Tag: artifact

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Cartouche of the Pharaoh Khafre

This is another picture my Nonno took! I’ve always thought this cast of Khafre’s π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘ cartouche was super interesting! As a kid I loved it because Khafre π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘ was one of the pharaohs 𓉐𓉻π“₯ who built a pyramid 𓍋𓅓𓂋𓉴 at Giza in the 4th Dynasty, and my Nonno would always point this piece out to us because of that. As I started studying hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ though, this piece became even more interesting to me!

The cartouche reads: π“…­π“‡³π“ˆπ“†‘π“‡³π“†₯, which translates to Son of Ra, Khafre, King of Upper and Lower Egypt.

What’s interesting about this cartouche though is usually β€œSon of Ra𓅭𓇳” and β€œKing of Upper and Lower Egypt π“†₯” appear as titles above the cartouche, instead of inside of it! I don’t know why it’s written like this, but I’ve always found it to be an interesting piece because of this!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Ushabti of Pharaoh Seti I

Pharaoh Seti I π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Œ»π“‡Œπ“£π“ˆ– had over 700 ushabtis π“…±π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ! The typical number was around four hundred – 365 worker ushabtis π“…±π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ, and the rest were overseer ushabtis. Most of Seti I’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Œ»π“‡Œπ“£π“ˆ– ushabtis π“…±π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ were wood 𓆱𓏏𓏺- when Giovanni Belzoni discovered Seti I’s tomb π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰ in the Valley of the Kings in 1917, he used a lot of the wooden 𓆱𓏏𓏺 ushabtis π“…±π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ as torches (this fact still haunts me – it was also one of my Nonno’s favorite stories to tell).

Besides the wooden 𓆱𓏏𓏺 ushabtis, Seti I π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Œ»π“‡Œπ“£π“ˆ– had many faience ushabtis π“…±π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ. His faience ushabtis are such a beautiful blue color and are inscribed with hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ. Seti I’s throne name, Maatmenra 𓇳𓁦𓏠, is clearly seen on the first line of hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Bronze Statue of Maat

Not only was Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“¦ the goddess π“ŠΉπ“ of truth, fact, law, order and justice, β€œmaat” was also a concept and a way of life in ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–. The noun β€œmaat” is translated as β€œtruth” so living by maat, meant living a pure and truthful life. Maat was also the balance and order in the whole universe.

Maat π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“¦ is usually shown as a woman with a feather on her head. Her most important role was in the judgement of the dead 𓅓𓏏𓏱. The god Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓁒 would weigh the heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 of the deceased against Maat’s π“™π“Œ΄π“‚£π“π“¦ feather 𓆄 to see if they were worthy to enter the Underworld 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐 and meet Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­. If the deceased’s heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 was balanced with the feather 𓆄, they were declared β€œtrue of voice” π“™π“Š€, and could meet Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­.

This statue is at the Petrie Museum at UCL in London!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Bronze Imhotep

My Nonno always made a point to make sure we saw Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ in every museum that we went to. It was part of the fun of going to the museum!! After seeing β€œThe Mummy” for the first time when I was about ten years old, I had already known about Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ for years from a historical perspective!!

Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ, meaning β€œHe who comes in peace,” was a non-royal man who became deified. This is a very rare occurrence, as it was thought by the Egyptians π“†Žπ“π“€€π“π“ͺ that the Pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 was the only god π“ŠΉ on the Earth. Imhotep was not deified in his lifetime – it was 2,000 years after his death that he began to be worshipped as a god π“ŠΉ. Not much is known about Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ from his lifetime – much information about Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ is from Demotic texts or stelae π“Ž—π“…±π“†“π“‰Έπ“ͺ that were written thousands of years after his death.

Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ was regarded as the Son of Ptah, who was the god π“ŠΉ of craftsmen and architects. He was also part of the Memphis Triad, which consisted of Ptah π“Šͺπ“π“Ž›π“€­, Sekhmet π“Œ‚π“π“…“π“π“, and Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Faience Tiles from Djoser’s Step Pyramid


Djoser 𓂦 was the first pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 of the 3rd Dynasty, and his Step Pyramid 𓍋𓅓𓂋𓉴 was the first large stone structure in Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–. Designed by the architect Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ, who was later deified, the Step Pyramid 𓍋𓅓𓂋𓉴 was meant to provide the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 with a large funerary complex and a home for eternity π“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž›.

These blue faience tiles decorated the lower levels of Djoser’s 𓂦 Step Pyramid 𓍋𓅓𓂋𓉴 Complex. There were over 30,000 tiles used!!! The tiles were meant to represent various types of reeds that covered the walls of Djoser’s 𓂦 palace.

I have always been obsessed with anything having to do with the Step Pyramid 𓍋𓅓𓂋𓉴 solely because of Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ. My Nonno always spoke more about Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ than Djoser 𓂦! My Nonno always pointed these tiles out to me in the museum. While to most people, the tiles look somewhat insignificant compared to beautifully carved reliefs and statues, my Nonno always said that these types of tiles were important because they were really only found in the Step Pyramid 𓍋𓅓𓂋𓉴 and one of Djoser’s 𓂦 other buildings at Saqqara. The tiles were pretty much a β€œuniquely Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ” thing according to Nonno!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Osiride Bust of Hatshepsut

This is a bust of Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ in the form of Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­ (Osiride) and originally stood over 15 π“Ž†π“Ύ feet high! This β€œstatue” is originally from her temple π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰ at Deir el-Bahri – this statue was not free-standing – it was actually carved from the blocks that were part of the temple π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰!!! Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ holds the traditional crook π“‹Ύ and flail π“Œ… across her chest along with an Ankh π“‹Ή and scepter π“Œ€. She once wore the white crown π“‹‘ of Upper Egypt on her head.

