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Egyptian Artifacts

False Door in the Mastaba of Perneb

Pernebย ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ŽŸ๐“ƒ€ was a palace administrator during the 5th Dynasty, and he had his tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ built at Memphisย ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–ย (modern day Saqqara). This type of tombย ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ย is commonly referred to today as a mastaba, but in ancient Egyptian times they were referred to as a โ€œHouse of Eternityย ๐“‰๐“†–.โ€ The word โ€œmastabaโ€ is Arabic for the word โ€œbench,โ€ and these tombsย ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช got their modern name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– due to their rectangular structure and flat roofs!ย 

During the Old Kingdom, the Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป and the palace were pretty much the center of the government/society, soย Pernebย ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ŽŸ๐“ƒ€ย held quite an important role, hence the exquisite tombย ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰!ย 

I am standing inside the mastaba ๐“‰๐“†– ofย Pernebย ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ŽŸ๐“ƒ€ at the MET in front of his False Door! I will never forget seeing it for the first time with my Nonno – the first time I saw it, there was no glass on the reliefs! Seeing this for the first time will always be one of my greatest memories! I love being inside the mastaba ๐“‰๐“†– because I feel like I am in Egypt –ย ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–ย I love being in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช!

False Doors are an extremely important part of ancient Egyptian funerary practices. False Doors served as ways for the living relatives to make offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ to the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and there is a spot at the base of the False Door where offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ are meant to be left. 

The False Door acted as a link between the land of the living ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“ and the land of the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. The ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช believed that the soul ๐“‚“ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ could travel between the two lands ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ through the False Door. They are also known as โ€œka ๐“‚“ doorsโ€ or โ€œsoul ๐“‚“ doors.โ€ 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of Thutmosis III

This striking statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of the great generalย ๐“€Ž๐“ฆ, Pharaohย Thutmosisย IIIย ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃย is hidden away in one of the minor galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

I find this piece to be so beautiful ๐“„ค because the whiteย ๐“Œ‰๐“†“๐“‡ณย limestoneย ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ (it honestly looks like marble to me – but marble is metamorphosed limestone)ย contrasts so well with the blackย ๐“†Ž๐“…“ย paintย ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆย on the nemesย ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ดย head cloth and the eyes ๐“น๐“ฆ. Some redย ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿย paintย ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆย can even still be seen on the Uraeusย ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†—ย that is onย Thutmosisย IIIโ€™sย ๐“…๐“„ ๐“‹ดย forehead!

Thutmosis III ๐“…๐“„ ๐“‹ด is one of Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– most successful pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ. He was only three ๐“ผ years old when his father Thutmosis II ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– passed away, and was a co-regent with Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช before she completely took over the throne. During her rule ๐“‹พ, Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ was a member of the military and gained valuable experience that allowed him to be such a successful pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. He ruled ๐“‹พ Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– for 54 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“ฝ years, and was a very accomplished general ๐“€Ž๐“ฆ, having led troops into battle himself. Thutmosis III ๐“…๐“„ ๐“‹ด has been rumored to have never lost a battle! 

This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ was found during excavations of Montuhotep IIโ€™s ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Deir el-Bahri. The face of this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is not the original, it is a cast; the original face is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo! The MET then made a cast of the torso of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, and that is now at the Egyptian Museum as well! So each museum has a real part of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, and a cast of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ! The face and torso of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ were not found at the same time, hence why they ended up in different places! 

This piece is dated to the 18th Dynasty, c. 1479โ€“1425 B.C.E. (New Kingdom). 

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Egyptian Artifacts

White Cross-Lined Ware Pottery with Hippo

Todayย ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, we are going to travel all the way back to predynastic Egyptย ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–ย (c.ย 3500-3300ย 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 tombsย ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช! This was all before the firstย ๐“ƒย writingย ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅย even appeared, which was during Naqada III (3200-3000 B.C.E.).

This piece of pottery ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ is commonly referred to as โ€œwhite cross-lined wareโ€ by archaeologists. Flinders Petrie, the first Egyptologist to try and date predynastic pottery, described white cross-lined ware pottery ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ as being a reddish-brown or dark red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ color that was decorated with white ๐“Œ‰๐“†“๐“‡ณ images ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ช or geometric drawings. White cross-lined ware pottery ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ is usually only found in Upper Egypt ๐“‡“, near Abydos ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“ˆ‹๐“Š– and Naqada. 

