Tag: artifact

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Hatshepsut as Female King

I seem to always talk about the white limestone 𓇋𓈖𓈙𓌉 statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 because it’s my favorite, but I never seem to discuss the red granite 𓅓𓌳𓏏𓎶 statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 or “Hatshepsut as Female King.” This statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 is my second 𓏌𓏻 favorite!

The most striking aspect of this statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 is that Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 face, which displays feminine features, remained pretty much intact! Many of Hatshepsut’s 𓇳𓁦𓂓 statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 have the faces destroyed, possibly in an attempt to destroy her image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 so she would be forgotten from history. Many blame Thutmosis III 𓇳𓏠𓆣 for this, but actually any motivation behind this deliberate destruction of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is unknown and mostly speculation.

It’s very difficult to read the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 on this statue, but you can make out that Hatshepsut 𓇳𓁦𓂓 is using the female version of titles, and referring to herself as a woman!

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!
𓄤𓊹𓏏 – Perfect Goddess
𓇳𓁦𓂓 – Maatkare

Something interesting about this statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 (that cannot be seen in my pictures) is that Taweret 𓏏𓄿𓅩𓂋𓏏𓆗, the goddess 𓊹𓏏 that protects 𓅓𓂝𓎡𓀜 women 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐𓏪 in childbirth (and women/children in general), is actually carved into the back of the statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾! This is the only deity 𓊹 that is overtly carved into Hatshepsut’s 𓇳𓁦𓂓 statuary so this allows Egyptologists to infer that the statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 was probably meant to belong in the Hathor 𓉡 shrine 𓐍𓊃𓅓𓂜𓉐 at Deir el-Bahri 𓂦𓂋𓂦𓏥𓉐, and was probably used in cult worship 𓇼𓄿𓀢. It’s interesting that a goddess 𓊹𓏏 specifically aimed towards women 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐𓏪 was chosen to be carved!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Hatshepsut at the MET!

Happy 600 𓏲𓏲𓏲𓏲𓏲𓏲 posts to @ancientegyptblog 𓃣 (on Instagram at least)!!

I am so thankful for everyone who reads my posts and follows this account. Thank you 𓋴𓏏𓍯𓄿𓀢 for helping me to keep my Nonno’s name 𓂋𓈖 and image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 alive! That is my main reason for starting this account/website, and I just want to share everything he taught me with the world.

Today I 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 wanted to post something special, so here I am with the two 𓏻 best preserved statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 we have of Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 as pharaoh 𓉐𓉻! These are also my two 𓏻 favorite statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 from Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖! I always seem to celebrate this milestones with my favorite pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, because these statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 mean the absolute world to me!

While they look different and are made of different materials, these statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 are similar to each other in the way that Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 is portrayed in female dress, but also with the nemes 𓈖𓅓𓋴 head cloth to show that she is in fact the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻! The hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 on the inscriptions on both statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 use the female versions of words when referencing her. For example, “Lady 𓎟𓏏” is used instead of “Lord 𓎟.”

Both of these statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 were found during excavations at Hatshepsut’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri 𓂦𓂋𓂦𓏥𓉐. This gallery at the MET, which houses these striking statues, has always been my favorite room in any museum. I’m so thankful my Nonno taught me about Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 and for all of the memories we have in this gallery looking at her statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 together 𓈖𓊗. Seeing these statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪 as a child 𓐍𓇌𓀔 helped to ignite my love for studying Egyptian history.

As a kid 𓐍𓇌𓀔, seeing a woman portrayed so beautifully 𓄤 and so strong was incredibly inspiring. Hatshepsut 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎹𓏏𓄂𓏏𓀼𓏪 has been my idol and inspiration since I was a small child 𓐍𓇌𓀔, and my Nonno even said to me “Why be the queen when you can be the king,” and that is something I try to live by!

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Egyptian Artifacts

White Cross-Lined Ware Pottery with Crocodiles

Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳, we are going to travel all the way back to predynastic Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 (c. 3650-3500 B.C.E.)! More specifically, this piece is dated to the Naqada II Period (also known as the Gerzean Period), which is a period of accelerated development in art and culture. This time period is when more elaborate pottery began to appear and people started to get buried in larger and more elaborate tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏪! This was all before the first 𓏃 writing 𓏟𓏛𓏥 even appeared, which was during Naqada III (3200-3000 B.C.E.).