About twenty π“Ž†π“Ž† years after Hatshepsut 𓇳𓁦𓂓 died, these statues were cut off of the temple π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰ and thrown into a pit towards the front entrance. There, these Osiride portraits of Hatshepsut 𓇳𓁦𓂓 remained buried until they were discovered by excavators from the MET in the 1930s.

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Ancient Plagiarism – aka Usurping

This statue is very interesting because it was originally made for the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Amenemhat II π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“…“π“„‚π“ during the 12th π“Ž†π“» Dynasty. However if you look at the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ, the cartouches of Rameses II can be read! The pharaohs 𓉐𓉻π“₯ used to recycle statues all the time – this is a process known as usurping (taking one pharaoh’s monuments, erasing their name, and putting yours!). It’s kind of like ancient plagiarism!!

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!Β 

π“†₯(π“‡³π“„Šπ“§π“‡³π“‰π“ˆ–) King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Usermaatre
𓅭𓇳(π“©π“›π“ˆ˜π“„Ÿπ“‹΄π“‡“) Son of Ra, Rameses

This statue is made of granodiorite, a type of volcanic (igneous) rock. It was quarried at Aswan and then transported up the Nile to Memphis, where it was sculpted.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Faience Statue of Isis Feeding Horus

The statue of Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯ feeding Horus π“…ƒπ“€­ as a baby is one of the most popular images 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 of the Late Period through the Ptolemaic Period. Symbolically, Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯ was thought to be the mother 𓅐𓏏𓁐 of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 (The Divine Mother), and was often associated with motherhood 𓅐𓏏𓁐, the protection of women, and a user of magic. As Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯ became a more popular religious figure, she was associated with cosmological order and was considered to be the embodiment of fate by the Romans.

This image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 of a mother 𓅐𓏏𓁐 holding a child is thought to have inspired the well known Catholic images of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus as a baby. The amulet π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…† and statue was very popular in Roman households, most likely as a symbol of motherhood and family. My Nonno always made sure to point these statues out to us, as he felt they were really important due to the likely influence on Catholic symbolism.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Head of Tutankhamun


Who doesn’t have a fascination with King Tut??!! My Nonno had so many books on Tutankhamun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“π“…±π“π“‹Ήπ“‹Ύπ“‰Ίπ“‡“ and as a little kid I was enthralled by all of the pictures of the artifacts that were found in his tomb. I always loved hearing about how Howard Carter found and excavated the tomb π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰ in the Valley of the Kings during the 1920s.

While to most this statue head may seem anti-climatic after seeing the Temple of Dendur, I have always loved it because it is a portrait of Pharaoh Tutankhamun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“π“…±π“π“‹Ήπ“‹Ύπ“‰Ίπ“‡“. As a kid, seeing King Tut in the MET was just SO COOL. I still think it’s cool – even though I’m an adult, I still can’t shake the child-like fascination I have with Tutankhamun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“π“…±π“π“‹Ήπ“‹Ύπ“‰Ίπ“‡“

This limestone statue was made during Tutankhamun’s reign (18th Dynasty), and it shows that Tutankhamun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“π“…±π“π“‹Ήπ“‹Ύπ“‰Ίπ“‡“ brought back the old religion and traditional styles of Egyptian art and sculpture. The hand 𓂧𓏏𓏺 that can be seen on the back of Tutankhamun’s head is the hand 𓂧𓏏𓏺 of the god π“ŠΉ Amun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“€­. Since Amun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“€­ (king of the gods π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ) is touching Tutankhamun’s crown, it can be interpreted that Amun π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“€­ approved of Tutankhamun’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“π“…±π“π“‹Ήπ“‹Ύπ“‰Ίπ“‡“ reign.

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Egyptian Artifacts

William the Hippo!

William the Hippo π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ― is kind of the unofficial mascot of the MET – probably because he’s so cute!

I always liked William because as a kid I was obsessed with the hippo π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ― that was in β€œIt’s a Small World” at Disney World! The first time I ever went to Disney at 4 years old I went with my Nonno and Nonna and I’ll never forget riding β€œIt’s a Small World” together and seeing the hippo π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ―!


William was made in the first part of the 12th Dynasty. In Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, hippos π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ―π“¦ were both feared and respected π“ˆ™π“†‘π“„…. They were feared because they were one of the most dangerous animals in the Nile Valley 𓇗. However, hippos π“Œ‰π“π“ƒ―π“¦ were also thought to be powerful protectors π“…“π“‚π“Ž‘π“€œ against evil! William has lotus flowers 𓆸π“ͺ painted all over him to associate it with rejuvenation! William is most likely painted blue 𓇅𓆓𓏛 to represent the Nile and rebirth.