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Egyptian Artifacts

World Hippopotamus Day

Apparently yesterday ๐“‹ด๐“†‘๐“‡ณ was World Hippopotamus ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ Day and I missed it! I guess itโ€™s not that big of a deal because I feel like every day ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ณ is hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ day to me! This picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is the last time I saw William at the MET before I moved to Florida, and yes I was crying! 

World Hippopotamus Day
Me with my plush William (and the real William) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. I was crying in this picture because I donโ€™t know when I will see William in person next as I have moved to Florida!

Itโ€™s no mystery that I love the blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ that were common during the Middle Kingdom! โ€œWilliamโ€ is the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– given to the blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ at the MET! William was made in the first part of the 12th Dynasty (c. 1961โ€“1878 B.C.E.) and was found in a tomb ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฉ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ in Upper Egypt ๐“‡“. 

In Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ were both feared and respected ๐“ˆ™๐“†‘๐“„…. They were feared because they were one of the most dangerous animals in the Nile Valley ๐“‡—. 

However, hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ were also thought to be powerful protectors ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ against evil, which is why statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช such as Willam were placed in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฉ๐“Šƒ๐“‰! If you look closely though, three of Williamโ€™s legs have been restored โ€“ they were probably broken off in antiquity to protect the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ from the hippopotamus ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ! 

A closeup image of William at the MET! This image clearly shows the painted Lotus flowers and his restored legs!

William has lotus flowers ๐“†ธ๐“ช painted all over him to associate him with rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ and regeneration! William is most likely painted blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ to represent the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful World Hippopotamus ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ Day!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Head of Akhenaten or Nefertiti?

The MET has this piece listed as โ€œHead of Akhenaten or Nefertitiโ€ but to me, the head looks more like Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ than Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–! Let me know who you think this piece looks more like in the comments!  

This piece is dated to c. 1353โ€“1336 B.C.E., which unsurprisingly is during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. The piece was found during the 1891-1892 excavations of Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– (present-day Amarna) by Flinders Petrie and Howard Carter. 

The bust was found in one of the sculptorโ€™s ๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“€€ workshops. The sculptorโ€™s ๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“€€ workshops in Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– have been the source of many beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ pieces from this time period. I love the artifacts that are found in an unfinished state because it gives such insight into how these incredible ancient Egyptian artists worked and it shows that even the most grand of pieces started off in humble states! If this piece had been finished, would it have looked like the famous Bust of Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ? Or was the piece just meant to be a trial piece and this was what it was supposed to look like?

One of my favorite things about this account is I get to learn as I am teaching! I did not know the word for โ€œsculptor ๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“€€โ€ off the top of my head so I looked it up! One of the alternative translations for โ€œsculptor ๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“€€โ€œ is โ€œLife Giverโ€ which I find so fascinating โ€“ it really gives insight into the Egyptian culture because the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ or statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of a person could give ๐“™ life ๐“‹น to them after death! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Apis Bull

These are bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’. The worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข of the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ can actually be traced back to as early as the First Dynasty! 

The Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ was associated with fertility and rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ and was mostly worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข in Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š– near the Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ Temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰. People would travel from various locations to the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ just to worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’, and the mother ๐“…๐“ of the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’. 

While Hathor ๐“‰ก is probably the most famous of the cow ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’ deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ was also very widely worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข and represented eternity ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› and the harmonious balance of the whole universe. The Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ was usually associated with the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป which is probably why a lot of pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ were referred to with the title of the โ€œstrong bull ๐“‚ก๐“ƒ’.โ€ This was to represent the strength ๐“„‡๐“๐“‚๐“ญ and vitality of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. 

Usually a live bull ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ’ was used to be worshipped, and the bull ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ’ needed to have special markings on it such as a triangle shape on its forehead, or patches that represented wings ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ๐“ฆ on its body. When the bull ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ’ that was being worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข as the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ died, it was embalmed ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž and buried elaborately. A new bull ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ’ would then take its place. 

