Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

The Pyramid Texts of Pepy I

This small relief on display at the Petrie Museum is a section of โ€œThe Pyramid Textsโ€ which is the oldest known funerary/religious writings in the world. The original text dates back to the Old Kingdom.ย 

The Pyramid Texts of Pepy I
A small relief which contains the Pyramid Texts of Pepy I

The Pyramid Texts can be thought of as a precursor to both the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ! The main differences between these religious texts are that the Pyramid Texts were only accessible to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป because they were only carved inside of the pyramids ๐“‹๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“ฆ. Also, the Pyramid Texts were also not illustrated!

This particular section of the Pyramid Texts contains a spell ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“› that Pepy I ๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“Šช๐“‡‹ would say that would provide him with food and drink for eternity ๐“†–! Here is a piece of the leftmost column that I could translate (a lot is cut off): 

๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ – My/I

๐“‡ฌ๐“ˆŽ๐“ˆŽ – Eat

๐“๐“- Bread

๐“Š- Beer

The cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท of the 6th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Pepy I ๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“Šช๐“‡‹ was one of the first cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ I learned to read/recognize because itโ€™s written with only uniliteral hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! A lot of the Old Kingdom pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ have names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ spelled with uniliteral signs, which makes them great for beginners to read/learn! One of the ways I started learning hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช was by practicing reading the cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ! 

Letโ€™s take a closer look at the symbols in Pepyโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“‡‹๐“Šช๐“‡‹ cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท: 

The โ€œstool ๐“Šชโ€ symbol is a uniliteral phonogram for the sound โ€œp,โ€ and does not have any other grammatical functions!

The โ€œreed ๐“‡‹โ€ symbol is a uniliteral phonogram and most commonly represents the sound of โ€œฤฑอ—,โ€ however it can also function as an ideogram for the word โ€œreed ๐“‡‹๐“บ.โ€ 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Funerary Cones

I love Gallery 117 at the MET so much! The objects in here may not look like much to the average person (they probably just look like a bunch of rocks ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“ฆ), but to me they are a beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ piece in the story of ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–!ย 

Funerary Cones
Me in Gallery 117 at the MET – the Funerary Cones are in a display behind me!

While not as artistically decorated as most of the artifacts in the Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ collections of museums, these โ€œfunerary conesโ€ were always something my Nonno pointed out to me! He thought they were so interesting and now every time I go to museums, I actively seek these out as a way to remember my Nonno! He loved this little gallery at the MET solely because of the funerary cones! 

Funerary cones (a modern name given to these objects) are made of clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ and usually found at the openings of tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช at Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š– (almost exclusively). They were used primarily during the 18th Dynasty (though there are examples that date to the 11th Dynasty or as late as the 19th-20th Dynasties).

While the exact usage of the funerary cones is not known, but they are inferred to be architectural decorations, tomb labels, symbolic offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ, or even as passports to the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰! Thousands ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ๐“†ผ of these cones have been excavated to date! Every museum I have been to has a collection of these funerary cones!

The end of the funerary cone is usually circular in shape and usually contains an inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ with the name of the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ occupant as well as a god ๐“Šน.

An example inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ that is common on a funerary cone would be something like: โ€œVenerated before Osiris, Son of ____, Name of Deceased.โ€ 

๐“„ช๐“๐“‡Œ – Venerated 

๐“๐“‚‹ – Before

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – Osiris

๐“…ญ – Son

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Stela of Rameses II

This is a large sandstone stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ of Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ on display at the Brooklyn Museum.ย ย 

Stela of Rameses II
Stela of Rameses II on display at the Brooklyn Museum!

The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช talk about how Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ founded the town of Meriamun, and how he established the cult of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– there. The stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ was a way to commemorate Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ presenting statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช to the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“บ๐“‡ณ. 

The image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows (from left to right) Mut ๐“๐“„ฟ๐“€ญ, Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–, and Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“. Rameses II can be seen wearing the blue crown, also known as the khepresh ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ crown which was very popular among New Kingdom pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป! 

Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ is receiving symbols of kingship (the crook ๐“‹พ) from the god ๐“Šน Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“บ๐“‡ณ. This is meant to represent that Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“บ๐“‡ณ saw Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ as a legitimate and rightful ruler! The pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป believed that they were direct descendants of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“บ๐“‡ณ (in the 18th – 19th Dynasties Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–/Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“บ๐“‡ณ kind of replaces Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ in popularity as king ๐“‡“ of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน) and that they were gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน on Earth.ย 

It was also really cool that five ๐“พ of Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ appear on this stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ!ย These names appear on the top two rows of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Here are Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ five ๐“พ names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ:ย 

๐“ƒ’๐“‚ก๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“€ญ๐“Œธ๐“‡Œ – Horus ๐“…ƒ Name (The Strong Bull, Beloved of Ra) 

๐“…–๐“Žก๐“†Ž๐“๐“Š–๐“…ฑ๐“‚๐“†‘๐“ฒ๐“‚ก๐“ˆŠ๐“๐“ฆ – Nebty ๐“…’ Name (Protector of Egypt Who Curbs Foreign Landsโ€)

๐“Œ‚๐“๐“‚ก๐“„˜๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“‚ก๐“Œ”๐“๐“€๐“ป – Golden Horus ๐“…‰ Name (โ€œPowerful of Arm, He Who Has Subdued the Nine Bowsโ€)

๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– – Throne Name (โ€œThe Justice of Ra is powerful, Chosen of Raโ€)

๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ – Birth Name (โ€œRa has fashioned him, beloved of Amunโ€)

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Video

Objects from Malqata – Video

This video shows a gallery at the Metropolitan Museum of Art which displays objects from Malqata!

In order to celebrate his Heb Sed Festival ๐“Ž›๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“Žฑ๐“‡ณ๐“ช, the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  built a new palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ which was referred to as โ€œThe House of Rejoicingโ€ at present day Malqata in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. The Heb Sed Festival ๐“Ž›๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“Žฑ๐“‡ณ๐“ช, also known as the โ€œ30 Year Jubilee,โ€ was meant to celebrate the 30th year of a pharaohโ€™s ๐“‰๐“‰ป reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“.ย 

In this display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, there are many different amphoras ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹๐“ช! Amphoras ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹๐“ช are a special type of pottery ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ that have a pointed bottom and two ๐“ป handles that were used for the storage and transport of various things in the ancient world! 

Ancient Egyptian amphoras ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹๐“ช, such as these one found at Malqata, were usually made of red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ and then covered with a cream colored coat. They were then painted ๐“ž๐“œ with blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ, red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ, or black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ.

You can also see various wall paintings that once adorned the palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ walls at Malqata! I canโ€™t even imagine how beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ and colorful this palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ once was!ย I hope you enjoyed seeing these objects from Malqata!

This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Blog

“It’s A Small World” Hippo

The first time I ever went to Disney World, I went with my Nonno and Nonna when I was four years old! When we went on โ€œItโ€™s a Small World,โ€ I fell in love with the hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ that winks at you! The hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ became my favorite part of the ride, and even to this day, I look forward to seeing the hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ! And yes Iโ€™m sure this is an unpopular opinion but I LOVE going on โ€œItโ€™s a Small World!โ€ Itโ€™s one of my favorites! Iโ€™m not going to lie – I still to this day will wink back at the hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ!ย 

"It's A Small World" Hippo
The hippo from “It’s a Small World” (top) and an ancient Egyptian hippo from the Brooklyn Museum

When I started studying ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– with my Nonno around when I was six years old, I always loved the hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช because they reminded me of the hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ on โ€œItโ€™s a Small World!โ€ Itโ€™s amazing how I loved the hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ even before I started studying ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! 

A lot of the hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ from ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– have lotus flowers ๐“†ธ๐“ช painted all over them to associate them with rejuvenation! The hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ are most likely painted blue/green ๐“‡…๐“†“๐“› to represent the Nile ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ and rebirth. Whatโ€™s really cool is that the โ€œItโ€™s a Small Worldโ€ hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ also has flowers painted on it and is also that blue/green ๐“‡…๐“†“๐“› color!ย 

"It's A Small World"
A girl sitting on a “solar barge” in “It’s A Small World” at Walt Disney World!

I have also included the other scene that represents Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– in the ride – thereโ€™s a girl sitting in a boat that resembles Raโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› solar barge ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž, pyramids ๐“‹๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“ฆ and a sphinx ๐“Ž›๐“…ฑ๐“ƒญ๐“ค!ย 

"It's A Small World"
The sphinx and pyramids in “It’s A Small World” at Walt Disney World!

