Tag: brooklyn museum

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Coffin of Nespanetjerenpere (Part I)

Only here on ancientegyptblog will you hear someone say โ€œLook at how gorgeous this is ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“‡‘๐“‡‘โ€ about a coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ or other type of funerary object but that’s only because the Coffin of Nespanetjerenpere is such an incredible piece (as many objects from the Late Period are)!

Coffin of Nespanetjerenpere
Me with the gorgeous Coffin of Nespanetjerenpere at the Brooklyn Museum

I spent so long just trying to take in all of the beautiful ๐“„ค images ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ช of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน that are on this mummiform coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ! This coffin is made of cartonnage, which is a material that is made when linen or papyrus mixed with plaster! This is from the Third Intermediate Period, and dates from the 22nd – 25th Dynasties. 

Coffin of Nespanetjerenpere
A view of the Coffin of Nespanetjerenpere at the Brooklyn Muesum

This mummy case ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ belonged to a priest ๐“Šน๐“› named Nespanetjerenpere. While to many the images ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ช may seem like random pictures of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, it is actually a collection of carefully selected religious symbols meant to help guide Nespanetjerenpere on his journey to the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ and associate him with and ensure rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ. 

Coffin of Nespanetjerenpere
The Coffin of Nespanetjerenpere with a view of the ram headed pendant and the central hieroglyphs with offering forumla

The ram headed pendant on his chest is meant to represent the sun ๐“‡ณ god ๐“Šน Raโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› journey across the sky ๐“Šช๐“๐“‡ฏ during the day ๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“บ๐“‡ณ – and through the netherworld ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ at night ๐“Žผ๐“‚‹๐“Ž›๐“„›. The images ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ช of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน can almost be thought of as the picture-book version of the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ. 

While the images ๐“…ฑ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ช of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน are so delicately drawn, the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช going down the middle of the coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ seem to be unfinished and roughly done. The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช show the very standard offering formula!

๐“‡“๐“๐“Šต๐“™ – An Offering the King Gives 

๐“Šฉ๐“น – Osiris

๐“… – Foremost 

๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ – West

The inscription reads: โ€œAn Offering the King Gives Osiris, Foremost of the West.โ€

Look forward to a Part ๐“ป about the back of this piece!ย 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Water Clock

The ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช were no doubt masters of math and science ๐“‚‹๐“๐“๐“œ! One of the ancient Egyptiansโ€™ long lasting contributions to the world was the creation of the 365 (and eventually 365.25) day calendar! They even invented the sundial ๐“ฌ๐“๐“ŠŒ (also known as the โ€œshadow clockโ€), which was the first portable time keeping device!ย They also invented a device called a Water Clock ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ƒป.

Water Clock
A fragment of a Water Clock with the cartouche of Alexander the Great on it at the Brooklyn Museum

This piece pictured is also a clock – or a piece of one at least! This is basalt fragment is part of a device that is known as a water clock ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ƒป. The water clock ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ƒป is the first clock that doesnโ€™t depend on an astronomical object to tell the time! The oldest water clock ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ƒป known was found in the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฉ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep I ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช(c. 1500 B.C.E.). The Greeks even adopted the use of water clocks ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ƒป๐“ช around 325 B.C.E. and named them โ€œclepsydrasโ€ which translates to โ€œwater thieves.โ€ย 

A water clock ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ƒป is a round vessel/vase that has a hole at the bottom that allowed water ๐“ˆ— to drip through at a slow pace. Water clocks ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ƒป๐“ช were usually used to tell time at night ๐“Žผ๐“‚‹๐“Ž›๐“„›, but they might have been used during the day ๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“บ๐“‡ณ too. The water ๐“ˆ— was drained from the vessel after twelve ๐“Ž†๐“ป hours, and then it could be refilled and be used again! Markings on the side helped to keep more accurate time! 

This fragment of a water clock ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ƒป is really cool because it has the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท of Alexander the Great ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒญ๐“Žก๐“Šƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“Šƒ on it! Alexander the Greatโ€™s ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒญ๐“Žก๐“Šƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“Šƒ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– is written with all phonogram symbols, which shows the versatility of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Even foreign names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ could be written with ease! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Ptolemaic Gold Wreath

Much like today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ was very valued in the ancient world. This Ptolemaic Gold Wreath that I am standing with at the Brooklyn Museum is an exquisite piece!