I absolutely love this piece of pottery ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ because the cute hippos๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ that are on it!  The hippopotamus ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ is one of the animals that appears frequently in early Egyptian imagery ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ probably because the people of the Nile ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ needed to always be on their guard in regards to hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ since they could dominate both the land ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ and the water ๐“ˆ—. 

Even as ancient Egyptian culture evolved, Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช both feared and revered ๐“‡‹๐“Œด๐“„ชย hipposย ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ due to their strengthย ๐“„‡๐“๐“‚๐“ญย and power. Whileย hipposย ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ were the most feared animals along the Nile, images ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ช of them could offer protectionย ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ, such as in the form of amuletsย ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ชย which evolved much later.ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts

“Nefer” Broad Collar

๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“‡‘๐“‡‘ – How beautiful this is! Look at thisย beautiful ๐“„ค broad collarย ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹!ย 

The broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ was the necklace of choice by both the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ, and the nobility/wealthy! This broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ is unique because traditionally they were made with faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ beads while this particular broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ is made of gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ and glass ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ! Fun fact: glass and faience are the same word in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช: ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ!

If you look closely at this broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹, you will see a familiar hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช symbol: ๐“„ค! The โ€œheart and windpipe ๐“„คโ€ symbol is a triliteral phonogram that represents the sound โ€œnfrโ€ which in modern times we pronounce like โ€œnefer.โ€ The word โ€œnfr ๐“„คโ€ translates to โ€œbeautifulโ€ or โ€œgoodโ€ and is a very popular symbol not only in hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช phrases such as titles, but also in names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ! 

So basically, this broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ is just saying โ€œbeautiful ๐“„คโ€ over and over and over again! Maybe the broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ was supposed to bring good ๐“„ค wishes to the wearer, or just make them  even more beautiful ๐“„ค! Isnโ€™t that what nice jewelry is all about, even in modern times?!

The MET has this piece titled โ€œBroad Collar of Nefer Amuletsโ€ and it belonged to one of the foreign wives of pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ, as that is the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ the piece was found in. This piece is dated to the 18th Dynasty (c. 1504โ€“1450 B.C.E.). 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Isis Feeding Horus as a Baby

The image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ as a baby is one of the most popular images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of the Third Intermediate Period, Late Period and even through the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods.  

This image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ appeared in bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ, stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช, and even as small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช! My Nonno would always point out these pieces of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ as a baby because he felt they were so significant to the evolution of religious art through time. 

While my Nonno loved Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ and Roman art, he also loved Christian/Biblical art, so these Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช were kind of a natural connection between his area of interests! I always make sure to look for statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช like this in museums whenever I visit! 

Symbolically, Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ was thought to be the mother๐“…๐“๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, and was often associated with motherhood, the protection of women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“, and a user of magicย ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ. ย As Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ became a more popular religious figure, she was associated with cosmological order and was considered to be the embodiment of fate by the Romans. ย Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ was widely worshipped during the Roman times, and Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ as a baby has even appeared on the back of Roman coins.

This image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of a mother ๐“…๐“๐“ holding a child ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€• is thought to have inspired the well known Catholic images of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus as a baby.ย 

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Blog Egyptian Artifacts

“Wonderful Things”

โ€œWonderful Things.โ€ย 

That quote is from Howard Carter when he first peered into the tombย ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ย of Tutankhamunย ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“. Honestly, every time I walk through a museum all I can think is โ€œWonderful Thingsโ€ – I feel like that sums up my feelings pretty well!ย 

While I have posted this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ before, it is one of my absolute favorites and one of the many wonderful things that I have seen! This is my Nonno and I with Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ at the British Museum! I am posting this again because today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ is the 100 ๐“ฒ year anniversary of the discovery of Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰! 

As a child (and even now) I love the story about howย Tutankhamunโ€™sย ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ย tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ย was discovered! The funerary mask, Anubisย ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃย shrine, cartouche box, and so many of the other artifacts in the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ completely fascinated me and definitely played a part in me becoming so interested in ancient Egyptย ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–ย as a child. I have my Nonno to thank for telling me about Tutankhamunย ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ย and for encouraging my love and fascination with Egyptian history!ย 

In this particular statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ is wearing the nemes head cloth ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด, false beard, and broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹. These are all very common things for pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ to wear to represent themselves as pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, which Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ felt he needed to do in order to legitimize his rule ๐“‹พ. The bottom part of the statue is ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ decorated with lotus flowers ๐“†ธ๐“ช and papyrus reeds ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ. 