This piece of pottery 𓏠𓈖𓇋𓏋 is commonly referred to as “white cross-lined ware” by archaeologists. Flinders Petrie, the first Egyptologist to try and date predynastic pottery, described white cross-lined ware pottery 𓏠𓈖𓇋𓏋 as being a reddish-brown or dark red 𓂧𓈙𓂋𓅟 color that was decorated with white 𓌉𓆓𓇳 images 𓅱𓏏𓅱𓏪 or geometric drawings. White cross-lined ware pottery 𓏠𓈖𓇋𓏋 is usually only found in Upper Egypt 𓇓, near Abydos 𓍋𓃀𓈋𓊖 and Naqada.

I absolutely love this piece of pottery 𓏠𓈖𓇋𓏋 because beautifully 𓄤 drawn crocodiles 𓅓𓋴𓎛𓆌𓏦 that are on it!  Much like the hippopotamus 𓌉𓏏𓃯, the crocodile 𓅓𓋴𓎛𓆌 is one of the animals that appears frequently in early Egyptian imagery 𓏏𓅱𓏏 probably because the people of the Nile 𓇋𓏏𓂋𓅱𓈗𓈘𓈇𓏺 needed to always be on their guard in regards to crocodiles 𓅓𓋴𓎛𓆌𓏦 since they could come out of the water 𓈗 and on to the banks of the Nile 𓇋𓏏𓂋𓅱𓈗𓈘𓈇𓏺!

Even as ancient Egyptian culture evolved, Egyptians 𓆎𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏪 both feared and revered 𓇋𓌴𓄪 crocodiles 𓅓𓋴𓎛𓆌𓏦 due to their strength 𓄇𓏏𓂝𓏭 and power. While crocodiles 𓅓𓋴𓎛𓆌𓏦 were the feared animals along the Nile 𓇋𓏏𓂋𓅱𓈗𓈘𓈇𓏺, images 𓅱𓏏𓅱𓏪 of them could offer protection 𓅓𓂝𓎡𓀜, such as in the form of amulets 𓊐𓊪𓅆𓏪 which evolved much later.

Sobek 𓋴𓃀𓎡𓆋, the god 𓊹  was both feared and revered due to him being a crocodile 𓅓𓋴𓎛𓆌! He was worshipped 𓇼𓄿𓀢 in order to ensure the fertility of both people and crops, but also to protect against crocodile 𓅓𓋴𓎛𓆌 attacks. Sobek 𓋴𓃀𓎡𓆋 was one of the gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 that was named in the Pyramid Texts, which makes him one of the oldest deities 𓊹𓊹𓊹 in the Egyptian pantheon, however, this piece of pottery 𓏠𓈖𓇋𓏋 is still older than Sobek 𓋴𓃀𓎡𓆋!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Harpokrates

While a lot of the same themes and ideas persisted through the Egyptian religion for thousands of years, changes and evolution did occur from time to time! One of the ways those changes showed up were in the evolution of gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 and goddesses 𓊹𓊹𓊹𓏏. In both classical Egyptian and Graeco-Roman times, Horus 𓅃𓀭, Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁥 and Osiris 𓁹𓊨𓀭 were very popular deities 𓊹𓊹𓊹, however, their names 𓂋𓈖𓏦 and roles did evolve.  For example, Osiris 𓁹𓊨𓀭 was replaced/referred to as Serapis 𓁹𓊨𓀭𓎛𓐑𓊪𓃒 by the Ptolemies. Today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳 we are going to look at one of the ways that Horus evolved 𓅃𓀭!

In this picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏, Horus 𓅃𓀭 is represented in his Greek form Harpokrates 𓅃𓀭𓅮𓄿𓄡𓂋𓂧𓀔𓀭 (or Harpocrates), with his trademarked “finger to lips” pose.  This pose represents the “be quiet” gesture because to the Greeks, Harpokrates was the god 𓊹 of silence. In the Hellenistic world, Harpokrates could also be the god 𓊹 of secrets, confidentiality, and even the embodiment of hope!

