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Egyptian Artifacts

Sedimentary Rocks in Ancient Egypt

Letโ€™s have a combination geology and history lesson today! While I always refer to ancient Egyptian history and hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช as my โ€œFirst Love,โ€ my second love is petrology! Most people think geology is solely the study of rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ, however, geology is actually an umbrella term that covers any field that studies the surface and interior of the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ! Petrology is solely the study of rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ, and within that field, sedimentary rocks are my absolute favorite type of rock to study!

Sedimentary Rocks
A stone vessel from the pre-dynastic period made from the sedimentary rock breccia (Brooklyn Museum)

Even in the pre-dynastic period, ancient Egyptian artisans mastered the art of taking very hard rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ and turning them into something beautiful ๐“„ค – as is the case with this Breccia jar dated to c. 3500-3100 B.C.E. Breccia was mainly used to make these stone jars, and rarely is it seen in other statuary. 

Breccia is classified as a clastic sedimentary rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™. Sedimentary rocks are rocks that formed from tiny pieces (sediments) of pre-existing rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ and are classified based off the size of the fragments in the rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ. Breccia is defined by the fact that is has fragments over two ๐“ป millimeters in diameter, those fragments are angular, and they are suspended in a matrix (natural cement formed by the precipitation of minerals). 

Brecciaโ€™s โ€œsister rockโ€ (as I like to call it) is called conglomerate, which is also found in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! While the rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ are similar (fragments over two ๐“ป millimeters in diameter, fragments in a matrix), their main difference is that conglomerate has rounded fragments! Why do we care about that difference? If the fragments are round, it means they traveled a far distance in water ๐“ˆ— before they formed into the conglomerate! The angular fragments signify that the rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ formed quickly after the sediments were deposited!ย 

Sedimentary Rocks
A piece of the rock conglomerate, which was found by me on the North Shore of Long Island. This is from my personal rock collection.

I included a picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of a conglomerate from my personal collection (I also found this rock myself) so you can see the difference in the shape of the fragments (scientifically referred to as โ€œclastsโ€).  This conglomerate is one of my favorites because it has a โ€œHidden Mickeyโ€ in it!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Relief of a Nobleman

This limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ โ€œRelief of a Noblemanโ€ on display at the Brooklyn Museum is a beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ and detailed example of a sunken relief! Sunken relief is defined as art that is carved directly into the rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™, and it is below the rock face.

Relief of a Nobleman
The “Relief of a Nobleman” piece is on display at the Brooklyn Museum.

This piece is dated to the 19-20th Dynasties (c. 1295-1070 B.C.E.). According to the information from the Brooklyn Museum, the original location of the relief (and the rest of it) is unknown, however, based off the intricacy of the artistry, Egyptologists believe it was possibly originally from a Ramesside-era tomb ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฉ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ in Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š– (modern-day Saqqara).ย 

While this was carved way after the reign of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– (and his artistic revolution), some remnants of Amarna-era inspiration remain. For example, the fact that the face is more rounded than flat is Amarna-inspired, as well as the deep carving into the rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ near the back of the head as compared to the face. This creates a really cool dimension, and was really first seen in the Amarna-era! 

The wig ๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“๐“ธ that this man is wearing is intricately carved, and I feel like every little detail is seen! The wig ๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“๐“ธ almost looks real! My favorite aspect is the headband with the lotus flowers ๐“†ธ๐“†ธ๐“†ธ on it!ย 

On the left side of the relief, a hand ๐“‚๐“บ is holding a sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ and a flower ๐“†ผ๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ. A sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ was a musical instrument (like a rattle/tambourine) that was associated with the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก. Hathor’s ๐“‰ก face usually appears on the stem of the sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ, right below the “rattles.” The ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช had a big connection with music ๐“‰”๐“‡Œ๐“†ธ, and sistrums ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ช appeared in art (and as actual artifacts) often.ย 

Music ๐“‰”๐“‡Œ๐“†ธ is something I love and cannot live without. I think itโ€™s fascinating that a love of music ๐“‰”๐“‡Œ๐“†ธ is something that has not changed in thousands ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ of years or across civilizations/cultures.ย I love that I share that connection with ancient Egyptian culture!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of Horemheb Before He Was Pharaoh

Before Horemheb ๐“‡ณ๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– became the last pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of the 18th Dynasty, he was a general ๐“€Ž๐“ฆ under the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ Tutankamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ and Ay ๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ๐“ช๐“น๐“™๐“. This large statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ (and a second similar one) would have been placed in a temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ – either the temple of Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ at Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š– or the temple of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“บ๐“‡ณ at Karnak.ย 

Statue of Horemheb
Me with a Statue of Horemheb seated with a papyrus from before he was pharaoh.

