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Egyptian Artifacts

Cleopatra’s Needle (Part 1)

โ€œCleopatraโ€™s Needleโ€ aka the Obelisk ๐“‰ถ in Central Park is one of the most beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ sights in Manhattan!

Cleopatra's Needle
Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park

This obelisk ๐“‰ถ (and another, which now resides in London) was not commissioned by Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡; in fact, it was commissioned by Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ during his 18th Dynasty reign. The obelisks ๐“‰ถ stood at the city of Heliopolis at one of Thutmosis IIIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ temples. The obelisk ๐“‰ถ is made out of โ€œAswan ๐“‹ด๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“ฒ๐“Š– granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถโ€ which was the third most used rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ by the ancient Egyptians!

Cleopatra's Needle
Me with Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park

When the obelisks were discovered by the Romans, they were moved from Heliopolis to Alexandria and placed at a temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ dedicated to Julius Caesar. The temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ was commissioned by Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡, which is probably why the obelisks have the nickname โ€œCleopatraโ€™s Needle.โ€ 

Cleopatra's Needle
A closeup of me and Cleopatra’s Needle in Central Park!

The two obelisks were given by the Egyptian government as gifts; one is in London, and one is in Central Park in NYC! The obelisk is super close to the MET, so itโ€™s great to go and see before or after your museum trip! 

Cleopatra's Needle
William the Hippo with the obelisk!

Iโ€™m going to do another post about the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on the obelisk ๐“‰ถ, so here is the link to that post!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Statues of Imhotep

When it comes to ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, Iโ€™m obsessed with a couple of different things in particular: Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช, Ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, and Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช! I love going to see the statues of Imhotep at the museum and my Nonno always made it into a game – #IFoundImhotepย 

Statues of Imhotep
Me (and William) with the Statues of Imhotep on display at the MET

Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was a real man that lived during Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– third dynasty (around 2700 B.C.E.) during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Djoser ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹. While Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช is best known for being the architect of Djoserโ€™s Step Pyramid (and Egyptโ€™s first ever pyramid ๐“‹๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ด), he was also a high priest ๐“Šน๐“› of Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“›! After his death, Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช became one of the few non-royal Egyptians to be deified.ย 

Statues of Imhotep
The Statues of Imhotep showing the quartzite one on the left and the bronze one on the right. The middle statue is a seated scribe and is not Imhotep.

There is not much that is known about Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช as a person while he was alive; most of what we know about Imhotep was written at the earliest 1,200 years after his death! Referred to as โ€œSebayt ๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“‡Œ๐“๐“›โ€ in Middle Egyptian, these โ€œinstructionsโ€ or โ€œteachingsโ€ refer to Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช as a great physician and a writer! One text from the 20th Dynasty called โ€œEulogy of Dead Writersโ€ even states โ€œIs there another like Imhotep?โ€ย 

Statues of Imhotep
The bronze Imhotep statue. Most statues of Imhotep look like this one!

Most statues of Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช are made of bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ (like you can see on the right side of this display) and are dated to the Ptolemaic Period, because that was when Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was widely worshipped.ย 

The quartzite statue of Imhotep. It is not common to see Imhotep in stone, so this piece is a treat to see on display at the MET.

The statue of Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช on the left is so interesting because it is not made of bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ – it is made of the metamorphic rock quartzite!ย 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Mummy of Ukhotep

This is the coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ and mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ of a man named Ukhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช. Ukhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช lived during the 12th dynasty (Middle Kingdom) and he was the chief treasurer ๐“‹จ๐“…ฑ, which is why he probably received such gorgeous ๐“„ค funerary equipment ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‹ด๐“๐“๐“Šญ.ย 

Mummy of Ukhotep
The Mummy of Ukhotep on display at the MET

Ukhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช had a wooden coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ inscribed with parts of the Coffin Texts, which were spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ that the deceased needed in order to gain magical powers in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. This coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ and mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ is very typical of the Middle Kingdom burials (not just because of the styles/materials used for both the coffin and mask) but because the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ was placed on his side inside of the wooden coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ, which allowed him to see out of the coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ through the eyes on the side!ย My Nonno always told me about this fact when I was little, and I was always fascinated by this funerary practice!

Mummy of Ukhotep
The Mummy of Ukhotep with hieroglyphs on his coffin! Learn how to read the hieroglyphs below!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Here is the inscription: ๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™๐“น๐“Šจ๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ–๐“…˜๐“Ž›๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ ๐“…๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“ˆ‹๐“Š–๐“‰ป๐“ŽŸ๐“†„๐“

Here is a breakdown of the inscription: 

๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™ – An Offering the King Gives

๐“น๐“Šจ – Osiris (his name is missing the determinative this time – usually itโ€™s written as ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ)

๐“ŽŸ – Lord 

๐“ˆ–๐“…˜๐“Ž›๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ – Eternity 

๐“… – Foremost 

๐“ˆ–๐“ – of

๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“ˆ‹๐“Š– – Abydos

๐“Šน๐“€ญ – God

๐“‰ป – Great

๐“ŽŸ -Lord 

๐“†„๐“ – Maat

Fun Fact: โ€œ๐“ˆ–๐“โ€ is also another way to spell the name of the goddess Neith but it can also mean โ€œofโ€ and a bunch of other filler-type words!

