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Egyptian Artifacts

Name Panels of Senwosret I

I am standing in front of the Name Panels for the Middle Kingdom Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Senwosret I ๐“„Š๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ– at the MET. These panels were originally part of his pyramid ๐“‹๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ด complex and were reconstructed from excavated pieces.

Senwosret Iโ€™s ๐“„Š๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ– throne name Kheperkare ๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ is seen multiple times along with his Horus name โ€œ๐“‹น๐“„Ÿโ€ which means โ€œliving in births.โ€

These panels were originally part of his pyramid ๐“‹๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ด complex and were reconstructed from excavated pieces.

A lot of Egyptian art was designed to be in three layers. The falcon god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ is seen at the top of all the panels which represent the world ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ according to Egyptian religious beliefs – at the top is the realm of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, then beneath that is the realm of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป.

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Egyptian Artifacts

A Quick Look at Soul Houses

These clay model houses ๐“‰๐“ฅ were found by Petrie, but they are in the MET!

When Petrie found these, he gave them the name โ€œSoul Housesโ€ due to them being very close to tombs/burials. These Soul Houses ๐“‰๐“ฅ are usually found in or near Middle Kingdom burials. These clay models ensured that the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ had access to shelter and food ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. They are thought to take the place of offering tables – since offering tables were usually for the wealthy, the Soul House ๐“‰๐“ค was a more affordable option for people.

I have always been a person who likes tiny things, and the Soul Houses are no exception! I used to call them โ€œEgyptian Dollhousesโ€ ๐Ÿ˜ญ – (not going to lie, I still refer to them as dollhouses!!)

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Egyptian Artifacts

Raised Relief of an Owl

This beautiful ๐“„ค sculpture at the MET is a raised relief of an owl ๐“…“ hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ dates to the Ptolemaic Period in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–.

This relief shows only the partial hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ and this style of an object being โ€œunfinished but actually finishedโ€ was very popular during this time period. Limestone pieces such as these are often referred to as โ€œsculptors modelsโ€ by Egyptologists because they are very detailed and only show one specific part of the object.

I have always loved this piece because I love owls!! I love owls because I absolutely love Harry Potter and anytime I see an owl it reminds me of Hedwig!

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Three Layers in the Temple of Dendur

One of my favorite things about the Temple of Dendur at the MET are the incredible details that are carved into the walls! The templeย ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ย was built by the Roman Emperor Augustusย ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“€€(who liked to refer to himself as just pharaohย ๐“‰๐“‰ปย in his cartouche) and was meant to be a place of honorย for the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isisย ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ. Just like most other Egyptian temples, the common people werenโ€™t allowed to worshipย ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ขย inside of it.ย 

A lot of Egyptian architecture was built in three ๐“ผ layers! In the case of the Temple of Dendur specifically, the three ๐“ผ layers are the Earthย ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ, the Skyย ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ, and then what happens between the Earthย ๐“‡พ๐“‡พย and the Skyย ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ. The โ€œbetween theย ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ andย ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏโ€ sectionย is the templeย ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ itself! This section would be where the carvings of the deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน are!ย 

The picture above details the section of the templeย ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ย that represents the Earthย ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ. I love this because it looks like papyrus ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ and lotus ๐“†ธ๐“ช plantsย ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐย are growing out of the base of the templeย ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰! I think it is such a beautiful ๐“„ค way to represent the Earthย ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ! The ancient Egyptians really like plantsย ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐย and flowersย ๐“†ผ๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“ฆย so it makes sense that they would want to represent them realistically in this way! How do we know that the ancient Egyptians liked plantsย ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐย and flowersย ๐“†ผ๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ? Art like this allows us to make these inferences!ย 

Fun fact! There are so many ways to write โ€œpapyrusโ€ in Middle Egyptian! Here are a few:

๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› – papyrus roll/scroll 

๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ – papyrus plant

๐“ฏ๐“‡… – papyrus

๐“‡…๐“†ฐ – papyrus

๐“†“๐“‡Œ๐“๐“‡‡ – papyrus marsh

Letโ€™s now take a look at the โ€œin-betweenโ€ layer!

