This little string of amulets ๐๐ช๐ ๐ช is a necklace that was either worn by a living person or a mummy ๐๐น๐ ฑ๐พ! No matter who was wearing it, amulets ๐๐ช๐ ๐ช had the same function: to invoke magical protection ๐ ๐๐ก๐ for the wearer! Both rich and poor people had amulets, but the rich had higher quality ones.
Amulets ๐๐ช๐ ๐ช were first used in Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐ during the pre-dynastic period and usually took the shape of animals. As the Egyptian civilization and their religious beliefs evolved, amulets ๐๐ช๐ ๐ช started to represent gods ๐น๐น๐น and goddesses ๐น๐น๐น๐, everyday objects, hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช, plants ๐พ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฐ, and many other things!
The Egyptians ๐๐๐๐๐ช believed that the type of magic that an amulet ๐๐ช๐ possessed was based off of its shape! For example, an amulet ๐๐ช๐ could invoke the power of a god ๐น that it was representative of! You can see the Eye of Horus ๐ amulet ๐๐ช๐ in the picture ๐๐ ฑ๐, and that was used for protection ๐ ๐๐ก๐ by both the living and the dead ๐ ๐๐ฑ!
I do not know the date of the amulets ๐๐ช๐ ๐ช in the picture ๐๐ ฑ๐, and I actually couldnโt find this piece in Petrieโs online catalogue when I went to look it up! I love amulets ๐๐ช๐ ๐ช and I find this necklace to be very charming! I want one like it because of โhow beautiful it is ๐ค๐๐๐ ฑ๐ญ๐๐.โ
This is another beautiful ๐ค example of a False Door from the Old Kingdom or First Intermediate Period (8th-11th Dynasty). This False Door belonged to the Royal Sealer ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ Neferiu ๐ค๐ป๐ ฑ. A Royal Sealer ๐ ๐๐ฉ๐ had a job similar to that of a treasurer ๐จ๐ ฑ!
Letโs read some Hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช!
This is the top line of text: ๐๐๐ต๐๐น๐จ๐ญ๐๐ฝ๐ง๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ค๐ป๐ ฑ
๐๐๐ต๐ – an offering the king gives ๐น๐จ๐ญ – Osiris ๐๐ฝ๐ง๐ ฑ๐ – Lord of Djedu ๐ – a voice offering ๐ – before ๐ – to/for ๐๐ช๐ ฑ – the revered ๐ค๐ป๐ ฑ- Neferiu
All together the inscription reads: โAn offering the King gives Osiris, Lord of Djedu, a voice offering before and to the revered Neferiu.โ
This is the second line of text: ๐๐๐ต๐๐ฃ๐ถ๐บ๐๐๐ถ๐ ฑ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ป๐ ฑ
๐๐๐ต๐ – an offering the king gives ๐ฃ – Anubis ๐ถ๐บ๐๐ – upon his mountain ๐ถ๐ ฑ๐๐ – in the mummy wrappings ๐ – a voice offering ๐ – before ๐ – to/for ๐ค๐ป๐ ฑ – Neferiu
All together the inscription reads: โAn offering the king gives Anubis, Upon His Mountain, in the mummy wrappings, a voice offering before and to Neferiu.โ
These two ๐ป inscriptions ๐๐๐ฅ are very common and are the standard โoffering formulaโ (with some minor variations) that are used in many False Doors and Stela ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ. In the second picture ๐๐ ฑ๐, I zoomed in on the part with Anubis ๐ฃ because he is my favorite and I always get excited when I see his name ๐๐! Just the determinative symbol for Anubis ๐ฃ instead of his full name (๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ) was used in this inscription ๐๐๐ฅ probably due to a lack of space!
Now let’s read the text that is in the middle panel of the false door! These two ๐ป pieces of text basically say what a great person Neferiu ๐ค๐ป๐ ฑ was and it also lists all of the wonderful things he did in his life! I did not write out all of the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช this time because it was too long! Please enjoy the translation though!