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Gold Ring of Tutankhamun

In order to commeorate 100 ๐“ฒ year anniversary of the discovery of Pharaoh Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰, let’s take a look at some artifacts related to Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“!

This gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ ring ๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹ช (the one in the back of the photo ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“), which was also used as a seal, has the throne name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ on it! 

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

In the middle of the ring ๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹ช, we see the throne name of Tutankhamun: ๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“ฆ๐“ŽŸ (Nebkheperure). Broken down, the name means:

๐“‡ณ – Ra

๐“†ฃ๐“ฆ – Forms/Manifestations

๐“ŽŸ – Lord 
So โ€œ

Nebkheperure ๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“ฆ๐“ŽŸโ€ means โ€œLord of the Manifestations of Ra.โ€

On either side of Nebkheperure ๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“ฆ๐“ŽŸ, there are other hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช too! 

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– – Amun

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

๐“ŽŸ Lord

๐“Œป – Beloved

So the full inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ reads: โ€œ ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›๐“ŽŸ๐“Œป Beloved of Amun, Lord of Eternity.โ€ 

Something really interesting about the inscriptionย ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅย is that the sun disc ๐“‡ณ symbol in the word โ€œeternityย ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›โ€ has the Ankh ๐“‹น or symbol for โ€œLifeโ€ with it, which was a common way to write โ€œeternityย ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›โ€ during the reign ๐“‹พ of Akhenatenย ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–! Itโ€™s meant to represent the Ankhs ๐“‹น๐“‹น๐“‹น that usually appeared in depictions of the Atenย ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ.ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Predynastic Pottery Vessel

Todayย ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, we are going to travel all the way back to predynastic Egypt (c. 3500-3300 B.C.E.)!

This type of vaseย ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹, known by scholars as โ€œpottery vesselsโ€ are very characteristic of early Egyptian art. There are many different examples of these, and many have been found in Egyptย ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. There is a very similar one to this in the British Museum, and many other examples at the MET! The significance of these vasesย ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹๐“ชย is still debated because Egyptologists donโ€™t exactly know why they were made or what they were used for! These predynastic vasesย ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹๐“ชย are so adored that many fakes have even popped up!ย 

In the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ above, there seem to be animals such as antelopesย ๐“ƒฒ๐“ƒฒ๐“ƒฒย and flamingoes ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ๐“ช standing amongst groups of triangles. These triangles most likely represent landscape features such as hills ๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“„ฟ๐“ŠŽ๐“ช or mountains ๐“ˆ‹๐“…ณ.ย 

In the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ above, a womanย ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ย (left) and a manย ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค(right) are standing on a boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž. Above the boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž, the hills ๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“„ฟ๐“ŠŽ๐“ช/mountains ๐“ˆ‹๐“…ณ are once again depicted. Below the boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž, it looks like plantsย ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐย are being shown! To me, the plantsย ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐย look like ferns (that is my interpretation).ย 

As a kid ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€•, I really liked this vase ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ because the groups of animals reminded me of the โ€œCircle of Lifeโ€ from The Lion King! To me (both as a kid ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€• and even now as an adult), the scenes on this pottery vessel ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ look just like the movie! 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Apotropaicย Rod or Magic Wand

This is a very unique piece (not the cute little hippoย ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ)!

This artifact is referred to as an โ€œApotropaicย Rodโ€ or โ€œMagicย ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œย Rodโ€ which means that it is an object that has the power to ward off evilย ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…จย or bad luck. This piece is dated to the Middle Kingdom (c. 1678-1640 B.C.E.) which was during the reign ๐“‹พ of Senwosret IIIย ๐“‡ณ๐“ˆ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ย (Dynasty 12).ย 

This piece is composed of multiple (four ๐“ฝ) segments that are all joined together. This is the only Magic ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ Rod that has been found of this type, and luckily it is completely preserved! In ancient Egyptian magic, animals that were considered to be dangerous, such as lions ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“„›๐“ฆ, hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ, and crocodiles ๐“…“๐“‹ด๐“Ž›๐“†Œ๐“ฆ could be used in amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† or wand to induce protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ on the person. There are also some cute frogs ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†๐“ฆ!! These animals can be seen as figures on the top of the wand! 