Augustus making an offering to Osiris and Isis

What I like most about the  โ€œbetween the Earth ๐“‡พ๐“‡พ and Sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏโ€ section is the depiction of Emperor Augustus ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚‹ with many different Egyptian deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน! He doesnโ€™t look like an Emperor though – he looks like a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป! Augustus can be seen wearing many articles of Egyptian royal ๐“‹พ fashion such as the Atef crown ๐“‹š, the double crown ๐“‹–, a false beard, a broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹, armlets ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Žก๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ฆ, and bracelets ๐“‚๐“ ๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“‡›๐“ฆ. These are all features that are associated with Egyptian pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ, even though Augustus ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚‹ was Roman. 

In the following reliefs, Augustus ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚‹ is making offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ to Egyptian gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน. In the first image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, he is making an offering ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ to Osirisย ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญย and Isisย ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ. You can even see the papyrusย ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“†ฐย and lotusย ๐“†ธ๐“ชย flower plantsย ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐย from yesterdayโ€™s post just below the relief!ย 

In the second/third images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ above, Augustus ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“€€ is making an offeringย ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ of wineย to Horusย ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญย and Hathorย ๐“‰ก!ย 

You can also see three ๐“ผ of Augustusโ€™ cartouches in these images! Can you spot them all?

๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚‹ – Autokrator (Greek for โ€œEmperorโ€)

๐“ˆŽ๐“‡Œ๐“Šƒ๐“‚‹๐“Šƒ๐“‹น๐“†– – Kaisaros (Greek for โ€œCaesarโ€)

๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“€€ – Pharaohย 

The next and final layer we are going to talk about is the skyย ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ! The wingedย ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒย sun disc ๐“‡ณ๐“บ appears above all of the entrances to the templeย ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰.

The wingsย ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ๐“ฆย belong to Horusย ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, who was often represented as a falconย ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„.ย Horusย ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, whose ย realm was the Skyย ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ,ย was one of the most important gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน in the Egyptian pantheon. Horusย ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญย was not only the mythological representation of the pharaohย ๐“‰๐“‰ป/heir to the throne of Egyptย ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, but also a skyย ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏย god ๐“Šน. Horusโ€™ย ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญย name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– means โ€œThe Distant One,โ€ due to him residing in the skyย ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ!ย 

Due to the symbolโ€™s association with Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, the winged ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ sun disc ๐“‡ณ๐“บ also represents royalty ๐“‹พ, power, divinity ๐“Šน, and order vs. chaos. There are many different representations of Horus throughout Egyptian mythology. The the winged ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ sun disc ๐“‡ณ๐“บ design is also known as โ€œHorus the Behdetiteโ€ and is a representation of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. 

The sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ was not only the realm of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, but many other deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน as well. Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“›, Shu ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“€ญ, Nut ๐“Œ๐“๐“‡ฏ๐“€ญ, Khepri ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“‡‹๐“› and others were deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน associated with the sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ. The sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ was where the divine ๐“Šน resided, hence why it was so heavily represented in Egyptian mythology and architecture. 

The two ๐“ป columns represent papyrusย ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“†ฐย and lotus flowersย ๐“†ธ๐“ชย growing from the ground/Earthย ๐“‡พ๐“‡พย to the skyย ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ! These columns can be seen as forming a connection between all three ๐“ผ layers of the templeย ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰! I will never not be amazed by the symbolism and craftsmanship of Egyptian architecture!ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Stela of Hathsepsut and Thutmosis III

My Nonno took this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of the Stelaย ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธย of Hatshepsutย ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ชย and Thutmosis IIIย ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃย for me! While we did see it at the Vatican Museum together, he always made sure to take a different pictureย ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ย for me each time he saw it because he knew how much I love it!ย 

This stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ depicts Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช and Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ during their joint reign. Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is wearing the blue crown ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ and making an offering of nemset jars ๐“Œ๐“Œ๐“Œ to Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ. The stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ was meant to commemorate restoration works in Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š–!

The most interesting parts about this stela is that it is one of two pieces (that I know of) that contains Hatshepsutโ€™s entire titulary in one place! The only other place I know that has all of Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ is the Obelisk at Karnak. 

Letโ€™s take a closer look at all of Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ! The names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ can be found on the top two rows of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on the bottom of the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ!