One of the easiest ways to recognize the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ in statuary is by looking for the sun disc ๐“‡ณ on its head, and the elaborate cloth that is decorating the back of its body. In this picture itโ€™s hard to see the triangle on its forehead that usually represented the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’, but it is there! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Great Sphinx of Tanis

Did you know that this sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค in the Louvre is one of the largest outside of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–?

The sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค is known as the โ€œGreat Sphinx of Tanisโ€ because it was found in the ruins of the Temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“บ๐“‡ณ in Tanis ๐“†“๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Š–! Tanis ๐“†“๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Š– was the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– from the 21st-23rd Dynasties. 

The sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค is made of red granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถ which is an extremely strong ๐“„‡๐“๐“‚๐“ญ and durable rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™! Red granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถ was very valued not only for its pink color but its durability. As you can see, the sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค retained its beautiful ๐“„ค features really well due to the characteristics of the rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™

This sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค is so interesting because the cartouches of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ Merneptah ๐“‡ณ๐“ƒ’๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน (19th Dynasty) and Sheshonq I ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“†ท๐“†ท๐“ˆ–๐“ˆŽ (22nd Dynasty) are both seen on the sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค.  Why are two ๐“ป pharaohโ€™s ๐“‰๐“‰ป names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ there?  Well, the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช used to recycle monuments, a process called โ€œusurping.โ€ The practice of usurping was when the current pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป would take old pharaohโ€™s ๐“‰๐“‰ป names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ off of monuments ๐“ ๐“ and put their own there! It is basically ancient plagiarism and it occurred quite frequently. 

Some Egyptologists say this sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค actually dates back to the Old Kingdom, as the face ๐“ถ๐“บ doesnโ€™t represent any known pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป! A book that I have says the sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค dates to the Middle Kingdom. We will probably never know when the sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค was carved which is both fascinating and frustrating at the same time! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Painted Wooden Stela

This painted wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ is an absolutely beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ piece from the Third Intermediate Period (22nd Dynasty, c. 825โ€“712 B.C.E.) and one of my favorites to see at the MET. 

Painted Wooden Stela at the MET

This stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ depicts the god ๐“Šน Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ leading the deceased woman, Tjanetiset, to the deity ๐“Šน Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค. This imagery ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is very common on stelae ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ from this time period. Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค is the combination of the deities Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› and Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ and he is the god ๐“Šน of the morning sun ๐“…ƒ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ. Images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ  and depictions of Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค in funerary art became more prominent during the Late Period. 

I love this piece so much because it looks like Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ and the woman Tjanetiset are holding hands and he is leading her to Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค! Whatโ€™s very interesting is what is in Tjanetisetโ€™s other hand! If you look closely, she is holding a heart in her hand ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ and it looks like she is holding it in an offering position to Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค. 

In ancient Egyptian religion/culture, the heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ was not only the center of a personโ€™s life ๐“‹น, but also thinking, memory, and moral values. The heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ was not removed during the mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž process, because the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ person would need it on their journey through the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Akhenaten and Nefertiti

When I went to the Louvre in 2015, this was one of my must-see pieces! The love story of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— has always fascinated me . This painted limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ reminds me of the popular โ€œcouples statues,โ€ which depict a husband and wife sitting together, that were prominent in burials during the Old Kingdom!

Akhenaten and Nefertiti

Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— was the โ€œGreat Royal Wife ๐“‡“๐“๐“ˆž๐“๐“…จโ€ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. This statue depicts Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— (left) and Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– (right) holding hands and walking forward. We know they are walking forward because one foot is placed in front of the other. 

Letโ€™s talk about their clothing! They both have sandals ๐“ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ธ๐“ช on their feet and wearing broad collars ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹๐“ฆ, the necklace ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง of choice for royals and the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน. Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is also wearing the blue Khepresh crown ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ on his head, while Nefertiti appears to be wearing what looks like the red crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹”, but there is blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ on it! . The Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— is still present on the front of both crowns! 