It was standard for high officials to show themselves in a seated position with a papyrus scroll ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› on their lap. In the Old Kingdom, the statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช usually showed the official reading, but in the New Kingdom, the statues usually showed the official writing ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ. Horemheb ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œบ๐“„ฟ๐“‹”๐“๐“Žฑ is writing ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ a hymn to the god ๐“Šน Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ(who is the god ๐“Šน of writing ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ).ย 

Statue of Horemheb
Statue of Horemheb seated with a papyrus from before he was pharaoh.

The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช around the base of the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ mention Horemhebโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– many titles. The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on the โ€œpapyrusโ€ ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› that is on Horemhebโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œบ๐“„ฟ๐“‹”๐“๐“Žฑ lap can actually be read, but it was so difficult to get a picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“/actually read them because I could not get close enough to the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ!

It is really interesting to see a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป depicted in statuary before he became the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. Most pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ were born into their role, but Horemheb ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œบ๐“„ฟ๐“‹”๐“๐“Žฑ ascended to the throne through his status as general ๐“€Ž๐“ฆ. What a way to end the 18th Dynasty!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Video

Soul of Pe Statue – Video

This bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ kneeling statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ deity ๐“Šน is referred to as the โ€œSoul of Peโ€ and it is actually another way to depict the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. Also known as โ€œHorus of Pe,โ€ these bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช became popular during the Late Period, after 600 B.C.E. 

The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– were first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts and are referred to as the ancestors of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ. The Souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– and Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– were thought of as very powerful deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน that not only aided the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ, but also the current living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. 

In this particular statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ, Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ/Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– is shown in a characteristic kneeling position with one arm raised, with the other resting on his chest. This is known as a โ€œjubilation position,โ€ which is meant to show the Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– celebrating the rising of the sun ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“‡ถ. The Soul of Pe ๐“Šช๐“Š– is usually represented as Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ the Falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„, while the Soul of Nekhen ๐“Š”๐“ˆ–๐“Š– is usually represented as a jackal ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ. 

This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Ancient Egyptian Earth Day!

Yesterday was Earth Day and I forgot about it but I have a good excuse I promise – Iโ€™m an Earth Science teacher and for me, everyday is Earth Day!!ย 

Itโ€™s incredible to me how much the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช knew about our beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ planet, and how that knowledge was reflected in their intricate mythology. The Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ itself is differentiated (interior is divided into layers), has an atmosphere, and that atmosphere fades and thins away until space is reached. We can see all of these different โ€œlayersโ€ in this art from a sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ which is showing part of the creation myth! Letโ€™s take a closer look!ย 

Earth Day
A close-up image of a sarcophagus at the Brooklyn Museum depicts (from top): Nut, Shu, Khnum and Geb!

The goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of the cosmos, Nut ๐“Œ๐“๐“‡ฏ๐“€ญ, is depicted as a woman ๐“‚‘๐“๐“ arched over the rest of the figures, because as the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of the cosmos, she surrounds the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ – just like space actually does! Directly underneath Nut ๐“Œ๐“๐“‡ฏ๐“€ญ is Shu ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ, the god ๐“Šน of the atmosphere. Shu ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ is seen holding up the sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ (which is depicted as the sky ๐“‡ฏ hieroglyph). Shu ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ is responsible for raising the atmosphere from the Earthโ€™s ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ surface! 

Underneath Shu ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ is Geb ๐“…ญ๐“ƒ€๐“€ญ, the god ๐“Šน of the Earthโ€™s ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ surface, which the ancient Egyptians called the Upper Earth. Tantanen (not pictured) is the god ๐“Šน of the Lower Earth (aka Earthโ€™s interior). I still think itโ€™s amazing that the ancient Egyptians knew there was an interior to the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ, and the mythology is how they conceptualized that. 

Khnum ๐“Žธ๐“€ญ/๐“Žธ๐“๐“€ญ, the ram headed creator god, is also pictured. Khnum ๐“Žธ๐“๐“€ญ is one of the oldest deities; he is the god ๐“Šน of the source of the Nile ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ, fertility and was thought to have made humans out of clay from his potters wheel! 

