Tag: the met

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Egyptian Artifacts

Limestone Statue of Anubis

This limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ was found near the Sacred Animal Necropolis at Saqqara (Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–). The Sacred Animal Necropolis housed thousands ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ of mummified animals such as falcons ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„๐“ฆ, baboons, ibises ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค๐“ฆ and bulls/cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ. This piece is dated to the Late Period – Ptolemaic Period (664โ€“30 B.C.E.).

Although mummified jackals ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ๐“ฆ were not found in the area, statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ have been found most likely because Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is the god ๐“Šน of mummification and embalming, so it would make sense that there would be statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of him in the vicinity of this large necropolis. It is thought that Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช such as this were used to guard embalming tents.

Interestingly, this piece was originally painted ๐“ž๐“œ black ๐“†Ž๐“…“, but through time it has lost its coloring! Itโ€™s hard to see in my pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ (the MET really needs better lighting – the galleries are so dark) but you can still see remnants of some of the black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ on the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ!

I was very excited to see this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, because there is a similar one in the Petrie Museum in London! I love seeing similar pieces in different museums around thr world! Also (no surprise), I love anything Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ!

Nicole (me) with Anubis!

Fun fact! There are no temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ฆ dedicated to Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ because all tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ and large burial areas were considered โ€œtemplesโ€ to worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in! It makes so much sense because he is the god ๐“Šน of tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ and mummification!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Small Statue of Ptah

Although tiny (only about 5cm in height), this is a striking lapis lazuli ๐“๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“‚ง๐“ง statuette of the creator god ๐“Šน Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ. Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ is easily recognized, and I always called him the โ€œbald godโ€ as a kid even though he isnโ€™t necessarily bald – he is wearing a cap on his head! Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ has always been a favorite of mine because he is so fascinating!

Lapis lazuli ๐“๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“‚ง๐“ง is a very hard ๐“„‡๐“๐“‚๐“ญ stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช and is very difficult to work with, so that only makes the very tiny details such as the beard ๐“๐“ƒ€๐“Šƒ๐“…ฑ๐“ (the only god ๐“Šน to be consistently depicted with one) and the broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ even more impressive! Although itโ€™s hard to see, the staff that Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ is holding in his hands is actually a merging of the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ and the Was Scepter ๐“Œ€. The hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ for Djed ๐“Šฝ means โ€œstabilityโ€ while the hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ for the Was Scepter ๐“Œ€ means โ€œstrength.โ€

Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ was not created; he existed before anyone else and anything. In short, he was the creator of the other creator gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, like Atum ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚Ÿ๐“€ญ. Due to Ptahโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ creativity, he is also the designated god ๐“Šน of all forms of craftsman such as carpenters , shipbuilders, potters, metalworkers, and sculptors. Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช, the famous architect of the Step Pyramid (the first pyramid ๐“‹๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ด built in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–) is said to be the direct son ๐“…ญ of Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ due to his incredible work! There is so much I can say about Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ, but Instagram captions can only be so long!

This piece is estimated to be from the Third Intermediate Period โ€“ early Dynasty 26 (c. 945โ€“600 B.C.E.). Since it is such a high quality piece, it is most likely that it was meant for use in Ptahโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ large temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–(Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ was the chief god ๐“Šน of Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–). Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ was worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข at Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š– from the Old Kingdom forward.

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Ptah in Hieroglyphs

Here is a zoomed in view of an inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ with the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the god ๐“Šน Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ from a large statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that originally belonged to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenemhat II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“„‚๐“, however, the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ was usurped by Rameses II ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“.

As we learned yesterday, Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ was the chief god ๐“Šน of Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š– and was considered a great protector of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. In the Book of the Dead, Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ is referred to as โ€œThe Master Architect,โ€ and โ€œFramer of Everything in the Universeโ€ due to his role in โ€œspeakingโ€ the world ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ into creation!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Now, these two ๐“ป inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ are divided by a line because they are part of a larger text that is read downwards; they are not meant to be read together! However, I really wanted the closeup of Ptahโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, so we are going to read them this way from my picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ!

You probably know the first phrase already:
๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands
(๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–) – Rameses II (throne name Usermaatre)
๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ – Ptah
๐“‰ผ – Great (then the inscription continuesโ€ฆ)

Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ can be written a couple of different ways in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, but the phonogram symbols are always the same. Sometimes, the determinative symbol is left out because of spacing issues! Once you can recognize the first three ๐“ผ symbols, you are well on your way to finding Ptahโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– on monuments/artifacts!