What was the purpose of this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ? This most likely came from a private home, where it was used in a shrine ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰ to worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“—. The common people would worship Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— because they were thought to be manifestations ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ here on Earth. 

The typical Amarna-style (elongated faces and limbs, more body fat in the stomach and thighs) is present here, which makes it very easy to identify these figures as Nefertiti ๐“„ค๐“๐“‡๐“˜๐“— and Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. The Amarna art revolution is so interesting because Egyptian art didnโ€™t change much until Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule, then there was this drastic change, and then once Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– died, the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช reverted back to the traditional art style and it stated that way for the rest of the civilization. 

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Hatshepsutโ€™s Ovoid Stone

This piece is known as an โ€œOvoid Stoneโ€ or a โ€œHammering Stoneโ€ and was probably used as a type of tool during building construction.

Ovoid Stone
A closeup image of the Ovoid Stone and the hieroglyphs on it!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! I divided the inscription into two parts, and then translated each of the individual words so you can get a sense of the sentence structure used in the Middle/New Egyptian language!! Hereโ€™s the first row:

๐“Šน๐“๐“„ค(๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“)๐“น๐“ˆ–๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“ ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“›๐“†‘๐“Šƒ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ

๐“Šน๐“๐“„ค โ€“ Great Goddess

๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ โ€“ Maatkare

๐“น๐“ˆ– โ€“ to make/to do/born of

๐“Šƒ โ€“ she

๐“…“ โ€“ for

๐“ ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“›- monument

๐“†‘ โ€“ father 

๐“Šƒ โ€“ her 

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ โ€“ Amun-Re

โ€œThe Great Goddess, Maatkare, she made the monument for her father, Amun-Reโ€ฆโ€ 

And hereโ€™s the second row: 

๐“๐“†‘๐“ธ๐“ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ธ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‚ฆ๐“›๐“‚ฆ๐“…ฑ๐“‰๐“น๐“Šƒ๐“‹น๐“˜

๐“๐“†‘ โ€“ in front of/at (a preposition)

๐“ธ๐“ฑ๐“ˆ™ โ€“ Stretching of the Cord

๐“ท๐“ธ โ€“ over

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– โ€“ Amun 

๐“‚ฆ๐“›๐“‚ฆ๐“…ฑ๐“‰ โ€“ Holiest of Holies

๐“น๐“Šƒ๐“‹น๐“˜ โ€“ May She Live / That They Live

โ€œโ€ฆat the stretching of the cord over the Holiest of Holies Amun, May She Live!โ€

The โ€œStretching of the Cordโ€ was part of the foundation ritual that occurred when a building was constructed in ancient Egypt. โ€œHoliest of Holiesโ€ is the name for Hatshepsutโ€™s temple at Deir el-Bahri. 

Ovoid Stone
A larger view of the display that contains the Ovoid Stone

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Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

The Kingโ€™s List and Hatshepsut

King's List
Me with the Kingโ€™s List at the British Museum.

Here I am with the Kingโ€™s List in the British Museum! In the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, Iโ€™m pointing to where Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– should be because she was one of the pharaohs left off the list โ€“ she was left off because she was considered to be a non-legitimate pharaoh. 

King's List
Me with the Kingโ€™s List at the British Museum.

The point of the King Lists was not to preserve history for future generations, rather the main objective was to glorify the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, and as we know, pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ were considered gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน on Earth. These lists allowed Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  and Rameses II ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ to assert their legitimacy amongst the old pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. 

King's List
A closeup of the cartouches on the Kingโ€™s List

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! We are going to look at the Throne Name cartouches of the 18th Dynasty pharaohs to show where Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ name is missing! We will start reading from the right since the hieroglyphs point in that direction! 

๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ โ€“ Thutmosis I โ€œGreat is the manifestation of the soul of Raโ€ 

๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– โ€“ Thutmosis II โ€œGreat is the manifestation of Raโ€ 

 ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ โ€“ Tutmosis III โ€œLasting is the Manifestation of Raโ€ 

๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– โ€“ Amenhotep II โ€œGreat is the manifestation of Raโ€

๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ โ€“ Thutmosis IV โ€œLasting are the Manifestations of Raโ€

๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  โ€“ Amenhotep III โ€œPossessor of the Truth of Raโ€

As you can see, the cartouches jump right from Thutmosis II ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– to Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ and totally skip Hatshepsut ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“! 

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

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Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs Ushabti Friends

Ushabtis and Hieroglyphs

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, we are going to combine two of my favorite things: ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ and hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Ushabtis and Hieroglyphs
This display combines two of my favorite things: Ushabtis and Hieroglyphs! This ushabti belonged to a woman named Isis and is on display at the MET.

This ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is made out of limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ and was made for a woman named Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“ who was ironically a singer for the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ ! 

This ushabti ๐“™๐“๐“‚๐“Šค was made during the 18th Dynasty reign of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. The 18th Dynasty is almost the โ€œgolden ageโ€ of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ because they undergo much development during this time period. Itโ€™s very easy to date this ushabti because the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ was only worshipped during his reign! Also, the ushabtiโ€™s ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ hands are crossed in a mummiform way and holding tools โ€“ another 18th Dynasty clue! 

Hereโ€™s the full inscription on the ushabti: ๐“‡“๐“‚๐“๐“ˆ–๐“…ฎ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“๐“™๐“๐“‚๐“Šค

Letโ€™s break down the inscription by each individual word:

๐“‡“๐“‚๐“ โ€“ Singer 

๐“ˆ– โ€“ of

๐“…ฎ โ€“ (indicates past tense)

๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ โ€“ Aten 

๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“ โ€“ Isis

๐“™๐“๐“‚๐“Šค โ€“ True of Voice/justified

While limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ is not the most common material for ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ to be made out of, itโ€™s not unheard of to have ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ like this during the 18th Dynasty period.

It always fascinates me that even though Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– completely changed the whole ancient Egyptian religion during his reign, certain aspects of the original religion, such as ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, remained. 

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

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Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Small Animal Statues

I love this display at the MET because not only do I love tiny things, but these small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ animal statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช have a lot of significance!

Small Animal Statues on display at the MET! In the front is the jasper hippo, then the amethyst monkey holding its baby, and behind that is the three jerboas.

Letโ€™s first talk about the red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ jasper hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ! Instead of the usual standing position, this hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ is laying down and might have been used as an amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† because there is actually a hole going through it! In Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ were both feared and respected ๐“ˆ™๐“†‘๐“„… because they were one of the most dangerous animals in the Nile Valley ๐“‡—. However, hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ were also thought to be powerful protectors ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ against evil ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…จ, which is what this amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† would have done for the wearer! This piece is dated to the New Kingdom. 

The amethyst figure behind the hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ is of a monkey ๐“Žผ๐“„ฟ๐“†‘๐“„› holding its baby! This piece is dated to the Middle Kingdom but it is very similar in style to some Old Kingdom pieces that are also at the MET! Monkeys ๐“Žผ๐“„ฟ๐“†‘๐“„›๐“ช are not native to Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– and were actually pets for the very wealthy. This figure also has a loophole in it and would have been used as an amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†. Usually the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of a mother and child is associated with fertility and rebirth. 

The three little figures behind the amethyst monkey ๐“Žผ๐“„ฟ๐“†‘๐“„› are little desert rodents called โ€œjerboa ๐“Ž›๐“ฟ๐“‹ด๐“„›. I thought they were mice ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“„› at first and had to look up jerboa in both English and hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช โ€“ I love learning new things! The symbolic meaning of these Middle Kingdom statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช are unknown, but they were buried with someone! The jerboa ๐“Ž›๐“ฟ๐“‹ด๐“„› is a small desert rodent and these animals first show up as statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช during this time period; none have been found dated to the Old Kingdom! 

Small Animal Statues
Small Animal Statues on display at the MET

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

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