Ptolemaic Gold Wreath
Me with a Ptolemaic Gold Wreath at the Brooklyn Museum

Fun fact: in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ was actually considered to be more valuable because it was harder to obtain through trade! Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– itself does not naturally have a lot of silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰! Silver ๐“Œ‰๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ was associated with the moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น, while gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ was associated with the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ!ย 

This piece is from the Ptolemaic Period (3rd century-2nd century B.C.E.), and it has a very obvious Greek influence. When Alexander the Great ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒญ๐“Žก๐“Šƒ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“Šƒโ€œconqueredโ€ Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, it resulted in the merging of Greek/Macedonian and Egyptian cultures!ย 

Ptolemaic Gold Wreath
A closeup of the Ptolemaic Gold Wreath on display at the Brooklyn Museum!

Many different types of wreaths ๐“Œด๐“„ฟ๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ were made in ancient Greece using different plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ. The โ€œplant ๐“‡๐“…“๐“†ฐโ€ used in this wreath ๐“Œด๐“„ฟ๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ may be the laurel, which was associated with the Greek god ๐“Šน Apollo. 

While gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ wreaths ๐“Œด๐“„ฟ๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ like this one could be used to crown athletic victors, it could have also been used in a funerary context. The wreath ๐“Œด๐“„ฟ๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ pictured is most likely one that had a funerary purpose. The wreaths ๐“Œด๐“„ฟ๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ worn by the living were most likely made of real flowers ๐“†ผ๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ. 

Gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ is a very malleable material, meaning that it can be easily shaped and bent into various shapes. While a great property to have when considering art, this also means that anything made of gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ is extremely delicate. Most gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ jewelry made today is actually an alloy – meaning gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ is mixed with another metal to make it more durable. 

Due to the delicate nature of these wreaths ๐“Œด๐“„ฟ๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ, there are only four ๐“ฝ surviving today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Gold Roman Mummy Mask

This is a mummy mask ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ of a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ from the Roman Period of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. The Roman Period of Egypt is characterized as being after the death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ of Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡, the last pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, in 31 B.C.E. Even though Cleopatra VII ๐“ˆŽ๐“ƒญ๐“‡‹๐“ฏ๐“Šช๐“„ฟ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“๐“„ฟ๐“†‡ was Greek, she is considered to be the last pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. Augustus, though he called himself โ€œPharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“€€โ€œ was the first Emperor of the Roman Empire.ย 

Gold Roman Mummy Mask
Me with the Gold Roman Mummy Mask at the Brooklyn Museum

My Nonno loved the Roman Period of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– because he loved Roman history too, so Roman Egypt was the combination of his favorite things! The merging of the civilizations also meant the merging of both Egyptian and Roman art styles, as is demonstrated by this mask. The mask is made of cartonnage and mostly overlaid with gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ leaf. The eyes ๐“น๐“๐“ฆ are inlaid with glass ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ, while the garland ๐“Œด๐“„ฟ๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ of flowers ๐“†ผ๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ is painted.ย 

Gold Roman Mummy Mask
The Gold Roman Mummy Mask at the Brooklyn Museum. The snake bracelets and armlets can be seen in great detail!

My favorite detail on this mummy mask ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ are the snake ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†™ bracelets ๐“‚๐“ ๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“‡›๐“ฆ that are carved in raised relief on the arms ๐“‚๐“ฆ. I love snake ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†™ themed jewelry and wear snake ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†™ rings ๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“๐“‹ช๐“ฅ and bracelets ๐“‚๐“ ๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“‡›๐“ฆ myself! I think it is such a beautiful ๐“„ค detail on  the mask ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ! The woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ who owned this mask was most likely extremely wealthy because most mummy masks ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ๐“ช were not completely overlaid with gold ๐“‹ž๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰๐“ƒ‰ leaf such as this one. 

