Tag: petrie museum

Limestone Trial Piece of Two Hands

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date January 8, 2023

For some reason, this very simple relief of two 𓏻 hands 𓂧𓏏𓏦 was one of my favorite things that I saw at the Petrie Museum in London!

Flinders Petrie was one of the main excavators at present-day Tel el-Amarna, the site of Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 new capital of Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖. Amarna as it is commonly referred to as, is the modern name 𓂋𓈖 for “Akhetaten 𓈌𓏏𓉐𓇋𓏏𓈖𓊖 – Horizon of the Aten,” which replaced Thebes 𓌀𓏏𓊖 as the capital of Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖.

During excavations at Amarna 𓈌𓏏𓉐𓇋𓏏𓈖𓊖 the workshops 𓄯𓏏𓉐𓏦 of artists were found, which contained a lot of unfinished reliefs. These “trial pieces” are though to have been made by young artists who were learning their craft. Even though this is such a simple relief of hands 𓂧𓏏𓏦 with many cracks, I find it to be so beautiful 𓄤. The art of the Amarna period fascinates me because it is so different stylistically from other Egyptian art! I love seeing all of the unfinished pieces that were found at Amarna – it’s kind of like getting a behind the scenes view of the art!

A lot of reliefs in Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 were made on limestone 𓇋𓈖𓈙𓌉. From a geological perspective, limestone 𓇋𓈖𓈙𓌉 (due to its composition of the mineral calcite 𓍱 – which comes from dead marine organisms), is a very easy rock 𓇋𓈖𓂋𓈙 to sculpt and work with because calcite 𓍱 is a softer mineral 𓇋𓌻𓂋𓅱𓈙. Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 used to be completely under water 𓈗 hundreds 𓏲𓏲𓏲 of millions 𓁨𓁨𓁨 of years ago, hence why limestone 𓇋𓈖𓈙𓌉 (and sandstone 𓂋𓅱𓂧𓏏𓌗𓈙) are so abundant – both of these rocks 𓇋𓈖𓂋𓈙𓏦 are classified as sedimentary rocks, which are primarily formed under large bodies of water 𓈗!

Limestone 𓇋𓈖𓈙𓌉 is composed of dead 𓅓𓏏𓏱 marine organisms, which I find correlates with ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 as a whole – their entire life 𓋹/religion focused on preparing for death 𓅓𓏏𓏱, and they basically built 𓐍𓂤𓅱𓋴𓀧 their civilization out of dead 𓅓𓏏𓏱 things!

It’s so fascinating how geology and Egyptian history are so closely interrelated! Did you know that Petrie was a geologist and that he was the first to apply stratigraphy (studying rock layers) to the field of archaeology?!

Tags akhenaten, amarna, artifact, petrie museum

Egyptian Artifacts

Bronze Statue of Maat

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date November 11, 2022

Not only was Maat 𓐙𓌴𓂣𓏏𓁦 the goddess 𓊹𓏏 of truth, fact, law, order and justice, “maat” was also a concept and a way of life in ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖. The noun “maat” is translated as “truth” so living by maat, meant living a pure and truthful life. Maat was also the balance and order in the whole universe.

Maat 𓐙𓌴𓂣𓏏𓁦 is usually shown as a woman with a feather on her head. Her most important role was in the judgement of the dead 𓅓𓏏𓏱. The god Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓁢 would weigh the heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 of the deceased against Maat’s 𓐙𓌴𓂣𓏏𓁦 feather 𓆄 to see if they were worthy to enter the Underworld 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐 and meet Osiris 𓁹𓊨𓀭. If the deceased’s heart 𓇋𓃀𓄣 was balanced with the feather 𓆄, they were declared “true of voice” 𓐙𓊤, and could meet Osiris 𓁹𓊨𓀭.

This statue is at the Petrie Museum at UCL in London!

Tags artifact, gods and goddesses, maat, petrie museum

Egyptian Artifacts

The Shabti Spell

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date September 18, 2022

We are going to be taking a (virtual) trip to the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology today 𓏇𓇋𓈖𓇳! As many of you know, I love ushabti 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 figures, so let’s take a closer look at this one!

The text 𓏟𓏛𓏥 on the ushabti 𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 is a version of the “Shabti Spell” from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. This spell 𓎛𓂓𓏛 gives the ushabti 𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 the power to complete tasks (farming, manual labor, etc) for the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 in the Field of Reeds 𓇏𓏏𓈅𓇋𓄿𓂋𓅱𓆰𓊖. Many people (if they could afford it) were buried with at least 365 𓏲𓏲𓏲𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆𓏾 ushabti 𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 figures – one for each day of the year! Some were buried with even more!