Letโs read some Hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช! This is the translation of the inscription on the left side: โI gave bread ๐๐ to the hungry ๐๐๐๐ ฉ๐ and clothes ๐๐๐ด๐ ฑ๐ณ๐ฆ to the ๐ naked ๐ฟ๐๐๐ณ๐. I drove the boatless in my boat. I gave property to someone I knew as well as to the one I did not. The seal-bearer ๐จ๐ ฑ of the King of Lower Egypt ๐ค, the sole companion, the revered ๐ช๐ Neferiu ๐ค๐ป๐ ฑ.โ
This is the text on the right side: โO the living ๐๐๐น, those who are upon the Earth ๐พ, who love life ๐น๐๐, I gave assistance to those in the year ๐๐๐ณ๐๐ค of hardship. I acted mightily with my strong arm in order to endure among my children. It is Iqer* who did it that I might become greater than the great ๐ ฉ๐ ones and the noblemenโฆof my entire town, who bore witness to me.โ *Iqer is a local deity or the name of a place near Dendera
On the bottom, next to Neferiu ๐ค๐ป๐ ฑ and his wife ๐๐ on both sides the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช say: ๐๐๐ธ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ or โHis ๐ beloved ๐ธ๐ wife ๐๐ Wedjbet ๐๐.โ
This is a sunken relief of Nefertiti ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ญ and one of her daughters ๐ ญ๐๐ฆ. A hand ๐๐ค holding an ankh ๐น can be seen being extended to Nefertiti ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ญ and the princess, which is a very common representation of the sole sun ๐ณ๐ค god ๐น, Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ.
The relief is carved in limestone ๐๐๐๐ and some of the paint can still be seen on the relief! One of the things that is unique about the art from the period of Akhenatenโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ rule (referred to by Egyptologists as the Amarna Period) is that a lot of the art depicts the life ๐น๐๐ of the royal family ๐ ๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ฆ as a unit. Before this time period, royal families ๐ง๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ were not really depicted together at all – usually it was just the pharaoh ๐๐ป in art and the monuments.
Due to the fact that Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ and Nefertiti ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ญ were seen as a ruling unit, Nefertiti ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ญ was seen as being just as responsible for the shift in the Egyptian religion as Akhenaten ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ ๐๐ was. Much of the art from this period has sustained heavy damage, because it was purposefully hacked away at and destroyed, or used in other building projects – almost like an ancient Egyptian recycling program!
While Nefertitiโs ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ญ face ๐ถ๐ค is totally destroyed, the princessโ face ๐ถ๐ค is not. This is illustrative of the violence shown towards images ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ฆ of Nefertiti ๐๐๐๐ณ๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐ค๐๐๐ญ after her death ๐ ๐๐ฑ due to her part in the changing religion. The princessโ face ๐ถ๐ค was not touched, probably because she wasnโt seen as responsible. The hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช have also been totally destroyed, but ironically the word โAten ๐๐๐๐ณโ is the one word that can still be seen! The word for Aten ๐๐๐๐ณ was most likely part of the princessโ name ๐๐.
This sandstone ๐๐ ฑ๐ง๐๐๐ relief is dated to the Third Intermediate Period (Dynasty 25, c. 710-670 B.C.E.) and is most likely from Karnak. It depicts the Godโs Wife of Amun, named Amunirdis I, making an offering ๐ต๐๐ช๐๐๐ฆ of Maat ๐๐ด๐ฃ๐๐ฆ to Amun-Ra ๐๐ ๐๐ณ๐บ. Standing behind Amun-Ra ๐๐ ๐๐ณ๐บ is the god ๐น Khonsu ๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐ฏ (god of the moon ๐๐๐๐น) who is the son ๐ ญ of Amun-Ra ๐๐ ๐๐ณ๐บ and the goddess ๐น๐ Mut ๐๐ฟ๐ญ.
In the Third Intermediate Period, the โGodโs Wife of Amunโ was a very powerful position to be in – at some points, they even had as much power as the pharaoh ๐๐ป! The women who had this title were either the wife ๐๐๐๐, mother ๐ ๐๐, or daughter ๐ ญ๐ of the pharaoh ๐๐ป and would be in charge of performing necessary rituals at festivals and religious ceremonies.
Letโs read some hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช!
๐๐ ๐๐ณ๐บ – Amun-Ra ๐๐๐ – King of the ๐น๐น๐น – Gods
๐๐ ๐๐ณ๐บ๐๐๐๐น๐น๐น – โAmun-Ra, King of the Gods.โ
Hereโs the inscription directly next to Amun-Ra:
๐ผ๐น – Great God ๐ – Lord ๐ช๐๐ฏ – Sky
๐ผ๐น๐๐ช๐๐ฏ – โGreat God, Lord of the Sky.โ
I am standing with a group of inscriptions ๐๐๐ฅ called the โAnnals of Thutmosis IIIโ which originally was in the temple ๐๐๐ of Amun ๐๐ ๐๐ญ at Karnak. These inscriptions ๐๐๐ฅ contain details of Thutmosis IIIโs ๐ ๐ ๐ด military campaigns ๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐ป๐ฆ in Syria and Palestine. These hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช contain the most detailed account of military campaigns ๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐ป๐ฆ from all of Egyptian history!