The variant of โ€œeternity ๐“ˆ–๐“…˜๐“Ž›๐“Ž›๐“‡ณโ€ used in this inscription is very Middle Kingdom too – I rarely see this one used ever!! Usually the typical โ€œ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›โ€ is used!ย 

Mummy of Ukhotep
The Mummy of Ukhotep with some of his other funerary equipment including his canopic jar case (near the head of the mummy)

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Ushabti Friends

Ushabtis of Seti I – Ushabti Friends

Ushabtis of Seti I

As part of my โ€œUshabti Friendsโ€ series, I am teaching you how to look at the different characteristics of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ to show how unique and wonderful these pieces are! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at the ushabtis of the 19th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ !ย 

Pharaoh Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  had an estimatedย  1000+ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช, however, only about 700 remain! Most of Seti Iโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช were wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ and when Giovanni Belzoni discovered Seti Iโ€™s tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ in the Valley of the Kings in 1917, he used a lot of the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช as torches (this fact still haunts me – it was also one of my Nonnoโ€™s favorite stories to tell). Anytime Seti I came up in conversation my Nonno would say โ€œcan you believe some idiots used his ushabtis as torches??!!โ€

Besides the tragic wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabtis, Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ– had many faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช. His faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช are such a beautiful ๐“„ค blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ color and are inscribed with the Shabti Spell in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช.

Ushabtis of Seti I

Some of the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช contain hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช as well, however, the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are better preserved on some pieces better than others because wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ will naturally deteriorate over time due to the nature of the organic materials. 

So how can we tell these are ushabtis of Seti I from the 19th Dynasty? 

  1. The ushabtis were found in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings
  2. The ushabtis are inscribed with his throne name (๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ ) and birth name (๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ–).
  3. The ushabtis have characteristics of the 19th dynasty such as the faience ushabtis which are holding a hoe in each hand ๐“Œธ (typical of 18th-25th dynasties)
Ushabtis of Seti I

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.ย 

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Ushabtis of Seti I
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Ushabti Friends

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis – Ushabti Friends

As part of my โ€œUshabti Friendsโ€ series, I am teaching you how to look at the different characteristics of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ and how those characteristics can help you to narrow down the age/time period that the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is from! Today we are going to look at Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis!

All of the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ we are going to look at today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ are royal ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that all belonged to pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ from the 18th Dynasty! The 18th Dynasty is almost the โ€œgolden ageโ€ of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ because these little guys undergo much development during this time period and have so many different characteristics!ย 

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis
The wooden ushabti of Amenhotep III

The wooden ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  is very interesting because it has a very distinct characteristic of 18th Dynasty ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that is not just one found on royal ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ!

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis
A closeup of the wooden ushabti of Amenhotep III to highlight where a hoe or other tools would have been placed in his hands!

There is a space in the hands where tools would have been inserted – such as a hoe ๐“Œธ. Tools that were attached separately were only found in the 18th Dynasty!

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis
The Shabti Spell on the ushabti of Amenhotep III

The โ€œShabti Spellโ€ is also on the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ!ย 

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis
Limestone ushabti of Amenhotep II

The rock based ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช and Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– are all seen holding Ankh symbols in their hands which are crossed over their chest in a mummiform fashion.

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis
Ushabti of Akhenaten holding Ankhs in each hand

I have only seen royal ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ with Ankhs ๐“‹น! I find this to be commentary on the religion because a deceased pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป would not have to be doing work anyway – he probably was buried with ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ just in case! This is probably why some of the royal ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ have Ankhs ๐“‹น and not tools!ย 

Royal 18th Dynasty Ushabtis
Ushabti of Akhenaten holding Ankhs in each hand

These ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ also have false beards and are wearing some type of royal crown to distinguish that they are pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ!

Ushabti of Akhenaten wearing a royal crown and false beard

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

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Reading Hieroglyphs Ushabti Friends

Ushabti of Nebhor – Ushabti Friends

Let me introduce you to another one of my Ushabti Friends – the Ushabti of Nebhor ๐“ŽŸ๐“…„!

Ushabti of Nebhor
The Ushabti of Nebhor

This is one of my absolute favorite ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures at the MET just because he is so adorable! This ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is dated to the 21st-22nd dynasties and is made out of blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ and has features and inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on it that are painted ๐“ž๐“œ with black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ.