Here are the different ways to write his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–:
๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ
๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“€ญ
๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฐ
๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›

The full statue that the inscription is on the back of
Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Hathor in Hieroglyphs

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

This is the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Iโ€™m sure you can see this, but Hathorโ€™s name is unique compared to that of the other deities! This is because her name is written with a composite hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ! A composite hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ is the combination of many symbols into one symbol! Hathorโ€™s ๐“‰ก name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– is the combination of an enclosure ๐“‰— and the falcon ๐“…ƒ.

๐“‰— +๐“…ƒ = ๐“‰ก

If the two ๐“ป symbols were written separately, we would actually read Hathorโ€™s ๐“‰ก name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– as โ€œHouse of Horusโ€ or โ€œEstate of Horusโ€ (depending on how you translated the ๐“‰— hieroglyph) – so that is the literal translation of her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–!

Just like other deities, there are many ways to write Hathorโ€™s ๐“‰ก name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Here are some of ways:
๐“ฅ
๐“‰ก๐“ฅ
๐“‰—๐“ท๐“‚‹๐“†— ๐“‰ก

Also, just look at how beautifully ๐“„ค carved this hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ is! I will never not be amazed at the incredible craftsmanship of the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Granodiorite Statue of Amun

This is a beautiful ๐“„ค granodiorite statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of the god ๐“Šน Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ. Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ was the most popularly worshipped god ๐“Šน during the 18th Dynasty amongst the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ and the elite.

This statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ is special because it was made during the reign of pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ (18th Dynasty, c. 1336โ€“1327 B.C.E.). After Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule, Tutankamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ was responsible for moving the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– back to Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š– and reestablishing the traditional Egyptian pantheon. Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ commissioned a lot of statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ to be made, most likely as a way to show that the old religion was once again free to be worshipped. Egyptologists believe that this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ was specifically sculpted to be placed in the Temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ at Karnak.

Something else that is interesting about the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is that it does still have some Amarna-style features, which suggests that some of the sculptors that worked in the Amarna workshops went to Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š– with Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ after Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– reign. Some of the facial features of the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ are also similar to other representations of Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ (for example, the full lips, the drooping chin). The braided beard and the crown, however, make it unquestionable that this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is meant to represent Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ.

Nicole (me) with the statue of Amun

Geology Lesson!!!! Granodiorite is an igneous rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ that is a โ€œin betweenโ€ granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ and diorite in terms of mineral composition. Granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ contains mostly quartz ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“ˆ™, while diorite contains a lot of plagioclase/potassium feldspars. Granodiorite contains both, hence it is an โ€œin-betweenโ€ rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Bronze Statue of the Goddess Neith

My Nonno loved bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช, and would always point them out to us in museums! Bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statuary ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ became very popular in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– starting around the Third Intermediate Period (26th Dynasty), and became very abundant in the Ptolemaic Period. However, the demand for bronze statues during this period resulted in mass production and a loss of craftsmanship and quality over time.

The Bronze Age started due to the rise in the Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia. Due to war and trade, bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ was able to come to Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– around 700 B.C.E. and replace the traditional stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช and clay statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช.

The bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ pieces are great antiquities because they can preserve small details over long periods of time. On this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ, the broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ around her neck is still perfectly painted on, along with the design on the Red Crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹”! Beautiful ๐“„ค bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ pieces can be seen in museums around the world ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ!

Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ was one of the goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ of war and rose to popularity during the 16th Dynasty because her central city of worship, Sais, was the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– at the time. She is also the protector of Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘, the son ๐“…ญ of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ whose canopic jar contains the stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป. Due to this, she was seen as a protector ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ of the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ along with Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ, Nephytys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡, and Selket ๐“Šƒ๐“‚‹๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“. She is usually seen wearing the Red Crown ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹” of Lower Egypt ๐“†ค or with a shield and crossed arrows on her head.

Along with Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“, Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ was one of my Nonnoโ€™s favorite deities! He always made sure to point her out in museums, and bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ are abundant because she was a very popular goddess ๐“Šน๐“ during the Bronze Age!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Bronze Statues of Sekhmet and Imhotep

This setup at the MET reminded me so much of my Nonno because Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ and Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช were two of his favorite ancient Egyptian figures! Even better, is they these are both bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช; he loved all of the bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช so much! Seeing the two ๐“ป statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช next to each other made me miss my Nonno so much.