ย I hope youโ€™re enjoying my โ€œAncient Egypt in Disneyโ€ series!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost.ย 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Bronze Statue of Bastet

This image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows a bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of the beloved ๐“Œป๐“‚‹๐“‡Œ Egyptian goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Bastet ๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“! This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is dated to the Late Period – Ptolemaic Period (c. 664โ€“30 B.C.E.).

Bronze Statue of Bastet
Bronze Statue of Bastet on display at the MET

The goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ Bastet ๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“ and Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ were both depicted as cats ๐“…“๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“ƒ ๐“ช, however, Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ usually had the body of a woman ๐“‚‘๐“๐“ while Bastet ๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“ usually had the body of a cat ๐“…“๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“ƒ . Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ is also usually distinguished from Bastet ๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“ by the sun disc ๐“‡ณ๐“บ that usually appears on her head!

However, when Bastet ๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“ was depicted with the body of a woman ๐“‚‘๐“๐“ (like in this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ), she was usually holding a sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ in one hand! Since Hathor ๐“‰ก was usually seen with sistrums ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ช, this shows a link between the two ๐“ป goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“!

This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ also shows Bastet ๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“ holding a basket ๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“Ž… in her elbow/arm (opposite the sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ) and a lion-headed aegis in the same arm. An aegis is an object that has the head of a deity ๐“Šน (in this case a lion) with a broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ underneath it! The aegis itself was a protective ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ symbol associated with Bastet ๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“ and was used in rituals and festivals! The basket ๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“Ž… is thought to possibly hold kittens, but that is just an inference by historians and Egyptologists!

Bastet ๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“ was the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of pregnancy and childbirth and was considered to be the protective ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ form of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ so it is very fitting for her to be holding the aegis!

Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ and Bastet ๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“ were believed to be the two ๐“ป unpredictable personalities of the same goddess ๐“Šน๐“. While Sekhmet ๐“Œ‚๐“๐“…“๐“๐“ represented the destructive and unpredictable side, Bastet ๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“ was the gentler and calmer side. 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

A Predynastic Safari

Letโ€™s go on a Predynastic Safari!

I love art from the Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods because the objects usually contain a lot of animals! This is a โ€œHair Comb Decorated with Rows of Wild Animalsโ€ and it is dated to the Predynastic Period (c. 3200 – 3100 B.C.E.). This piece is made of ivory ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ŒŸ.ย 

A Predynastic Safari
While this piece is called “Hair Comb Decorated with Rows of Wild Animals” I like to refer to it as “A Predynastic Safari” since it shows so many different animals!

Archaeologists believe that it is a comb because the remnants of the teeth of the comb can still be seen along the bottom! It is thought that this was some type of ceremonial object and not just a regular comb due to the incredible details on it! I wonder if it was part of a burial?

The animals on this comb are arranged into five ๐“พ rows in raised relief and the incredible details show just how talented the Egyptian artists were even at the beginning of the civilization! Itโ€™s also interesting to see each row of animals facing in opposite directions! 

The top row shows elephants ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฐ๐“ช standing on top of snakes ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜๐“ช, which suggests some type of religious/cultural symbolism that we donโ€™t know much about! The fact that this is the top row may also have some significance! While seeing snakes ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†˜๐“ช is super common in Egyptian art and mythology, elephants ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฐ๐“ช are not so itโ€™s very cool to see a depiction of them!

The second row shows birds (they look like pelicans ๐“Šช๐“‹ด๐“†“๐“๐“…ž๐“ช to me) and a giraffe ๐“…“๐“‚๐“…“๐“‚๐“ƒฑ! Giraffes ๐“…“๐“‚๐“…“๐“‚๐“ƒฑ๐“ช are one of my absolute favorite animals and they do not appear often in Egyptian art even though they are native to the African Continent! During the Predynastic times, giraffes ๐“…“๐“‚๐“…“๐“‚๐“ƒฑ๐“ช and the Egyptians did occupy the same areas, however, as the climate became drier, the giraffes ๐“…“๐“‚๐“…“๐“‚๐“ƒฑ๐“ช migrated out of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– which is probably why they do not appear in the art/mythology as often!  

The third row shows hyenas ๐“…“๐“…“๐“ƒก๐“ฆ, the fourth row shows cattle ๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ and the fifth row shows boars ๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“‡‹๐“ƒŸ๐“ฆ! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Thutmosis III – The Greatest Pharaoh?