We can tell the age of this ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ just by looking at it! Letโ€™s go through the process of narrowing down the age: 

  1. This ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is holding a hoe ๐“Œธ in each hand, which is characteristic of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that were made from the 18th Dynasty to the 25th Dynasty!ย 
  2. This little guy is also holding a bag on his back (I donโ€™t have a picture of that Iโ€™m sorry), which narrows down the age from the 19th-23rd Dynasties!ย 
  3. This ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is also wearing a headband, which is usually only found on ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that were made from the 21st-22nd Dynasties, which is the defining characteristic and allows us to really narrow down the age!ย 

Since I canโ€™t help myself, Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

๐“Šฉ๐“น – The Osiris 

๐“ŽŸ๐“…„ – Nebhor

๐“™๐“Šค – True of Voice

โ€œThe Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“นโ€ part of the inscription means that Nebhor ๐“ŽŸ๐“…„, through the process of mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž, becomes ๐“†ฃ like the god ๐“Šน Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น who is the main god ๐“Šน of the dead. This means that Nebhor ๐“ŽŸ๐“…„ will live on in the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ (afterlife) just like Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น has! 

โ€œTrue of Voice ๐“™๐“Šคโ€ means that Nebhor ๐“ŽŸ๐“…„ has lived a just and true life! This phrase appears quite often amongst funerary objects!

The Ushabti of Nebhor on display at the MET

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Ushabti Friends

18th Dynasty Ushabtis – Ushabti Friends

As part of my โ€œUshabti Friendsโ€ series, I am teaching you how to look at the different characteristics of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ and how those characteristics can help you to narrow down the age/time period that the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is from!

18th Dynasty Ushabtis
18th Dynasty Ushabtis at the Brooklyn Museum

Both of these ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that we are going to look at today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ are from the Brooklyn Museum! Both of these ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ are beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ and unique and are dated to the same time period even though they look different and are made of different materials! In the first image, the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ on the left is made of limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰, while the painted ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ on the right is made of faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ. 

Both of these ushabtis are dated to the 18th Dynasty, but how do we know? Letโ€™s go through the process of narrowing down the age: 

  1. In each hand, both of the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ are holding a hoe ๐“Œธ which is characteristic of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that were made from the 18th Dynasty to the 25th Dynasty!ย 
  2. The real defining characteristic are the baskets that the ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ are holding in each hand – this is only found on ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ dated to the 18th Dynasty!
The Ushabti of Sati at the Brooklyn Museum (18th Dynasty Ushabtis)
18th Dynasty Ushabtis
A closeup of the Ushabti of Sati holding a basket!

If you see a ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ and itโ€™s holding a basket or a pot in each hand, it is an 18th Dynasty ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ!

18th Dynasty Ushabtis
Limestone ushabti at the Brooklyn Museum
18th Dynasty Ushabtis
A closeup of the limestone ushabti at the Brooklyn Museum which highlights the baskets that it is holding!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.ย 

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Ushabti Friends

Ushabti on a Bier – Ushabti Friends

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at a very peculiar type of Ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figure that does not appear much! Iโ€™ve been wanting to write about this piece for so long so this series is the perfect opportunity!

Ushabti on a Bier
A “Ushabti on a Bier”

These type of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ are referred to as โ€œUshabti on a Bierโ€ because they appear lying flat on a table like a mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ. While there are not many of this type of ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, there are similar (yet more elaborate) ones at the Museo Egizio in Torino, the Louvre in Paris and the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden. 

There is actually no information about this piece on the MET website, but based on the piece and what I know about ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, I am going to make some inferences here! 

I am going to infer that this piece is dated to the 18th Dynasty for two reasons: the first is that the similar ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ located in other museums are all dated to the 18th Dynasty (New Kingdom) and the second is that this piece is in a gallery at the MET that contains New Kingdom era pieces!ย 

Ushabti on a Bier
The “Ushabti on a Bier” on display at the MET. This piece is shown amongst other artifacts dated to the 18th Dynasty!

This piece also seems to be made of limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰, and was part of a non-royal but still wealthy personโ€™s burial. 

This โ€œUshabti on a Bierโ€ that is pictured plus the ones in other museums donโ€™t contain any hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on them which is interesting because many ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ do contain hieroglyphic inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ.

To me, the โ€œUshabti on a Bierโ€ figures look like the wooden mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ figures that would be placed on the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ model boats ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž๐“ฅ that went in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช during the Middle Kingdom. 

These types of ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures leave me with more questions than answers which to me is both fascinating and frustrating! 

  1. What was the purpose of these unique type of ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures?ย 
  2. Why do all instances of these ushabtis not contain any hieroglyphs?ย 
  3. Were these ushabtis inspired by the wooden model boats of the Middle Kingdom?
  4. Why are all examples of these only dated to the 18th Dynasty, and why did they stop being made?

