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Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of Husband and Wife

This is a beautiful π“„€ limestone statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ of husband π“‰”π“„Ώπ“‡Œπ“‚Ίπ“€€ and wife 𓂑𓏏𓁐 that is dated to the 18th Dynasty (New Kingdom). The names π“‚‹π“ˆ–π“¦ of the people depicted are not preserved in the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ that adorn the back of the statue, π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ but the funerary prayers are preserved.

It is assumed that these types of statues π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ are of husband π“‰”π“„Ώπ“‡Œπ“‚Ίπ“€€ and wife 𓂑𓏏𓁐, even though it’s not explicitly stated in the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ because the family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 was held in such high regard in Egyptian culture. This is why entire families π“‚§π“ˆ–π“Œπ“π“…±π“€€π“Έπ“Έπ“Έ can be found buried in the same tomb π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰ – the family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 was to stay together π“ˆ–π“Š— forever 𓆖!!

Here are some fun facts about marriage in Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–! Marriages were not arranged/forced in ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–; it was a personal choice between the couple! Also, there seems to be no official marriage ceremony; the couple decided they wanted to be together π“ˆ–π“Š— and let their friends and family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 know! The marriage seems to become β€œofficial” with a contract that allowed for the transfer of property. Divorce was a very common occurrence as was having four 𓏽 to seven 𓐀 children π“π“‡Œπ“€•π“ͺ!

Though the symbol β€œ 𓏦” is usually used to denote plural words, it is used in the singular term family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 because there are multiple members in a single family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 group! Instead, the Egyptians had a different word to represent multiple family groups (in English, families β€œπ“‚§π“ˆ–π“Œπ“π“…±π“€€π“Έπ“Έπ“Έβ€) and β€œπ“Έπ“Έπ“Έβ€ is used the pluralize it!