The eyebrows on the mask are blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ because it is supposed to be the same color as lapis lazuli ๐“๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“‚ง๐“ง! Many of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน and goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ were thought to have blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ lapis lazuli ๐“๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“‚ง๐“ง hair! The blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ eyebrows could represent this woman joining the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Wilbour Plaque

Not only is the Wilbour Plaque one of my absolute favorite pieces, this is one of the most famous pieces of Amarna-era art! The Brooklyn Museum has an amazing collection of artifacts from Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ and Iโ€™ll never forget the first time I got to see it with my Nonno!ย 

Wilbour Plaque
Me with the Wilbour Plaque at the Brooklyn Museum!

After Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช, Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is my second favorite pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป because of just how different his reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ was compared to the other pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ – not only did the art style completely change, but the religion changed too! 

The top piece in the display is known as the Wilbour Plaque, named after Charles Wilbour who acquired it in 1881. This limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ piece is interesting because it is complete as is it was; it was never part of a larger scene and was most likely used as a model for sculptors! Sculptor models were used by artists as references when they were making official art of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป!ย 

The Wilbour Plaque (top) and another Sculptor’s Model (bottom) on display at the Brooklyn Museum!

While there arenโ€™t any inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ, it is assumed that the people represented here are Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ. However, some argue that the person accompanying Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ in the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ could either be Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ or Smenkare ๐“‡ณ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ป๐“‚“๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ. 

To me this piece is interesting because the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ is no where in sight! Usually Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– is always accompanied by an image of the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ/Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ with sun rays shining on him. Itโ€™s almost kinda weird to see him like this! 

The second piece in the display is another sculptorโ€™s model! This piece shows Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– with another member of the royal family, and a hand! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Talatat Blocks

These small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ โ€œTalatatโ€ Blocks are made of limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ and were used solely during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–! These were used in the construction of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Karnak (this construction started when he was still Amenhotep IV ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“Œ€) and the palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ at Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–. Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– was the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–.ย 

Talatat Blocks
Talatat Blocks from the palace at Akhetaten on display at the Brooklyn Museum.

These limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ Talatat blocks were unique because they were so small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ a single worker could carry them and put it into place. This was meant to expedite construction and make building a lot faster. The Talatat are also unique because they were only used during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–, and were never used again.ย 

These Talatat at the Brooklyn Museum were once brightly painted in striking colors, as was most of the Egyptian monuments ๐“ ๐“. These specific blocks are from the palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ at Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–, which is where Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ grew up! These blocks reconstruct a pastoral scene. 

However, the Talatat were not found at Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–; instead these blocks were reused by the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ to build a pylon at Magna. The Talatat that are now seen in museums all over have been found in other places because the blocks were reused when other pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ took the throne. They were also reused by Horemheb ๐“‡ณ๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–. The famous Hypostyle Hall at Karnak (started by Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ– and completed by Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“) is built with Talatat! 

Tens of thousands of Talata have been found across Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– and I’m sure that there are still many more to be found!ย 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Coffin Fragment of Isis

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

This is a coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ fragment (Late Period, Dynasties 26-31 c. 664-332 B.C.E.) that shows the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“†— in mourning. Since in Egyptian mythology Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ assisted in the resurrection of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, it was believed that she would be instrumental in the rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ which is why she was always seen on coffins ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ๐“ช or the on the foot panel of sarcophagi ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ๐“ฆ.ย This coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ๐“ช fragment of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is breathtaking in person!

Coffin Fragment of Isis
Me with the Coffin Fragment of Isis at the Brooklyn Museum

Itโ€™s usually easy to tell when Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“†— is being depicted in Egyptian art because she is wearing the same hieroglyphic symbol on her head that appears in her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, which is the throne symbol ๐“Šจ!! Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“†— is shown wearing a white outfit, a broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ and two ๐“ป green ๐“‡…๐“„ฟ๐“†“๐“› bracelets ๐“‚๐“ ๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“‡›๐“ช which seem to blend in to her green ๐“‡…๐“„ฟ๐“†“๐“› skin. The green ๐“‡…๐“„ฟ๐“†“๐“› skin symbolizes life ๐“‹น and rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ.ย 

Coffin Fragment of Isis
Coffin Fragment of Isis

This is the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– in the right column: โ€œ๐“†“๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“†—๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“Šน๐“…โ€

๐“†“๐“‡‹๐“ˆ– – Words Spoken By

๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“†— Isis (Isis is more commonly written like this โ€œ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅโ€œ or โ€œ ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“ฅโ€)

๐“…จ๐“‚‹ – the Great (greatness)

๐“Šน – God

๐“… – Mother 

Put together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—, the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– reads: โ€œWords spoken by Isis, the great Godโ€™s Mother…โ€ The rest of the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– on this column is cut off. 