The name 𓂋𓈖 Harpokrates 𓅃𓀭𓅮𓄿𓄡𓂋𓂧𓀔𓀭 is actually a Greek adaptation of the Egyptian “Heru-pa-khered” or “Heru-pa-khart” which translates to “Horus the Child” or “Horus the Younger.” This name 𓂋𓈖 makes sense when you look at the statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾𓏪, because Horus 𓅃𓀭/Harpokrates is represented as a child! Also, the determinative hieroglyph (last symbol in the phrase) for the word child “𓐍𓇌𓀔/𓄡𓂋𓂧𓀔” shows a seated boy with his hand to his mouth, which is where the idea for the representation of Harpokrates 𓅃𓀭𓅮𓄿𓄡𓂋𓂧𓀔𓀭 is thought to have originated from!

Here is a breakdown of Harpokrates’ name 𓂋𓈖  in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪:
𓅃𓀭𓅮𓄿𓄡𓂋𓂧𓀔𓀭 – Harpokrates

𓅃𓀭 -Heru
𓅮𓄿 – pa
𓄡𓂋𓂧𓀔𓀭 – khered/khart

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Temple of Dendur in Color!

One thing about Egyptian art that many people do not realize is that it once used to be very colorful! However, while time has preserved the beautiful 𓄤 carvings and inscriptions 𓏟𓏛𓏥, the paint 𓇨𓂋𓅱𓏭𓏸𓏦 on a lot of Egyptian art has been lost. This project at the MET, which features a projection of colors on to the Temple of Dendur shows what the temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 might have looked like when it was commissioned to be built by the Emperor Augustus 𓉐𓉻𓀀. By 10 B.C.E, the temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 construction was completed. 

The relief at the Temple of Dendur without color

Usually when trying to recreate colors on past artifacts, a combination of techniques are used such as researching other similar objects (looking at the colors used at the Temple of Hathor at Dendera and the Temple of Isis at Philae), or using scientific techniques such as checking for remnants of color/paint 𓇨𓂋𓅱𓏭𓏸𓏦 using various instruments. No traces of paint 𓇨𓂋𓅱𓏭𓏸𓏦 were found on the Temple of Dendur, so looking at the paint 𓇨𓂋𓅱𓏭𓏸𓏦 used on other similar temples 𓉟𓏏𓉐𓏥 was how the colors were inferred for this particular relief. 

The relief that the artists chose to recreate the color of the temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 with shows the Emperor Augustus 𓄿𓏲𓏏𓈎𓂋𓏏𓂋 making offerings 𓊵𓏏𓊪𓏏𓏔𓏦 of wine to the Egyptian gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 Horus 𓅃𓀭 and Hathor 𓉡! The pictures above show the progression of the colorization of the temple! This is created by using a projector to put the colors on the actual temple reliefs!

Fun fact because I can’t help myself: In this image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 you can see two 𓏻 (of Augustus’ three 𓏼) cartouches! I loved seeing these in color on the projection too!!

𓄿𓏲𓏏𓈎𓂋𓏏𓂋 Augustus (Autokrator)

𓈎𓇌𓊃𓂋𓊃𓋹𓆖 Augustus (Kaisaros)

The projection on the temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 happens in phases, so people can see the color start to come together and that’s what I tried to show in my photographs 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏪!! I hope you enjoy this unique look at the Temple of Dendur – let me know what you think about it! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Reliefs in the Mastaba of Perneb

This picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 shows a closeup of one of the many beautiful 𓄤 reliefs that decorate the inside of Perneb’s 𓉐𓂋𓈖𓎟𓃀 mastaba 𓉐𓆖. 

This relief shows two 𓏻 men carrying offerings 𓊵𓏏𓊪𓏏𓏔𓏦 of bread 𓏏𓏐 and fowl 𓅿. These reliefs are facing the False Door inside the tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐, where family 𓅕𓉔𓅱𓏏𓀀𓁐𓏦 members would leave offerings 𓊵𓏏𓊪𓏏𓏔𓏦 as well. Drawing the people bringing offerings 𓊵𓏏𓊪𓏏𓏔𓏦 to Perneb 𓉐𓂋𓈖𓎟𓃀 towards the False Door was done on purpose! In the ancient Egyptian religion/culture, it was thought that the drawings on the walls of tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏪 could come to life. If people were drawn bringing food 𓇬𓀁𓅱𓏔𓏥 to the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱, then it was thought that the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 would have enough sustenance for the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐! 