The “Shabti Spell” usually starts off with the following phrase:

𓋴𓌉𓆓𓇶 – The Illuminated One

𓁹𓊨𓀭 – The Osiris

(Look at the first line of text on the ushabti 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 and start reading from the right!)

However, my favorite part of this ushabti 𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾 figure is that the word “𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 shabti” appears very clearly on the piece! It is part of the spell 𓎛𓂓𓏛 that says: “O these shabtis, if you are counted, to do all the works to be done there in the realm of the dead.”

Can you find “𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾” on the piece in the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏?

There are a bunch of different ways to write “ushabti” in hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Just like in other languages, we can use the words “shabti” and “ushabti” to denote the same figures!

𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾

𓆷𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 (shortened version)

𓅱𓈙𓃀𓏏𓏭𓀾

Tags artifact, hieroglyphs, petrie museum, ushabti

Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Bronze Blades of Hatshepsut

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date June 25, 2022

Believe it or not, these two 𓏻 pieces were probably my favorite objects that I saw in the Petrie Museum.

I was so excited when I saw them, because Hatshepsut’s 𓇳𓁦𓂓 throne name appears on it! Since I absolutely love anything to do with Hatshepsut 𓇳𓁦𓂓, I was incredibly excited to see something with her name on it. These two 𓏻 pieces are actually bronze 𓈔𓏤𓈒𓏦 blades that were once attached to a handle.

Let’s read some hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪!

𓄤𓊹 – Perfect God

(𓇳𓁦𓂓) – Maatkare (Hatshepsut’s Throne Name – translates to “Truth is the Soul of Re.”)

𓇋𓏠𓈖 – Amun

𓏃𓂦𓂦𓉐- Holiest of Holies (Deir el-Bahri temple)

𓌺𓇌 – Beloved

Put together, the inscription reads: 𓄤𓊹(𓇳𓁦𓂓)𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏃𓂦𓂦𓌺𓇌 “The Perfect God Maatkare, Beloved of Amun, Holiest of Holies.”

Tags artifact, hatshepsut, hieroglyph lessons, hieroglyphs, petrie museum

Egyptian Artifacts

Magical Stela – Cippus

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date June 25, 2022

This is known as a Magical Stela, or a cippus.

It depicts Horus 𓅃𓀭(or Harpokrates, the Greek version of Horus 𓅃𓀭) standing on two 𓏻 crocodiles 𓅓𓋴𓎛𓆌𓏥 and holding other dangerous animals such as snakes 𓇋𓂝𓂋𓏏𓆘𓏪 and scorpions 𓋴𓂋𓈎𓏏𓆫𓏪 in each hand. The god Bes 𓃀𓋴𓄜 also appears above Horus’ 𓅃𓀭 head 𓁶𓏺. Bes 𓃀𓋴𓄜 was known to ward off evil and bad luck.

Normally, stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 were used to commemorate the dead so this is almost like a protective amulet 𓊐𓊪𓅆 in the form of a stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸. This cippus was used by the living for protection 𓅓𓂝𓎡𓀜. Since the Old Kingdom, Horus 𓅃𓀭 was called upon as a defender against snake or scorpion bites. Placing the cippus on a wound would evoke its magical and healing powers. Cippus stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 like this were usually kept in homes 𓉐𓏺.

However, cippus pieces have also been found in tombs 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐𓏪, so we can assume that the Egyptians thought it not only would help protect 𓅓𓂝𓎡𓀜 the living, but the dead too.

Fun fact! The Middle Egyptian word for scorpion is 𓋴𓂋𓈎𓏏𓆫 which can be pronounced like “Serket.” Serket 𓋴𓂋𓈎𓏏𓆫 was a goddess 𓊹𓏏 who was represented by a scorpion and she was associated with healing, protection, and magic. Serket 𓋴𓂋𓈎𓏏𓆫 could also be written like this: 𓊃𓂋𓈎𓏏𓁐.

Tags artifact, petrie museum

Egyptian Artifacts

Limestone Stela of Paser

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date June 25, 2022

This is a limestone 𓇋𓈖𓈙𓌉 stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 that belonged to a man 𓊃𓀀𓏤 named Paser 𓅮𓀙 who lived during the 18th Dynasty.