There is also a turtle ๐“ˆ™๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‰ amongst the other predatory animals on the top-center of the rod, so were turtles ๐“ˆ™๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‰๐“ฆ considered predatory? In ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, turtles ๐“ˆ™๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‰๐“ฆ were seen as an ambiguous force because they were creatures of both land ๐“‡พ and water ๐“ˆ—. Turtles ๐“ˆ™๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‰๐“ฆ were also seen as the enemy of Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“›, and in chapter 162 of the Book of the Dead, it is stated that โ€œMay Ra live, and may the turtle die.โ€ The turtles ๐“ˆ™๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‰๐“ฆ that lived in the Nile ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ were mostly nocturnal, which is probably why they were considered to be Raโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› enemy.

Carved into the rockย ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ย underneath the figures are other protectiveย ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œย symbols such as the Wedjat ๐“‚€ or โ€œEye of Horus,โ€ and baboons. There is also an image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of a crocodileย ๐“…“๐“‹ด๐“Ž›๐“†Œย and what looks like a lioness ๐“Œณ๐“น๐“„ฟ๐“๐“„›!ย 

Hereโ€™s another example of an Egyptian โ€œMagicย ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œย Wand,โ€ which is more commonly referred to as an โ€œApotropaic Wand.โ€ย 

This piece is dated to the Middle Kingdom (c.ย 1981-1640ย B.C.E.ย Dynasty 12-13) and wands such as these were common to find amongst burial equipment in Middle Kingdom tombsย ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ. These type of โ€œMagic Wandsโ€ are a lot more common than the one I posted about previously!ย 

This โ€œMagic Wandโ€ is made out of hippopotamus ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ ivory.  Since the tusks is the most dangerous and powerful part of the hippopotamus ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ, this object symbolically has the power to ward off evil ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…จ or bad luck. Not only is the ivory powerful, but the deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน depicted are also carry knives in order to ward off evil forces ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…จ! Taweret ๐“๐“„ฟ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“๐“†—, Nekhbet ๐“‡‘๐“ƒ€๐“๐“…๐“ŽŸ, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, and Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ are all shown! 

There are also some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on the Magic Wand! Some Magic Wands contain longer inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the back (not this one though)! Many of these inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ indicate that these wands were used as a protective amulet ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…† during childbirth, but they were placed in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ to help the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ at his/her rebirth. 

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

๐“ฒ๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“บ๐“‡ณ – Protection of Day

๐“ฒ๐“Žผ๐“‚‹๐“Ž›๐“‡ฑ – Protection of Night

Night can also be written as: ๐“Žผ๐“‚‹๐“Ž›๐“„› or ๐“„›. 

Day can also be written as: ๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“บ๐“‡ณ

Ancient Egyptian magic ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ is so incredibly fascinating! 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Viscera Figures

While the four ๐“ฝ figures of the Four Sons of Horus at the front of this display look like ushabtiย ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พย figures, they are not!! There are someย blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ ย ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พย figures behind the Four Sons of Horus though!ย 

So what are these Four Sons of Horus figures? These are actually called โ€œviscera figuresโ€ and they were meant to protect the internal organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น๐“ฆ of the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ! Usually, the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ, liver ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ, stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป, and intestines ๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฎ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ผ were removed, dried with natron, and placed in Canopic Jars for protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ. 

In some cases, the organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น๐“ฆ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ were mummified and put back in the body. This is where the viscera figures come into play – the viscera figures were then placed inside the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ to protect ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ the mummified organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น๐“ฆ! 

From the left:  Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘ had the head of a jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ and protected ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ the stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป. Imsety ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“˜๐“‡‹ had the head of a human and protected ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ the liver ๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„น๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ธ. Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘ had the head of a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ and protected ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ the intestines ๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฎ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ผ. Hapy ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ had the head of a baboon and protected ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ. 

These pieces are dated to the Third Intermediate Period/21st Dynasty (c. 1000โ€“945 B.C.E.). The viscera figures and the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures pictured were found in the burial chamber ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‰ of Djedmutesankh in a tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ at Deir el-Bahri.