Thutmosis III ๐ ๐ ๐ด was a fierce warrior and brilliant military strategist who took part himself in many of the campaigns ๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐ป๐ฆ described in the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช.
The first line of text from the annals read: “His Majesty commanded that there be recorded on a stone wall in the temple he had renovated…the triumphs accorded him by his father, Amun, and the prizes he took. And so it was done.” This translation is from the museum description as I cannot see the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช clearly enough in my picture ๐๐ ฑ๐ to translate! You can also access the full text online – give it a read! Itโs truly fascinating stuff!
Here I am with a limestone ๐๐๐๐ statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ of General Horemheb ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ผ๐ณ๐๐ and one of his wives. Before he became the last pharaoh ๐๐ป of the 18th Dynasty, Horemheb ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ผ๐ณ๐๐ was a general for both Tutankhamun ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ฑ๐๐น๐พ๐บ๐ and Ayโs ๐ณ๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ช๐น๐๐ military!
Here, Horemheb ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ผ๐ณ๐๐ is depicted with one of his wives. They are both seated in chairs ๐๐จ๐๐ฑ๐ฆ that have lion ๐๐ ฑ๐ญ paws on the legs. The details on this statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ are beautiful ๐ค – the sandals ๐ฟ๐๐๐ธ๐ฆ on their feet almost look real! Interestingly, there are no hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช anywhere on the statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ!
The โcouples statueโ was a very common way to depict a husband ๐๐ฟ๐๐บ๐ and wife ๐๐๐ in Egyptian art! Fun fact: in ancient Egyptian culture, a couple was still considered to be singular even though they are two ๐ป people – that is why the Egyptians use ๐ฆ or ๐ช to pluralize words! In ancient Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐, two ๐ป was singular, and three ๐ผ was plural!
This is a really cool piece – I love it because it reminds me of the Narmer ๐ ๐๐ Palette ๐๐๐๐ฑ! While a lot smaller, this โCarved Ceremonial Palette ๐๐๐๐ฑโ is dated to either the end of the pre-dynastic period or the beginning of the dynastic period (c. 3200-3100 B.C.E.). Why is the word โceremonialโ used to describe it? Usually when something historical is described as โceremonialโ thatโs code for โwe really donโt know the objectโs purpose.โ
The palette ๐๐๐๐ฑ is made of graywacke ๐ท๐๐๐๐ which is a type of sandstone ๐๐ ฑ๐ง๐๐๐ that was only really found in one particular quarry ๐๐๐๐ in Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐. The quarry ๐๐๐๐ was in the Eastern ๐๐๐๐ญ desert ๐ ๐๐๐ and was called Wadi Hammamat. The Egyptians ๐๐๐๐๐ช referred to greywacke ๐ท๐๐๐๐ as the โbekhen stone.โ
These pieces from the early history of Egypt ๐๐ ๐๐ are always so difficult yet so fascinating to attempt to interpret! The circular area in the center of the palette ๐๐๐๐ฑ would have been used to grind eye paint (kohl). Egyptologists have interpreted the circle to be the body of a snake ๐๐๐๐๐. Snakes ๐๐๐๐๐๐ฅ were representative of chaos and the universe. Above the circle is the image ๐๐ ฑ๐ of a falcon ๐๐๐ก๐ which is the emblem of a pharaoh ๐๐ป. The falcon ๐๐๐ก๐ is sitting on top of irrigated land (itโs the same symbol used to represent the Horus Name title for pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฆ at later dates).
This is the sandstone ๐๐ ฑ๐ง๐๐๐ head ๐ถ๐ค of an 18th Dynasty (c. 1539-1493 B.C.E.) pharaoh ๐๐ป, but it is not known which pharaoh ๐๐ป the statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ is supposed to be depicting! The pharaoh ๐๐ป is wearing the White Crown ๐ค๐ of Upper Egypt ๐ and the uraeus ๐๐๐๐๐ has been broken off of the front of the crown ๐ค๐.