Horus Name: ๐“„Š๐“‹ด๐“๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ – โ€œWosretkauโ€ translates to โ€œThe Mighty of the Kasโ€ or โ€œThe Mighty of the Souls.โ€

Nebty Name: ๐“…’๐“‡…๐“๐“†ณ๐“†ณ๐“†ณ – โ€œWadjet renputโ€ translates to โ€œFlourishing of Years.โ€

Golden Horus Name: ๐“…‰๐“Šน๐“๐“ˆ๐“ฆ – โ€œNetjeret khauโ€ translates to โ€œDivine of Appearances.โ€

Throne Name: ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ – โ€œMaatkareโ€ translates to โ€œTruth is the Soul of Re.โ€ 

Birth Name: ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“„‚๐“€ผ – โ€œKhnemet Amun Hatshepsutโ€ translates to โ€œUnited with Amun, Foremost of the Noble Women.โ€ This version of the Birth Name that appears on this stela is a variant of ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช. A โ€œvariantโ€ is just a different way to spell out a personโ€™s name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Egyptian Snake Jewelry

I absolutely love snakeย ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜ jewelry! My Nonno even got me a replica of the snakeย ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜ ringย ๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹ช (from the MET) in the last picture for my sixteenth birthday, and while I may be 30 now, I haven’t taken the ringย ๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹ช off because I love it so much!ย 

While snakes ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜๐“ช (such as the Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†—) were popular symbols in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, snake ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜ based jewelry such as the bracelets ๐“‚๐“ ๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“‡›๐“ช and rings ๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹ช๐“ฆ pictured did not appear in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– until the Hellenistic times, and then continued on into the Roman Period. Snakes ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜๐“ช were associated with the Greek and Roman figures Asklepios and Salus, but also the Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–.  Snakes ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜๐“ช were also associated with the Wadjet ๐“‚€ and could be a symbol of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป as the living god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ.


Jewelry was very culturally important in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, and that continued in Roman Egypt.  Traditional Egyptian jewelry usually took the form of necklaces and rings ๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹ช๐“ฆ.  These pieces would usually also double as amulets ๐“Š๐“Šช๐“…†๐“ช, which would protect the wearer from evil. 


Rings ๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹ช๐“ฆ and necklaces were highly important to the Egyptians because they took the shape of a circle.  A circle has no end, thus it represents eternal ๐“†– life ๐“‹น and love.  Rings ๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹ช๐“ฆ that took the shape of the Eye of  Horus ๐“‚€, signets, and scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช were extremely popular, and then snakes ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜๐“ช became popular much later. 


The pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ and nobility wore more expensive jewelry that was made of gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ and contained precious stones.  In ancient Rome and Roman Egypt, gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ was highly treasured and only the richest were able to wear it.

The snake ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜ bracelet ๐“‚๐“ ๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“‡› in the first picture is meant to be for a child and is dated to the Ptolemaic Period (c. 332-30 B.C.E.). The snake bracelet ๐“‚๐“ ๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“‡› and the snake rings ๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹ช๐“ฆ in the second and third pictures are dated to the First Century A.D. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Wooden Boat of Ukhotep

This is probably my favorite wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž model that I have seen in any museum!ย This particular model is at the MET!

This wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ model boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž is from the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of a man named ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Ukhhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช. Ukhotep ๐“‹‚๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was the chief treasurer ๐“‹จ๐“…ฑ, which is why he probably received such gorgeous ๐“„ค funerary equipment ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‹ด๐“๐“๐“Šญ. 

This is one of two ๐“ป funerary boats that were found in his tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ – most Middle Kingdom tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ that had wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ models always contained two ๐“ป boats ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž๐“ฆ. In the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰,  one  boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž was oriented to the north ๐“Ž”๐“ and the other towards the south ๐“‡”๐“…ฑ๐“. 

During the actual funeral, the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ would take one last journey across the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ.  Models of boats ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž๐“ฆ (usually funerary boats), were usually found in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ as a way to symbolically bring the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ into the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰.

I really love this model because of the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ that you can see underneath the canopy! As a kid I always loved that! The canopy also has a leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ skin on the top, and the details on the leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ are just gorgeous! ย 

The mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ is accompanied by two ๐“ป women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“๐“ช mourners – they are probably meant to represent Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ and Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡. There is also a priest ๐“Šน๐“› (dressed in the leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ skin) who holds a scrollย ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“›ย with a funerary offeringย ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆย on it. There is a second priest ๐“Šน๐“›, also dressed in leopard ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“‡Œ๐“ƒฎ skin with his arm ๐“‚๐“บ extended outward in a mourning gesture.

Wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ models were very popular amongst Middle Kingdom tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ. This particular boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž is dated to the 12th Dynasty (c. 1981โ€“1802 B.C.E.)

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Egyptian Artifacts

Ptolemaic Statue of Anubis

This statueย ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พย of Anubisย ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃย is dated to the Ptolemaic Period (c.ย 332โ€“30 B.C.E.) and is quite beautiful ๐“„ค in person! I have never posted about this piece before because the lighting in the gallery is so bad that it makes it hard to get a good picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“!ย 

This statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is made of plaster and wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ, and has been painted ๐“ž๐“œ in many beautiful ๐“„ค colors! Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ arms are raised in a protective ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ stance, as if he is welcoming the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ to the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. 

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ held many important titles, all of which signify how important he was to not only embalming, but to all aspects of a personโ€™s death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. The title โ€œUpon His Hill/Mountain ๐“ถ๐“บ๐“ˆ‹๐“†‘โ€ references the cliff that usually surrounded necropolises, which Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ (and jackals ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ๐“ฆ) would guard. The title โ€œHe who is in the mummy wrappings ๐“‡‹๐“ถ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“Ž๐“Š–โ€œ signifies Anubisโ€™ role in the mummification process, which is what he is most known for. 

The title โ€œIn front at the Godโ€™s booth ๐“…๐“Šน๐“‰ฑโ€ references Anubisโ€™ย ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃย place not only in the place of embalming, but in the burial chamberย ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‰ย of a tombย ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ย too! ย Before Osirisย ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญย became a much more major god ๐“Šน of the deadย ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, Anubisย ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃย had that role and was known by the title โ€œForemost of the Westerners ๐“…๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“‹€๐“„ฟ๐“ฆย โ€ Since the sunย ๐“†„๐“…ฑ๐“‡ณย set in the westย ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ, the westย ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠย was known as the land of the dead to the ancient Egyptiansย ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช.ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Wooden Tomb Models of Meketre

I love woodenย ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บย tomb models so much! As a kid they reminded me of dolls and dollhouses! Another thing I loved about them was how excited my Nonno would get over woodenย ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บย pieces – he would always talk about how important woodenย ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บย artifacts were. Since woodย ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บย decomposes over time, it is more rare to have woodenย ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บย artifacts be found in good condition as opposed to stoneย ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช.ย 

The models in this post (and many others) were found in the tombย ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ย of the Royal Chief Steward Meketre who lived during the reign ๐“‹พ of Montuhotep IIย ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šชย and possibly Amenemhat Iย ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“„‚๐“. Meketreโ€™s high status as an officialย ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“€€ย is why he was able to afford so many woodenย ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บย models and such an elaborate burial.ย 

While the main part of Meketreโ€™sย tombย ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ had been plundered in ancient times, excavators found a hidden chamber, and that is where all of the woodenย ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บย models were found! There were 24 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“ฝ almost perfectly preserved models found in theย tombย ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰. Half of the models are at the MET, while the other half are at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo!

While Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ religious beliefs didnโ€™t necessarily change much over time, some of the customs did! The Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช believed that the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ needed nourishment in the forms of food ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ and water ๐“ˆ—, even in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. During the Old Kingdom, this was achieved by depicting different types of food ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ production on tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ and chapel walls. In the Middle Kingdom, this practice evolved into placing wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ models depicting different types of food ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ production in a sealed chamber in the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰. It was thought that the models would hold more magical ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ power than the carvings! 

This wooden model depicts a slaughterhouse.

Cowsย ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆย and geese ๐“Šƒ๐“‚‹๐“…ฌ๐“ฆ are being slaughtered by butchers, and dried out meat ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“†‘๐“„น can be seen hanging above them. Butchery was considered a high status occupation in ancient Egyptย ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, and most of the population did not have access to meat ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“†‘๐“„น as a type of food ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ. Even having access to meat ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“†‘๐“„น in the afterlifeย ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ย was a sign of status!

This model is of a granary ๐“Šš๐“๐“‰, and the model is divided into two ๐“ป sections.