Take a closer look at the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ and see if you can see the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ of all of these gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน in the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

So in this beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, we have a representation of Space (Nut ๐“Œ๐“๐“‡ฏ๐“€ญ), the atmosphere (Shu ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ), the Earthโ€™s surface (Geb ๐“…ญ๐“ƒ€๐“€ญ) and the source of the Nile (Khnum ๐“Žธ๐“€ญ). This is how the Egyptians saw Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ and I think itโ€™s incredible!! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Chariot in Ancient Egypt

This rectangle fragment of a relief depicting a horse drawn chariot ๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“Œ was found at the Great Aten Temple in Amarna (Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–). This piece is estimated to have been carved between c. 1352โ€“1336 B.C.E., which is during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. This particular relief pictured was originally part of a much larger image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“. Here, chariot ๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“Œ attendants are keeping watch of the chariots ๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“Œ๐“ฆ for the royal family.ย 

Chariot
Image of a horse drawn chariot and a chariot attendant from Akhetaten on display at the MET.

Chariots ๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“Œ๐“ฆ (and horses ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“๐“ƒ—๐“ช) were not always a part of Egyptian history. It is estimated by historians that the chariot ๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“Œ first arrived in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– around 1600 B.C.E. and that they were introduced by the Hyksos. The first horse ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“๐“ƒ— remains in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– are estimated to be from the Thirteenth Dynasty, so horses ๐“‹ด๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“๐“ƒ—๐“ช must have been introduced to Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– before the Hyksos rule. 

After Ahmose I ๐“‡บ๐“„Ÿ defeated the Hyksos and reunified Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– to start the 18th Dynasty/New Kingdom, the chariot ๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“Œ became a common sight in both art and in the life of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. Chariots ๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“Œ๐“ฆ were the number one choice of transportation for royalty! Chariots ๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“Œ๐“ฆ were also used by pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ to take part in hunting, and were used by the army for battle. Many reliefs and other forms of art from this time period shows various pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ hunting or going into battle on their chariot. The chariot ๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“Œ became a sign of bravery and strength ๐“Œ€. 

Fun Fact: the hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ for โ€œchariot ๐“Œโ€ only appeared in Middle Egyptian around the same time that the chariots ๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“Œ๐“ฆ were introduced to Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! That totally makes sense and itโ€™s so cool to โ€œwatchโ€ the language evolve as technology evolved! The same thing happens today! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Egyptian Artifacts

I Love Mummies!

Here at the MET, I am sitting with a mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ that is still wrapped in its linen ๐“ฑ. Mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž was an extremely important part of Egyptian religious practices because the body of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ needed to stay intact in order for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ to reach the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰.ย 

Mummy
Me sitting with a linen wrapped mummy at the MET

Mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž was practiced throughout most of Egyptian history, and the earliest mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช were most likely accidental just due to the dry climate of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! The mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž of people persisted for over 2,000 years and continued well into the Roman Period. The best preserved mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช are from the 18th-20th Dynasties.  

Mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž was a long process that took about seventy days to complete. First ๐“ƒ, the internal organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น๐“ฆ such as the liver ๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„น๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ธ, stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป, intestines, lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ, and the brain ๐“‚๐“…“๐“…“๐“„น were removed. The heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ remained in the body because it would be needed for the โ€œWeighing of the Heartโ€ before the deceased entered the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š–. After that, the body was then dried in natron ๐“ƒ€๐“‚ง๐“‡จ, which is a type of salt. Once the drying was complete, the body was wrapped in hundreds of yards of linen ๐“ฑ. Amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช could placed in the linen ๐“ฑ to help the deceased enter the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. 

Here is some mummy-related vocabulary:

๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ – Mummy

๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ – Tomb

๐“‰๐“†– – Mastaba (House of Eternity)

๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‰ – Burial Chamber 

๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž – Mummification/Embalm

I have had a fascination with mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช since I was a little girl! Mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช never scared me – I just remember being so interested and intrigued by the idea of them! One of the first books my Nonno ever gave me was called “Faces of the Pharaohs,” and it contained pictures of the 18th Dynasty royal mummies! It is still one of my favorite books!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Video

Ushabti of Paser – Video

Here is a video of me at the Metropolitan Museum of Art with the Ushabti of Paser! This beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ is on display in Gallery 122!

The blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผย  ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ belongs to Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ! Objects made of faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ were thought to hold magical ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ powers!ย  The ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ served as substitutes for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and would perform labor or jobs for them in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. They are usually inscribed with specific spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ which assigned each ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ to a certain task!ย 

Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ was one of the most prominent men of his time and he served under two ๐“ป pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป – Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  and then Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–.  Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ served many different roles over twenty-five ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“พ years! He was vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ and one of his most famous works is the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  in the Valley of the Kings! A vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ was the highest ranking official ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“€€ and was the most powerful position in the government, besides the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. 