Perneb 𓉐𓂋𓈖𓎟𓃀 was a palace administrator during the 5th Dynasty, and he had his tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐 built at Memphis 𓏠𓈖𓄤𓆑𓂋𓉴𓊖 (modern day Saqqara). This type of tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐 is commonly referred to today as a mastaba, but in ancient Egyptian times they were referred to as a “House of Eternity 𓉐𓆖.” The word “mastaba” is Arabic for the word “bench,” and these tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏪 got their modern name 𓂋𓈖 due to their rectangular structure and flat roofs! 

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Closeup of the Hatshepsut Stela

Here’s a closeup of a part of the Hatshepsut 𓇳𓁦𓂓 Stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 from the Vatican Museum in Rome! My Nonno took this picture on one of his trips to the museum. He knows how much I love this piece (it’s second only to the limestone statue of Hatshepsut 𓇳𓁦𓂓 at the MET).

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! 

In the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪, you can see the cartouches for the throne names (or prenomen) of both Hatshepsut and Thutmosis III. The prenomen was one of the five royal names of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻.

𓇳𓁦𓂓 = Maatkare (Hatshepsut)
𓇳𓏠𓆣 = Menkhepra (Thutmosis III)

The hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 in between the two cartouches spell out 𓏙𓋹𓇳𓏇 which translates to “given life like Ra”

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Egyptian Artifacts

Pharaoh Horemheb with the God Amun

My Nonno took this picture!! This is a statue of the Pharaoh Horemheb 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓌺𓄿𓋔𓐝𓎱 with the god 𓊹 Amun 𓇋𓏠𓈖. Amun 𓇋𓏠𓈖 is pictured as larger than the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻. The gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 were always depicted bigger to symbolize the fact that they were more important than the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻. The only being a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 ever bowed to was a god, since the pharaohs themselves were gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 on Earth.

Amun 𓇋𓏠𓈖 was the King of the Gods (kind of like Zeus). As early as the 11th Dynasty, Amun 𓇋𓏠𓈖 was the patron god 𓊹 of Thebes. At the start of the 18th Dynasty, the god 𓊹 Amun 𓇋𓏠𓈖 gained great national importance in the pantheon and this is illustrated with Amun’s fusion with the sun god Ra (Amun-Ra 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏺𓇳).

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! 

On the left side of the statue, the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 read: 𓄤𓊹 𓎟𓇿𓇿(𓇳𓂦𓆣𓏼𓇳𓍉𓈖)𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏺𓇳 𓌻𓇌𓏙𓋹 – this translates to: “The great god, lord of the two lands, Djeser Kheperu Re, beloved of Amun-Ra, given life.”

While on the right side, the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 read: 𓅭𓇳 𓎟𓈍𓏥(𓇋𓏠𓈖𓌺𓄿𓋔𓐝𓎱) 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏺𓇳 𓌻𓇌𓏙𓋹 -this translates to: “Son of Ra, lord of appearances, Horemheb, beloved of Amun-Ra, given life.”

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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 𓇳𓈍𓆑 cartouche was super interesting! As a kid I loved it because Khafre 𓇳𓈍𓆑 was one of the pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏥 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 𓊹𓌃𓏪 though, this piece became even more interesting to me!

The cartouche reads: 𓅭𓇳𓈍𓆑𓇳𓆥, which translates to Son of Ra, Khafre, King of Upper and Lower Egypt.

What’s interesting about this cartouche though is usually “Son of Ra𓅭𓇳” and “King of Upper and Lower Egypt 𓆥” 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 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓌻𓇌𓁣𓈖 had over 700 ushabtis 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪! The typical number was around four hundred – 365 worker ushabtis 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪, and the rest were overseer ushabtis. Most of Seti I’s 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓌻𓇌𓁣𓈖 ushabtis 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪 were wood 𓆱𓏏𓏺- when Giovanni Belzoni discovered Seti I’s tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐 in the Valley of the Kings in 1917, he used a lot of the wooden 𓆱𓏏𓏺 ushabtis 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪 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 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓌻𓇌𓁣𓈖 had many faience ushabtis 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪. His faience ushabtis are such a beautiful blue color and are inscribed with hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪. Seti I’s throne name, Maatmenra 𓇳𓁦𓏠, is clearly seen on the first line of hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!