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Ushabti Friends

Wax Ushabtis – Ushabti Friends

This is the first post in a new series I am doing called “Ushabti Friends,” which aims to educate on the fascinating funerary objects called Ushabtis!

Ushabti Friends

There are so many different types of ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures! Today, we are going to start off with the first known ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figure which is called a “wax ushabti”

Wax Ushabtis

Before ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช we know and love evolved in the 12th Dynasty, wax ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“ธ๐“ฆ figurines that looked like humans (and had their own mini coffins ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ๐“ฆ) were placed in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช with the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ! They are known to Egyptologists as โ€œwax ushabtis.โ€ 

These precursor-ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช were made of beeswax and beeswax was said to have magical ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ powers of protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ, resurrection, and regeneration. 

The figures are somewhat detailed and were wrapped in a linen cloth ๐“ฑ and placed in the mini-coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ. The coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ did not identify any role or jobs that the figure had (like the text on a ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ could identify what itโ€™s job was), but it did identify the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. Sometimes even the standard Offering Formula (๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™ an offering the king gives) appeared on the mini-coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ as if it were a real one! 

If these figures werenโ€™t workers, then what was their purpose? It is thought that this figure would take the place of the body should the body of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ be destroyed. 

Not many of these โ€œwax ushabtisโ€ have been found, especially in comparison to the amount of ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช that have been found! 

Ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช evolved into the little worker figures we know today during the 12th Dynasty, but became very popular during the New Kingdom. 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.ย 

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht

This section of a papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› is from the โ€œFunerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakhtโ€ which is dated to the Ramesside Period (New Kingdom c. 1320โ€“1200 B.C.E.). Sethnakht ๐“ƒฉ๐“๐“‚ก๐“€ฝ was the tax master ๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ด๐“‚ก (Iโ€™m sure he was popular) and this high position is what allowed him to have such a gorgeous funerary papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“›!

This entire papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› is composed of what has been called Chapter 168 of the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ, otherwise known as the “Chapter of Offerings.โ€ However, most of the time this text is found alone and not with other parts of the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ (as is the case with this papyrus) and is considered now to be its own text and not necessarily a part of the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ. 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht
A section of the “Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht”

The two sections of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช point in two different directions; the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช above the Falcon headed god Osiris-Wennefer ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ˆ–๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ point to the right while the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช above Sethnakht ๐“ƒฉ๐“๐“‚ก๐“€ฝ point to the left. We are going to start with the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช above Osiris-Wennefer ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ˆ–๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹.ย 

Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht

Here is the text all together: ๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ˆ–๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“„๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ

Here are the individual phrases broken down:

๐“†“๐“Œƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ– – Words Spoken By 

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ˆ–๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ – Osiris Wennefer

๐“„ – Foremost

๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ – West

Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht

Here is the translation: โ€œWords Spoken By Osiris-Wennefer, Foremost of the West.โ€ This is a super common introduction for a god in a funerary text. It also lets you know who is depicted in the images!ย 

Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht

Before we read the next section of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, letโ€™s take a look at some of the art! On his shoulder, Sethnakht ๐“ƒฉ๐“๐“‚ก๐“€ฝ is holding the goddess Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ while he is holding up his other hand in adoration of the god Osiris-Wennefer ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ˆ–๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹. Maat ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ is the goddess of truth ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„ and justice ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„๐“œ and we know itโ€™s her because of the feather ๐“†„ thatโ€™s on her head!ย 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! We are going to be reading the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that are above Sethnakht ๐“ƒฉ๐“๐“‚ก๐“€ฝ. These hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช point to the left so we will start reading them from the left!ย 

Funerary Papyrus of the Steward Sethnakht

Here is the text all together: ๐“๐“‡ผ๐“€ข๐“ˆ–๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“„๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“‰ป๐“‚๐“›๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ด๐“‚ก๐“„“๐“‰๐“ค๐“ƒฉ๐“๐“‚ก๐“€ฝ

Here are the individual phrases broken down:

๐“๐“‡ผ๐“€ข – Praise/Worship (should actually be written as โ€œ๐“‡ผ๐“๐“€ขโ€)

๐“ˆ– – of

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – Osiris

๐“„ – Foremost

๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ – West

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – The Osiris

๐“‰ป๐“‚๐“› – Great

๐“ˆ– – the/of

๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ด๐“‚ก – Tax Master 

๐“„“๐“‰๐“ค – Overseer

๐“ƒฉ๐“๐“‚ก๐“€ฝ – Sethnakht

Here is the translation: โ€œPraise for Osiris, Foremost of the West, the Osiris, the Great Tax Master, the Overseer Sethnakht.โ€ 

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