This is not the same Paser 𓅮𓀙𓀽 who was the vizier 𓅷𓏏𓏺𓀀 to the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Rameses II 𓁩𓁛𓈘𓄟𓋴𓇓 – that Paser 𓅮𓀙𓀽 lived during the 19th Dynasty! On a random note, the Vizier Paser 𓅮𓀙𓀽 has his own large stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 in the British Museum (which I have written about in previous posts) but a smaller stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 was also found during the excavation of his tomb 𓇋𓐫𓊃𓉐. I was so excited to see the name 𓂋𓈖 Paser 𓅮𓀙 in the Petrie Museum when I was there with my Nonno because my Nonno’s favorite non-royal was vizier 𓅷𓏏𓏺𓀀 Paser 𓅮𓀙𓀽! That excitement ended when I saw the date of the piece and realized that these were not for “THE” Paser 𓅮𓀙𓀽 and we’re just for another man 𓊃𓀀𓏤 with the same name 𓂋𓈖 😂.

Let’s read some hieroglyphs! What’s great about this stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 is thatall the people are labeled with a “caption” above them so they can be identified. The man 𓊃𓀀𓏤 in the middle is Paser 𓅮𓀙 and on either side of him is a woman 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐. Both women have the same name 𓂋𓈖 – Mery 𓌻𓇌. The word “mery” in Middle Egyptian means “beloved,” and can also be written like this: 𓌻𓂋𓇌.

The woman 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐 that is sitting with Paser 𓅮𓀙 on the lion legged chair is his wife 𓂑𓏏𓁐, while the woman 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐 standing at the offering table 𓂝𓃀𓅡𓄿𓋃 with the lotus flower 𓆸 is their daughter 𓐍𓇌𓀕. Two 𓏻 Eyes of Horus 𓂀 can be seen on either side of the Shen Ring 𓍶 at the top of the stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸.

Tags artifact, petrie museum, stela

Egyptian Artifacts

Bronze Statues of Deities

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date June 25, 2022

There’s a lot that I love about this picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 – 1) obviously I love the bronze 𓈔𓏤𓈒𓏦 statues 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪, 2) it’s in the Petrie Museum, and 3) which I think is the best part – you can see me and Nonno’s reflections in the mirror! We are squished together both trying to take pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 of all the artifacts! We spent a big part of that day like that and I wish I could go back and re-live that day 𓉔𓂋𓏺𓇳 again. So while this is not the best picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 artistically speaking, it really means a lot to me. While I am certainly no artist, I can fluently read hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 (and have been for 23 years) so it’s all good 😂 – can’t be good at everything!

From the left, the bronze 𓈔𓏤𓈒𓏦 statues 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾 represent Horus 𓅃𓀭(or Harpokrates, the Greek version of Horus 𓅃𓀭), two 𓏻 statues 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾 of Imhotep 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪 (a non-royal man who became deified – responsible for the construction of Djoser’s 𓂦 Step Pyramid amongst many other things), the fertility god 𓊹 Min 𓋊𓊾𓁤, and Khnum 𓎸𓏏𓀭 (one of the oldest deities, god 𓊹 of the source of the Nile 𓇋𓏏𓂋𓅱𓈗𓈘𓈇𓏺, fertility and was thought to have made humans out of clay from his potters wheel).

The Bronze Age started due to the rise in the Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia. Due to war and trade, bronze 𓈔𓏤𓈒𓏦 was able to come to Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 around 700 B.C.E. and replace the traditional stone 𓇋𓈖𓂋𓊪 and clay statues 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾𓏪. The bronze 𓈔𓏤𓈒𓏦 pieces are great antiquities because they can preserve small details over long periods of time. Bronze 𓈔𓏤𓈒𓏦 statuary 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾 became very popular starting around the Third Intermediate Period (26th Dynasty), and became very abundant in the Ptolemaic Period, which resulted in mass production and a loss of craftsmanship and quality.

Tags artifact, gods and goddesses, petrie museum

Egyptian Artifacts

Ushabti Broad Collar

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date June 24, 2022

This is one of the more interesting pieces that I have ever seen in a museum! I don’t believe I have seen anything like it outside of the Petrie Museum in London! It combines two of my favorite things – ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 and Egyptian jewelry!