The โ€œtopโ€ section in my picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is of the actual granaryย ๐“Šš๐“๐“‰, where the grainย ๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“ธ๐“ฆย was stored. The โ€œbottomโ€ section is of the accounting area, where scribesย ๐“Ÿ๐“€€๐“ชย are seen keeping records with supplies such as papyrus rollsย ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“›๐“ฆ and wooden boards.ย The ancient Egyptiansย ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ชย relied heavily on grainย ๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“ธ๐“ฆย for foodย ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ, so it was an absolute must for them to keepย meticulous records about their supply.ย 

It is interesting to note that there are only six ๐“ฟ workers carrying/pouring out the grain ๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“ธ๐“ฆ, while there are nine scribes ๐“Ÿ๐“€€๐“ช for record keeping! Either this is a coincidence, or a commentary on just how important scribes ๐“Ÿ๐“€€๐“ช were to society in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! 

Another thing I absolutely love about theย woodenย ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บย models are how detailed they are! If you look at the workers who are pouring grainย ๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“ธ๐“ฆย into the granaryย ๐“Šš๐“๐“‰, they have dust ๐“๐“…“๐“…ฑ๐“Šก all over their faces! This would be from them pouring the grainย ๐“ˆŽ๐“„ฟ๐“…ฑ๐“ธ๐“ฆ, and some of the dust ๐“๐“…“๐“…ฑ๐“Šก coming back up at them!ย 

These wooden models are so amazing because they provide a look into some of the more common aspects of life ๐“‹น in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, despite the fact that Meketreโ€™s high status as an official ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“€€ is why he was able to afford so many wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ models and such an elaborate burial. 

This next model has no people in it! This model is of a โ€œPorch and Garden ๐“Ž›๐“Šƒ๐“Šช๐“ˆˆ,โ€ and beautifully ๐“„ค paintedย ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆย columns (in the form of papyrus plants) can be seen on the porch part.

My favorite part of the model is that there is actually a pool ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ‡ in the center that could have been potentially filled with water ๐“ˆ—! The area around the pool ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ‡ is lined with sycamore trees ๐“ˆ–๐“‰”๐“๐“†ญ๐“ช, and while it is hard to see in this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, there are little red figs ๐“‚ง๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“‡ญ๐“ช growing on the branches! Sycamore trees ๐“ˆ–๐“‰”๐“๐“†ญ๐“ช are commonly associated with the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก.ย 

Some Egyptologists think that this piece would have functioned similarly to a โ€œSoul House,โ€ which weโ€™re clay models that usually had an open court for offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ or water ๐“ˆ—.  This garden ๐“Ž›๐“Šƒ๐“Šช๐“ˆˆ model could also be thought of as a libation basin ๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“ˆ˜ (because of the pool ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ‡ of water๐“ˆ—) that is decorated really nicely! 

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

The Sistrum of Pharaoh Teti

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

Todayย ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณย we are going to be looking at a sistrumย ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃย which has the various names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Teti ๐“Šช๐“‡Œ on it!

While most sistrumsย ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ช contain an image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก on the handle, this is actually one of the earliest sistrumsย ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ชย ever found (c.ย 2323โ€“2291ย B.C.E.) and is dated to the 6th Dynasty (Old Kingdom) so it is a little bit different than the sistrumsย ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ชย we are used to seeing! The top part of the sistrumย ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ which contains the hieroglyphsย ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ชย is supposed to be a shrineย ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰.

The hieroglyphsย ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช on the sistrumย ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ are a list of theย pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Tetiโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“‡Œ various names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฅ! Something interesting is that Tetiโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“‡Œ names (except the birth name) are only mentioned on this sistrumย ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃย – I donโ€™t think the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฅ have been inscribed anywhere else! Usually just Teti ๐“Šช๐“‡Œ is seen! Also, Teti ๐“Šช๐“‡Œ ย doesnโ€™t seem to have a throne name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–!! Letโ€™s take a closer look!ย 

Letโ€™s start from the right-most column:

๐“†ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt

(๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ๐“Šช๐“‡Œ) – Son of Ra, Teti (in the Old Kingdom, the titles were sometimes placed in the cartouche) (Birth Name) 

Left-most column: 

๐“…’๐“‹ด๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช – Sehotep Nebty (The One Who Has Satisfied the Two Lands) (Nebty Name)

๐“„ฅ๐“…‰ – Bik Nebu Sema (The Uniter) (Golden Horus Name)

Middle column:

๐“‹ด๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™ – Sehotep Tawy (The One Who Pacifies the Two Lands) (Horus Name) 

The bottom row: 

๐“™ – Given 

๐“‹น – Life

๐“Œ€ – Strength

๐“†– – Eternity