Not only was the vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ the most trusted advisor to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, but he also saw to the day-to-day operations of the government. The vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ was in charge of architecture, taxation, agriculture, military, judicial, financial, and many other things.

Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ had many different titles, including โ€œHigh Preist of Amun,โ€ โ€œsuperintendent of every work of the king,โ€ and โ€œchief of secrets of the hieroglyphs.โ€ 

Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ was my Nonnoโ€™s absolute favorite non-royal, so itโ€™s always so special to see objects that belonged to Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ in museums.ย 

Ushabti of Paser

This is my personal video, photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Hieroglyphs or the X-Men?

Over on my Instagram, a lot of people commented how much they loved my X-Men shirt! I’m going to be honest, thereโ€™s a reason I wore it to the MET – it looks like the โ€œarea with an intersection ๐“Š–โ€ hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ! I love it when my interests collide (Iโ€™m a huge Marvel comics fan)!

The โ€œ๐“Š–โ€ is used as both an ideogram and a determinative! More commonly, โ€œ๐“Š–โ€ functions as the determinative, or the last symbol in the word that almost acts as punctuation to let the reader know the general meaning of the word. โ€œ๐“Š–โ€ is the determinative for town (๐“Š–๐“บ – njwt), city, settlement, and even the country of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! โ€œ๐“Š–โ€ seems to be used for towns/cities in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, while most foreign lands used the determinative of โ€œ๐“ˆŠ.โ€

Personified Estates
Me (in my X-Men shirt) at the MET standing with the Personified Estates relief from the tomb of Akhithotep

This relief I am standing with shows โ€œPersonified Estates” from the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of a man named Akhithotep. The โ€œpeopleโ€ in this relief arenโ€™t actually meant to show people – they are personifications of the farms and estates that belonged to the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. Each of the figures is also carrying food ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ – those are offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ that the estates will continue to provide to the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ!ย Personified Estates do appear frequently in Old Kingdom tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ art, and it’s a really interesting concept!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Above the first ๐“ƒ figure on the left, you can see: 

๐“Š–๐“Š–๐“Š–๐“‡ฟ๐“Ž”๐“‡‰ – Domains of Lower Egypt

๐“ƒ€๐“‚ง๐“†“๐“๐“Š– – Bedjet (the estate) 

๐“‘๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“†‘ – Warm Bread

This inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– means that the Bedjet ๐“ƒ€๐“‚ง๐“†“๐“๐“Š– estate of Lower Egypt will provide warm bread ๐“‘๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“†‘ for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ! 

This raised relief is dated to the 4th Dynasty (c. 2575โ€“2551 B.C.E) and is carved in limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰.ย The relief is also quite high off of the limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰, which is typical of Old Kingdom (especially 4th Dynasty) art.

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Late Period Mummy Mask

I love mummy masks ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ๐“ช! Funerary Masks (also called Burial Masks or Mummy Masks) were an important part of a personโ€™s burial equipment ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‹ด๐“๐“๐“Šญ because the mask ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ could either serve as protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, or take the place of the body if the head was destroyed or lost. In the Egyptian religion, the body of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ needed to stay intact in order for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ to be transported to the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. This was the purpose of mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž – the mask ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ just served as extra protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ!ย 

Late Period Mummy Mask
Me at the Brooklyn Museum with a Late Period Mummy Mask

This mask ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ of a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ is dated to the Late Period (1st Century B.C.E). This mask ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ is made of cartonnage, which was a very popular type of material to use because it was easy to work with and the mask ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ could be made relatively quickly. The colors on this mask ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ are so bright and well preserved – especially on the broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹. I love how the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช used red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ and the blue/green ๐“‡…๐“†“๐“› color together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š— a lot.

Late Period Mummy Mask
A beautiful example of a Late Period Mummy Mask at the Brooklyn Museum. The goddess Isis is on the left and her sister Nephthys is on the right.

The art on the wig shows the goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ (left) and Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡(right). Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ and Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡ were sisters and were both prominent funerary goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ who appeared a lot together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š— on funerary objects such as masks and sarcophagi. 

You can easily tell Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ and Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡ apart from each other in Egyptian art based off of the crowns that they are wearing. The crowns correspond to the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that make up their names: Isis (๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ) wears โ€œ๐“Šจโ€ as a crown while Nephthys (๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡) wears โ€œ๐“‰ โ€ as a crown! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.