This broad collar 𓅱𓋴𓐍𓎺𓋝 is dated to the 21st Dynasty (Third Intermediate Period c. 1069 – 747 B.C.E.). There are 62 𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆𓎆𓏻 faience 𓋣𓈖𓏏𓏸𓏼 ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 that make up their broad collar 𓅱𓋴𓐍𓎺𓋝 and they come in green 𓇅𓄿𓆓𓏛 and blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸𓏥 colors! The ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 are about 4cm in height so they are pretty tiny! I love tiny things so tiny ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 to me are just so cute!! There are also beads of many different colors that adorn the broad collar 𓅱𓋴𓐍𓎺𓋝.

Normally, ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 were buried with the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 and were meant to be their servants in the afterlife 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐. I do not know if the ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 in this broad collar are supposed to be worker ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 or are for adorning a mummy 𓇋𓁹𓅱𓀾 for burial!

Normally ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 are buried in shabti boxes and inscribed with a spell that tells you what their function was. When Osiris 𓁹𓊨 𓀭 called upon the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱 for labor, the deceased would say the spell on the ushabti 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 and it would come to life and perform the labor in place of the deceased 𓅓𓏏𓏱!

As a kid I really loved ushabtis 𓆷𓄿𓍯𓃀𓏏𓏮𓀾 because they reminded me of little dolls and my Nonno used to tell me stories about them! He loved them too and he made leaning about them so much fun!

Tags artifact, jewelry, petrie museum, ushabti

Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Cartouche of Seti I

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date June 24, 2022

Here’s another piece from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology! This is a really simple piece but I really like it! It probably caught my eye because it has the cartouche of Seti I 𓇳𓁦𓏠 on it, and Seti I 𓇳𓁦𓏠 was one of my Nonno’s favorite pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦! The afternoon that Nonno and I spent exploring the Petrie Museum was one of the best days of my life!

This piece is a fragment from a larger statue 𓄚𓈖𓏏𓏭𓀾. On the top part of the piece you can even see the bottom part of a broad collar 𓅱𓋴𓐍𓎺𓋝. It is made of black 𓆎𓅓 basalt, which is an igneous rock 𓇋𓈖𓂋𓈙. Basalt forms when lava solidifies on the Earth’s surface or under the ocean. The entire ocean floor is made of basalt which means that it is is the most abundant rock 𓇋𓈖𓂋𓈙 on Earth (and Mars too)!

The hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 on this piece are very simple and easy to read!

𓇓𓏏 King of Upper…

𓋔𓏏…and Lower Egypt

(𓇳𓁦𓏠) – Maatmenra (Seti I – Maatmenra was his throne name)

Usually the title of “King of Upper and Lower Egypt” is written as “𓆥” so it is interesting to see it written as “𓇓𓏏𓋔𓏏.” In the hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 for this piece, the crown of Lower Egypt 𓋔 was used instead of the bee 𓆤.

King of Upper and Lower Egypt 𓆥 can literally be translated to “He of the Sedge and the Bee,” which is the title that usually preceded the prenomen, which was also known as the throne name or the royal name. The sedge 𓇓 was the symbol for Upper Egypt while the bee 𓆤 was the symbol of Lower Egypt. This title was symbolic that the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 was ruling over a united Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖. The first pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 to have this title was the Pharaoh Den 𓂧𓈖 during the First Dynasty!

Tags artifact, hieroglyphs, petrie museum, seti i

Egyptian Artifacts

Small Limestone Stela of Akhenaten

Post author By ancientegyptblog7
Post date June 24, 2022

Here’s another piece from the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology! This is a small limestone 𓇋𓈖𓈙𓌉 stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸 of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 (by small, I mean it is only about 8.5cm in height)!

While the image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 is very crudely drawn, it is quite obvious that we are looking at Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 here because art during the period of his rule was incredibly unique! On the stela 𓎗𓅱𓆓𓉸, Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 can be seen standing in front of two 𓏻 vases of incense with his arms raised in a worshipping position. The Sun 𓇳𓏺, or the Aten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳, can be seen above Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 head 𓁶𓏺.

The Petrie Museum has a lot of unique pieces from Akhenaten’s 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 reign because Petrie helped to excavate Amarna, which the place in modern-day Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 where Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 moved the capital to (the capital of Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖 was originally in Thebes 𓌀𓏏𓊖). The new capital was called Akhetaton “Horizon of the Aten” and it was established ~1332 B.C.E., around the time when the Aten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳 was declared to be the only god 𓊹.

One of the reasons I enjoyed my trip to the Petrie Museum so much was being able to see all of these unique pieces that really can’t be seen in other museums! Akhenaten 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳𓅜𓐍𓈖 is my second favorite pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, so I really enjoyed seeing all of the Amarna-era pieces!

Tags akhenaten, artifact, petrie museum

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