “Given Life, Menkheperra, the Great God, Beloved of Amun-Ra.”