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Egyptian Artifacts

Stela of a Man Named Ihefy

This is a simple stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ that is painted in really nice bright colors on wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ! One of the reasons I like this piece so much is that it has retained its colors through time! This is dated between the 22nd and 25th Dynasties.

The stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ depicts a man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค named Ihefy simply worshipping ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข/adoring the god ๐“Šน Horus(?) ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. While the museum description says the god ๐“Šน is Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, I question that because of the sun disc ๐“‡ณ๐“ค appearing on the falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ head. Usually, Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› will appear as a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ head wearing a sun disc ๐“‡ณ๐“ค. Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ is usually depicted wearing the crown of Upper Egypt ๐“‹‘, Lower Egypt ๐“‹”, or both ๐“‹– (most common).

However, since this is a later time period, this could be the god ๐“Šน Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค, who is a combination of Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› and Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ into a single deity. I believe this is a depiction of Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค because of the sun-disc ๐“‡ณ๐“ค crown that has a Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— at the front, along with the fact that Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค is holding a flail ๐“Œ… and scepter ๐“Œ€, which is another common way to depict him.

The main reason why I think this is a depiction of Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค? The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Ra-Horakhtyโ€™s ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– appears right above him on the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ!

We know that Ihefy is worshipping ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค because his arms are in the raised position! The determinative for the word worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข is even a man with his arms raised ๐“€ข!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Linen Textile in Honor of Hathor

This is a linen ๐“ฑ textile that was made in honor of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก and was meant to be placed at her shrine ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰ at Deir el-Bahri ๐“‚ฆ๐“‚‹๐“‚ฆ๐“ฅ๐“‰.

In the beautifully ๐“„ค colored images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ on the right side of the linen ๐“ฑ, we can see Hathor ๐“‰ก in her cow ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’ form standing on a boat ๐“‚ง๐“Šช๐“๐“Šž, encompassed by a shrine ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰, and surrounded by lotus flowers ๐“†ธ๐“†ธ๐“†ธ. Below Hathorโ€™s ๐“‰ก head ๐“ถ๐“ค, stands a small figure in black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ that is representative of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Montuhotep II ๐“‡ณ๐“Šค๐“ŽŸ. We know that itโ€™s Montuhotep II ๐“‡ณ๐“Šค๐“ŽŸ because of the cartouche next to the small figure!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!
๐“Šน๐“„ค – Great/Perfect God
(๐“‡ณ๐“Šค๐“ŽŸ) – Nebhapetra (Montuhotep II)

Next to Hathor ๐“‰ก, the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช read:
๐“‰ก – Hathor
๐“ŽŸ๐“๐“‡ฏ- Lady/Mistress of Heaven
๐“ท๐“Š“๐“‹†๐“๐“Š– – Chief One of Thebes

On the left side, the first man standing before ๐“๐“‚‹ Hathor ๐“‰ก has his arms raised, which is to represent him worshipping ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข the goddess ๐“Šน๐“.

Hathorโ€™s ๐“‰ก name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช is quite unique compared to some of the other gods/goddesses. Her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– is composed of a composite hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ which literally translates to โ€œHouse of Horus.โ€ Hathor ๐“‰ก was the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“๐“ช, motherhood, joy, music ๐“‰”๐“‡Œ๐“†ธ, happiness ๐“„ซ๐“…ฑ๐“›, and a goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Roman Anubis

I love this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ so much! I think itโ€™s gorgeous ๐“„ค!! Heโ€™s Roman-ified and wearing a toga!! Itโ€™s a really nice piece and one of my favorites in the Vatican! My sister ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“ even joined me for this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“!

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is the Egyptian god ๐“Šน of mummification, burial rites and tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฅ/cemeteries. However, when Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– was conquered by Rome, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ was likened to the Roman god ๐“Šน Mercury! Mercury had many functions, but one of the traits that related him to Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ was that Mercury guided souls ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ to the underworld/afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. It was part of Mercuryโ€™s function as the messenger god ๐“Šน!

In this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is even holding a caduceus in his hand – a symbol often associated with Mercury. Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is also looking quite fashionable with his Roman style sandals ๐“ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ธ๐“ฆ!

As you all know, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is my favorite ancient Egyptian god ๐“Šน. I also love this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ because it shows the blending of the Egyptian and Roman religions which happened after Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– was defeated by Rome during the Battle of Actium.

The Battle of Actium (September 12th, 31 B.C.E.) was the last battle of the Roman Republic and gave rise to the Roman Empire (and the fall of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–). The battle was fought between Octavian and Marc Antony/Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡. With Octavianโ€™s victory, he secured his place as the first Emperor of Rome.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Details of Anubis on a Sarcophagus

This is a close-up photo ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ of Anubis (or Inpw to the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช) ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ from a sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ at the MET. I chose to highlight this particular detail from the sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ because while it is not part of an inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ, this is my favorite hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ; Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ on top of a shrine! As many of you know, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is my favorite Egyptian god ๐“Šน and he always has been! I get so excited whenever I see Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in any form of Egyptian art!

There are two ๐“ป variations of this particular hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ: ๐“ƒฃ and ๐“ƒค. Both can be used pretty much interchangeably and it was mostly style/aesthetics that determined which one was used in inscriptions.

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ can be written a bunch of different ways in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช: ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ข, ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, ๐“ƒฃ, ๐“ข. Once again, style/aesthetics determined which variation was used in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ.

Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is commonly associated with shrines, because he is a god ๐“Šน that is associated with themes surrounding death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ (mummification, burial places). While the word in Middle Egyptian for shrine is ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“‚œ๐“‰, shrines associated with Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ had their own word! A shrine associated with Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ was called ๐“‰ฑ๐“Šน, or the โ€œGodโ€™s Booth.โ€ One of Anubisโ€™ ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ titles that commonly appears after his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช is: ๐“…๐“Šน๐“‰ฑ or โ€œIn front at the Godโ€™s Booth.โ€

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Egyptian Artifacts

Viscera Coffin

This is a โ€œviscera coffinโ€ dated to the 18th Dynasty (c. 1400 B.C.E.). A โ€œviscera coffinโ€ (sometimes called a coffinette) is very similar to a canopic jar because it stored the mummified organ of the deceased, however it looks like a coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ instead of a jar! These were popular during the 18th Dynasty. Most famously, Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น๐“ฆ were found in tiny ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ viscera coffins that were almost exact replicas of the larger coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ that he was found to be buried in!

This viscera coffin is made of wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ and overlaid with gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ leaf, which was a very popular way to make it look like a piece was made of solid gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ when it wasnโ€™t! There are also lots of beautiful ๐“„ค inlaid stones ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช๐“ฆ of many different colors. The stones ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช๐“ฆ make up the Nemes head cloth ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด and the broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ that Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is wearing! While it is it in the most pristine condition, I like how the wear and tear gives us a look into the different materials that make up the piece!

Obviously, I love this piece because this viscera coffin shows Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ! As everyone knows, Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is my absolute favorite Egyptian god ๐“Šน so I always get so excited when I see a unique piece that depicts him! Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is the god ๐“Šน of mummification, burial rites and tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฅ/cemeteries, so it makes sense to have him on a visceral coffin!

There are two ๐“ป words for โ€œcoffinโ€ and another for โ€œsarcophagusโ€ in Middle Egyptian:
๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ – Mummiform coffin
๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ – Coffin
๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ – Sarcophagus

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Egyptian Artifacts

Thoth as a Babboon

This is a limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ! The god ๐“Šน Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ was usually depicted as a man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค with the head of an ibis ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค, but was also commonly depicted as a baboon. The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ is actually the Greek version of his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–; the ancient Egyptians referred to him as Djehuty (๐“…-Djhu ๐“- t, y-๐“ญ, ๐“€ญ).

While Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ is mainly known as being the patron of scribes ๐“Ÿ๐“€€๐“ช, the god ๐“Šน of writing ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ, and the creator of language ๐“‚‹๐“บ, he is also considered the god ๐“Šน of the sciences ๐“‚‹๐“๐“๐“œ๐“ฆ and the moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น. The moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น could be thought of as a โ€œnight sun,โ€ which places him as an opposite of the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ god ๐“Šน Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“›. Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ is also credited with inventing the 365-day calendar!

Since the moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น is commonly a symbol of wisdom, Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ was also associated with being very wise. Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ has also provided guidance to the other gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน and can also be associated with truth ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„ and justice ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„๐“œ. Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ was thought to have invented writing ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ, and was thus the god ๐“Šน of all record keeping. These characteristics are why he is the bookkeeper in the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony from the Book of the Dead. The scene acted as the โ€œLast Judgmentโ€ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ.

Due to his vast knowledge, Thoth ๐“Ÿ was thought to know magic ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ and secrets ๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“†Ÿ๐“›๐“ฆ that were unknown to the rest of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน in the Egyptian pantheon. This made him an extremely powerful figure!

Thoth can be written as: ๐“…ค๐“€ญ, ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ, ๐“Ÿ. He also had various titles such as โ€œLord of the Divine Words,โ€ โ€œThree Times Great,โ€ and โ€œLord of Maโ€™atโ€ amongst many others!

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Book of the Dead – The Four Sons of Horus

This copy of the Book of the Dead (known to the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช as the Book of Going Forth By Day) belonged to Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช, Priest ๐“Šน๐“› of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, who lived during the early Ptolemaic Period (between 332-200 B.C.E.). No, it’s not that Imhotep from “The Mummy” (1999), however, this is still a funny coincidence! The Book of the Dead was created for Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช so he could have a successful journey into the afterlife/Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. The spells on the papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› were also meant to ensure his safety and well-being in the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ (realm of the dead).

In this image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, you can see some of the hieratic script that the Book of the Dead is written in – don’t ask me to translate, because I can’t read hieratic! I can only read hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Some of the hieratic is in black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ ink while some of it is in red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ. The red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ ink seems to symbolize either the beginning or the end ๐“Žผ๐“‚‹๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“› of a spell, or it could highlight a word for a noun that was considered “bad” in Egyptian culture. However, sometimes even “offering table” could have been written/drawn in red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ and offering tables ๐“‚๐“ƒ€๐“…ก๐“„ฟ๐“‹ƒ were not bad at all!

On the top right, you can see Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช standing with his arms raised in a worshipping stance; he is worshipping the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก, who is in her cow form ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’! Next to that, you can see the four Sons of Horus surrounding a canopic chest! The Four Sons of Horus guarded the organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น of the deceased! From the right: Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘(jackal head) held/protected the stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป, Imseti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“˜๐“‡‹(human head) held/protected the liver ๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„น๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ธ, Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ(baboon head) held/protected the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ, and Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘ (falcon head) held/protected the intestines ๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฎ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ผ.

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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!

Categories
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.

Categories
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