Sekhmet (left) and Imhotep (right)

Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช, meaning โ€œHe who comes in peace,โ€ was a non-royal man who became deified. This is a very rare occurrence, as it was thought by the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช that the Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป was the only god ๐“Šน on the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ. Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was not deified in his lifetime – it was 2,000 years after his death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ that he began to be worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข as a god ๐“Šน. Not much is known about Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช from his lifetime – much information about Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช is from Demotic texts or stelae ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ๐“ช that were written thousands ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ of years after his death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ.

Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was regarded as the Son ๐“…ญ of Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ, who was the creator god ๐“Šน of craftsmen and architects. He was also part of the โ€œMemphis Triad,โ€ which consisted of Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“€ญ, Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ and Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช.

Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“๐“ was the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of war, but she is usually pictured with the sun disc ๐“‡ณ๐“ค on her head ๐“ถ๐“ค because she was also associated with the destructive aspects of the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“ค – such as the extreme heat of the desert ๐“…Ÿ๐“‚‹๐“๐“ˆŠ! Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“๐“ was one powerful lady, and the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช had many festivals dedicated to her in order to keep her happy!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Canopic Jars

Here are some very plain, but very cool canopic jars! While the Sons of Horus were first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts, after the 18th Dynasty, the Four Sons of Horus were associated with being the heads ๐“ถ๐“ฆ on canopic jars which would guard the organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น๐“ฆ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. During the mummification process, certain organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น๐“ฆ were removed, dried out with natron salt, and then placed in these canopic jars. The heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ was not removed because the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ needed their heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ to be weighed by Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰!

While each Son of Horus was associated with an organ ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น, they were also each associated with a cardinal direction and were protected by a funerary goddess๐“Šน๐“.

Imsety ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“˜๐“‡‹ had the head of a human, protected the liver ๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„น๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ธ, was associated with the South ๐“‡”๐“…ฑ๐“ and was protected by Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ.

Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘ had the head of a jackal, protected the stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป, was associated with the East ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ, and was protected by Neith ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹Œ๐“€ญ.

Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘ had the head of a falcon, protected the intestines ๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฎ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ผ, was associated with the West ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ, and was protected by Selket ๐“Šƒ๐“‚‹๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“.

Hapy ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ had the head of a baboon, protected the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ, was associated with the North ๐“Ž”๐“, and was protected by Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Stick Ushabtis

Whenever I am in a museum, I take so many pictures of the different ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช that are on display! There are so many different types, and each type is beautiful ๐“„ค in its own way!

These particular ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช that are are called โ€œstick ushabtisโ€ by archaeologists. Stick ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช are made of wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ, have a roughly mummiform shape, no artistic details, and have an inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the front. Most stick ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช are dated to the end of the 17th Dynasty to the beginning of the 18th Dynasty.

The function of these stick ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช also seem to be different than that of the regular ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช that are found in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ whose function was to perform tasks for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. The stick ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช have only been found in Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š–, in the above ground chapels that were found near tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ.

Instead of being a worker for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, stick ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช represented the family ๐“…•๐“‰”๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ฆ members of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, and were placed in the above ground chapel as a way to symbolize family ๐“…•๐“‰”๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ฆ members being close to their dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ loved one.

The stick ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช were usually placed in their own model coffins ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ๐“ฆ, just like in the first picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“! I always liked the model coffins ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ๐“ฆ, because I love tiny things! As a kid, the ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ๐“ช reminded me of dolls, and how cool is it to have a doll-sized ancient Egyptian coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ!!!

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Amun in Hieroglyphs

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

The inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ that you see in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ spells out the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the god ๐“Šน Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ! While many gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน had different variations on how to write their name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs, the spelling of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ was pretty consistent, which makes it an easy name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– to recognize!

Letโ€™s breakdown Amun-Raโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– into each individual symbol!

๐“‡‹ – phonogram symbols for โ€œjโ€
๐“  – phonogram for โ€œmnโ€
๐“ˆ– – phonogram symbols for โ€œnโ€
๐“‡ณ – ideogram for โ€œRaโ€ (๐“‡ณ can also be a determinative for sun, day, and time)
๐“บ – not pronounced! The โ€œ๐“บโ€ is there for spacing/aesthetic purposes!

Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ is the combination of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ (originally god ๐“Šน of the air, then evolved to become chief of the Egyptian gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน) and Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› (god ๐“Šน of the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ). During the New Kingdom, Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ and Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› were merged to create the single deity Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ. Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ was considered to be the father ๐“‡‹๐“๐“€€ and protector ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. The worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ was extremely popular and took on a cult-like following.