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Egyptian Artifacts

White Sarcophagus of Madja

This beautifully π“„€ painted sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ belonged to a woman π“Šƒπ“π“‚‘π“π“ named Madja who lived during the 18th Dynasty (c. 1550 – c. 1069 BCE). The sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ was found in a cemetery in West Thebes π“Œ€π“π“Š–, which overlooked Deir el-Medina.

The thing that is most striking about the sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­ is how the painted images 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 stand out in contrast to the white π“Œ‰π“†“π“‡³ background. On the bottom there are four 𓏽 panels, each with different images. From the lest you can see the Eye of Horus π“‚€ on a shrine, two 𓏻 female π“Šƒπ“π“‚‘π“π“ mourners, and two 𓏻 priestesses π“ŠΉπ“›π“π“¦ with the sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­. On the middle panels are two 𓏻timages 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 of the god π“ŠΉ Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 on top of a shrine.

The hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ going down the middle of the lid consist of the standard funerary offering formula:

π“‡“π“π“Š΅π“™π“Š©π“Ήπ“€­π“ŽŸπ“Š½π“Š½π“ˆ‹π“…±π“Š–π“ŠΉπ“‰»π“ŽŸπ“Œπ“ˆ‹π“ƒ€π“…±π“Š–π“‚žπ“†‘π“‰“ – β€œAn offering the king gives Osiris, Lord of Djedu, the Great God, Lord of Abydos, Given a voice offering of…”

β€œπ“Š©π“Ήπ“€­β€ is not a common variation of Osiris’ name π“‚‹π“ˆ– but it can be seen on a lot of 18th Dynasty sarcophagi.

π“Š½π“Š½π“ˆ‹π“…±π“Š– is also a variation of Djedu which is more commonly written as β€œπ“Š½π“Š½π“…±π“Š–.”

π“™π“‹Ήπ“Š½π“Œ€