I have a very complex relationship with Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ (this is probably the first time youโ€™ve read that sentence)! Many people will probably not agree with me on this (thatโ€™s okay), but I think that Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ was Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– greatest 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!ย 

Thutmosis III - The Greatest Pharaoh?
Me with a limestone statue of Thutmosis III – was he the greatest pharaoh?

So why my complex feelings about Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ? It all has to do with Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช! Thutmosis III ๐“…๐“„ ๐“‹ด 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. I believe that Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช successful rule set Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ up for his extremely successful reign. 

About 25 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“พ years after Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ death, Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ went on a campaign to have her statuary destroyed and her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– taken off of monuments ๐“ ๐“. No one knows why this occurred or the events that lead up to Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ doing this! This is where my complex feelings come in because Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is my absolute favorite pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป and I believe that she is also one of the greatest rulers that Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– ever had! 

I find this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ to be so beautiful ๐“„ค because the white ๐“Œ‰๐“†“๐“‡ณ limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ (it honestly looks like marble to me – but marble is metamorphosed limestone) contrasts so well with the black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ on the nemes ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด head cloth and the eyes ๐“น๐“ฆ. Some red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ can even still be seen on the Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— that is on Thutmosis IIIโ€™s ๐“…๐“„ ๐“‹ด forehead!

Thutmosis III - The Greatest Pharaoh?
White Limestone statue of the 18th Dynasty pharaoh Thutmosis III

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 is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Video

Wooden Ushabti of Rameses II – Video

Wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ Ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ of Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– (New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 1292-1190 B.C.E.).ย 

The text ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ is a version of the โ€œShabti Spellโ€ from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. This spell gives the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ the power to complete tasks (farming, manual labor, etc) for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ in the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š–. 

Wooden Ushabti of Rameses II
Me with the Wooden Ushabti of Rameses II at the Brooklyn Museum

This ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ is mummiform meaning that it looks like a mummy/the god ๐“Šน Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ! The ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ is holding a holding the crook ๐“‹พ and flail ๐“Œ… and is wearing the  nemes head cloth ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด. 

Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ was plundered in the 20th Dynasty, and only three ๐“ผ of his wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures remain! 

In 1049 B.C.E., the High Priest of Amun ordered Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ be moved from his original tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ and to the Royal Cache, a place where many royal ๐“‹พ mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช were re-buried in order to protect the mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช from tomb robbers. 

While the provenance of this ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ is unknown, it is assumed that it was originally from Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– original tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ (KV 7).ย 

Wooden Ushabti of Rameses II
Wooden Ushabti of Rameses II on display at the Brooklyn Museum

This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblog

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Lintel of Amenhotep II

My sister ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“๐“, my brother ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“€€ and I are with a red granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถ temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ relief, titled โ€œLintel of Amenhotep II!โ€ This is a really interesting piece that contains so much history!ย 

Lintel of Amenhotep II
My sister (left), brother (middle) and me (right) with the Lintel of Amenhotep II at the British Museum

This piece was originally carved for the 18th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช. Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was the son ๐“…ญ of Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ and he even co-ruled with his father! It was during the co-reign of Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ and Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช that the destruction of Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช monuments ๐“ ๐“ began.ย 

This relief shows mirrored scenes of Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช wearing the khepresh crown ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ (also known as the blue crown) presenting nemset jars ๐“Œ๐“Œ๐“Œ (containing either wine or water ) to the god ๐“Šน Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ.

Over fifty ๐“ŽŠ years after this relief was carved, many of the figures (see the left side) and the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the god ๐“Šน Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ were destroyed by the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– in an attempt to erase images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of the old religion. 

Then, many years after Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– during the 19th Dynasty, the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ– had some of the damage repaired – most of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช and the images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช and Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ were actually recarved! How can Egyptologists tell it was recarved? The sunken relief is deeper in the rock! 

In order to show that it was he, pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ– who restored this piece, he had his cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ and a record of the restoration carved in between the two ๐“ป images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ! Can you spot Seti Iโ€™s throne name (๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ ) and birth name (๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ–) cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“? 

The description of this piece from the British Museum gave a short timeline of the history of this fascinating piece! I remember being confused by seeing the cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ of both Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช and Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ– on the same relief because they are pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ from different dynasties! Whatโ€™s even more interesting is that this is not a case of the more common โ€œusurping of monuments ๐“ ๐“โ€ from previous pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblogย