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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Scarab of Hatshepsut

Here is a scarab 𓐍π“Šͺ𓂋𓂋𓆣 of Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ from the MET! The MET has so many of these beautiful π“„€ scarabs 𓐍π“Šͺ𓂋𓂋𓆣π“ͺ and I honestly love looking at them! I really like tiny things, so scarabs 𓐍π“Šͺ𓂋𓂋𓆣π“ͺ and other amulets π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…†π“ͺ are some of my favorite pieces to see in museums!

This scarab 𓐍π“Šͺ𓂋𓂋𓆣 has a very simple message:

π“ŠΉπ“„€ – β€œPerfect God”

𓇳𓁧𓂓 – β€œMaatkare”

Interestingly, Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ throne name Maatkare (which translates to β€œTruth is the Soul of Re”) is usually written as 𓇳𓁦𓂓, however on the scarab 𓐍π“Šͺ𓂋𓂋𓆣, the symbol for Maat is slightly different! On this scarab 𓐍π“Šͺ𓂋𓂋𓆣, the symbol shows Maat holding an ankh 𓁧! It’s a very subtle but cool variation. It doesn’t change the meaning or the pronunciation of her name π“‚‹π“ˆ–, but I love seeing little changes like this! Clearly, this was an artistic choice!

When learning hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ, throne names are a great place to start learning because the names aren’t too complex! Let’s use Maatkare 𓇳𓁧𓂓 as an example!

𓇳 – Re

𓁧 – Truth (Maat)

π“‚“ – Soul (Ka)

With the three 𓏼 symbol cartouche, especially when Re 𓇳𓏺 is involved, it’s read middle-right-left. So why is Re 𓇳𓏺 written first but said last!? Honorific transposition! As a sign of respect, Re (or another god π“ŠΉ) is always written first!