Tag: british museum

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Mummy Beads

β€œThe Mummy Room” (as I called it) at the British Museum was such an incredible place to be! It was a bunch of galleries that were filled with beautifully π“„€ painted sarcophagi π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­π“¦ and mummies 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾π“ͺ! When I was a kid I was never afraid of mummies 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾π“ͺ(wrapped or unwrapped); I was just completely fascinated by them and I still am!

What is striking about this mummy 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾 is that the beautiful π“„€ beaded shroud that covers the mummy 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾 is still mostly intact! In ancient times, the beaded shroud would have been placed over the mummy 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾 after it had been placed in its coffin π“‹΄π“…±π“Ž›π“π“†±. The pattern of the beaded shroud was supposed to be representative of the cloak that Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­, god π“ŠΉ of the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐, wears.

These types of shrouds were mostly made with blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸π“₯ faience π“‹£π“ˆ–π“π“Έπ“Ό beads because in ancient Egyptian culture, the color blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸π“₯ was symbolic of rebirth and regeneration. Faience π“‹£π“ˆ–π“π“Έπ“Ό was an extremely popular material to work with because it was both cheap and easy to use! Faience π“‹£π“ˆ–π“π“Έπ“Ό is a quartz based material that can be molded and then heated to a very high temperature to keep its shape. Objects made of faience π“‹£π“ˆ–π“π“Έπ“Ό were thought to hold magical powers!

Beaded shrouds on mummies 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾π“ͺ were very popular during the Late Period and this one is estimated to be dated at c. 760-656 B.C.E., which is the 25th Dynasty. Beaded shrouds are very delicate and are usually found broken up, so this piece here is a beautiful π“„€ example of one.

Do you like mummies 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾π“ͺ?! Let me know!!!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

“He of the Sedge and the Bee”

π“†₯ is an extremely common title that is seen across many different types of monuments across Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– and museums around the world. A title is a phrase that appears before a cartouche, which is the oval that encloses the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻.

This gorgeous π“„€ and colorful sunken relief of the phrase π“†₯ comes from the King List that is currently located in the British Museum. I love it when ancient works of art retain their color, because it allows us to see the art as the ancient Egyptians π“†Žπ“π“€€π“π“ͺ themselves saw it. The blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸π“₯ and yellow paint is so bright and beautiful π“„€!

π“†₯ can either be translated as β€œHe of the Sedge and the Bee” or more simply β€œKing of Upper and Lower Egypt.”

𓇓 (a sedge) is the symbol that is used to represent Upper Egypt, while the 𓆀 (bee) is the symbol that is used to represent Lower Egypt.

π“†₯ is such a common phrase and you can find it everywhere – if you know how to recognize it, you can really impress people (and most importantly, yourself) in museums! Since the titles appear so often in sculpture, they are a great way to practice reading hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ because you see them over and over again! I didn’t learn over night – it took years of practice for me to be able to read hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ with the ease I do now!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

“Son of Ra”

“Son of Ra”

𓅭𓇳 – Let’s learn some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!

𓅭𓇳 simply means β€œSon of Ra.” Let’s break down the phrase:
π“…­ – Son
𓇳 – Ra

𓅭𓇳 is a very common title and you will see it in any museum you go to! A title is a phrase that is seen before 𓐍𓂋 the cartouche 𓍢 of a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 and can be viewed as an β€œintroduction” so that way the reader knows that the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 is about to show up!

Now, the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 is no mystery because it always appears in a cartouche 𓍢 but the pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 wanted to make sure their names π“‚‹π“ˆ–π“¦ were known/preserved for all eternity π“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž›!

The phrase β€œSon of Ra π“…­π“‡³β€œ also implies that the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 is the child of a god π“ŠΉ, which would give them the divine right to rule. A pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 was considered to be a god π“ŠΉ on Earth 𓇾𓇾!

This beautiful π“„€ inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ is from the King’s List Relief that is located in the British Museum!