It is thought that the statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ is from one of the earlier 18th Dynasty pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฆ for a couple of reasons. The statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ very much mimics Middle Kingdom styles by having the pharaoh ๐๐ป slightly smiling and also having the other facial features simplified (ears are not three dimensional, eyes ๐น๐ฆ are large). It is thought that the statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ is either of Ahmose ๐บ๐ or Amenhotep I ๐๐ ๐๐ต๐๐ช because they were pharaohs ๐๐ป๐ฆ who tended to imitate Middle Kingdom styles.
This is a beautiful ๐ค example of a False Door from the reign of the pharaoh ๐๐ป Userkaf ๐ ฑ๐๐ด๐๐ (5th Dynasty). This False Door is part of a pair of False Doors and was from the west ๐๐๐ญ wall of a mastaba tomb ๐๐ซ๐๐ in Memphis ๐ ๐๐ค๐๐๐ด๐ that belonged to Nikauhor and his wife ๐๐๐ Sekemhathor ๐ก๐ด๐๐๐ . Nikauhor was a judge and a priest ๐น๐ in Userkafโs ๐ ฑ๐๐ด๐๐ sun temple while Sekemhathor ๐ก๐ด๐๐๐ was a priestess ๐น๐๐ of Hathor ๐ก and Neith ๐๐๐๐ญ. I have posted about Sekemhathorโs ๐ก๐ด๐๐๐ False Door previously, and I will talk about Nikauhorโs!
This specific false door pictured belonged to Nikauhor, as he is the one depicted in the images ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ฆ along with his two sons ๐ ญ๐ฆ (the smaller people standing next to Nikauhor). These images ๐๐ ฑ๐๐ฆ are expertly carved in raised relief. While the arch above the doorway isnโt there, Nikauhorโs name ๐๐ appears elsewhere on the door in order to identify it as his. It is common practice to have the deceasedโs name ๐๐ above the door, but the arch was lost in antiquity.
False Doors are an extremely important part of ancient Egyptian funerary practices. False Doors served as ways for the living relatives to make offerings ๐ต๐๐ช๐๐๐ฆ to the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ. The False Door acted as a link between the land of the living and the land of the dead. The ancient Egyptians ๐๐๐๐๐ช believed that the soul ๐ of the deceased ๐ ๐๐ฑ could travel between the two lands ๐ฟ๐ฟ through the False Door. They are also known as โka ๐ doorsโ or โsoul ๐ doors.โ
False Doors were usually located on the western ๐๐๐ญ walls of tombs ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ because the west ๐๐๐๐ is associated with the dead ๐ ๐๐ฑ. The west ๐๐๐๐ is associated with the dead ๐ ๐๐ฑ because the sun ๐ณ๐บ sets in the west ๐๐๐๐ – when Ra ๐ณ๐บ๐ makes his daily journey across the sky ๐ช๐๐ฏ, sunset ๐๐๐๐ ฑ๐ถ is representative of his death.
This is a limestone ๐๐๐๐ statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ dated to the 19th Dynasty that depicts a man ๐๐๐ค named Panehesy ๐ ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ด. Panehesy ๐ ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ด is shown in a kneeling position, which usually indicates the active worship of a god ๐น๐น or gods ๐น๐น๐น. Panehesy ๐ ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ด was the โOverseer of the Treasuryโ and has appeared in statues ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ๐ฆ before, however, this is the first statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ that has hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช to show that he served under the pharaoh ๐๐ป Rameses II ๐ฉ๐๐๐๐ด๐.
Panehesy ๐ ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ด is holding a shrine that contains the gods ๐น๐น๐น (from left) Horus ๐ ๐ญ, Osiris, ๐น๐จ๐ญ and Isis ๐จ๐๐ฅ. This family ๐ ๐๐ ฑ๐๐๐๐ฆ unit of the three ๐ผ gods ๐น๐น๐น is seen together often in statuary, as the Egyptians ๐๐๐๐๐ช were fans of โtriadsโ or groups of three ๐ผ gods ๐น๐น๐น that were related to each other in some way.
While itโs hard to see it in my picture ๐๐ ฑ๐, there are hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช covering the statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ. Most of the hieroglyphs ๐น๐๐ช translate to prayers ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ on behalf of Panehesy ๐ ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ด, along with prayers ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ to the gods ๐น๐น๐น Horus ๐ ๐ญ, Osiris, ๐น๐จ๐ญ and Isis ๐จ๐๐ฅ. Prayers ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ to Anubis ๐๐๐ช๐ ฑ๐ฃ also appear, even though he isnโt depicted directly on the statue ๐๐๐๐ญ๐พ.