On the left column, the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– starts of with โ€œ๐“น๐“ˆ–โ€ which translates to โ€œborn ofโ€ and then it says the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–of a person which is hard for me to translate because I canโ€™t tell what bird symbol is being used! The last part of the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– seems to say โ€œtrue of voice ๐“™๐“Šค,โ€ but again itโ€™s hard to tell because itโ€™s cut off!

When I saw this piece I really liked it because of how colorful it was! No matter how many times I see artifacts in museums, Iโ€™m always shocked by how bright the colors still are on some objects! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.ย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Flowers in Ancient Egypt

When we envision Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, we usually think of an arid desert ๐“…Ÿ๐“‚‹๐“๐“ˆŠ environment. While Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– is certainly a desert, it did have its own beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ and flowers that were definitely appreciated by the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช!ย 

Plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ were used for food ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ and medicine ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ, so they were vital in that respect. Plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ were considered to be so important that Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช actually sent out an expedition of people to go and look for new plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ that could be used for food ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ or medicine ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ! The word for โ€œmedicine ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“†ฐ๐“ฆโ€ in Middle Egyptian even has one of the plant hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช in it! 

Speaking of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, there is an entire section of Gardinerโ€™s Sign List dedicated to all of the plant symbols! There are 44 hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that represent plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ! For example, the phonogram/ideogram for the Nile Valley/Upper Egypt is ๐“‡— – which represents a flowering plant.

Flowers in Ancient Egypt
Different fragments from Amarna that show different flowers in ancient Egypt (Brooklyn Museum)

Here are some beautifully ๐“„ค colored pieces of art that represent different plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ! On the bottom left is a lotus flower ๐“†ธ and some grapes, the top right is a palm tree, and the bottom right is a small plaque or tile of some kind with daisies/rosettes! 

I love how bright the green ๐“‡…๐“„ฟ๐“†“๐“› and yellow colors are! I will never stop being amazed that all of these beautiful pieces are still so vibrant after thousands of years!

These pieces are at the Brooklyn Museum and are dated to the Amarna Period (Dynasty 18).ย The Amarna Period is another phrase that Egyptologists and historians use to mark the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–.

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Mother’s Day – Isis and Mut

Happy Motherโ€™s ๐“…๐“๐“ Day to all of the moms – and especially to my Mom, Nonna, and Oma! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ Iโ€™m going to do a post about some of the Moms ๐“…๐“๐“๐“ช of Ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– who happen to be goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“!ย 

Mother's Day Isis
A calcite statue accented with bronze of Isis feeding the baby Horus (Brooklyn Museum)

The first ๐“ƒ picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows a calcite ๐“ฑ and bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. This is one of the most popular images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of the Third Intermediate Period, Late Period and even through the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods.  This image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ has even appeared on the back of Roman Coins! 

Symbolically, Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ was thought to be the mother ๐“…๐“๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, and was often associated with motherhood, the protection of women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“, and she was also a user of magic ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ.

Mother's Day Mut
A sunken relief of the goddess Mut, from a Ramesside-era stela (Brooklyn Museum)

The second picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“ whose name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– happens to mean โ€œMother!โ€ Symbolically, Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“ was also thought to be the divine mother ๐“…๐“๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, and this idea became popularized as Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ (her husband) became one of the most worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน during the 18th Dynasty.ย  Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“ didnโ€™t appear in religious texts until the Middle Kingdom, and some think she was โ€œinventedโ€ to be Amunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ wife and a mother ๐“…๐“๐“ figure.ย 

The word for “mother ๐“…๐“๐“/๐“…๐“” in Middle Egyptian seems to predate the appearance of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“, so it’s possible that her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– was intended to mean “mother.”

There are multiple variants for โ€œmotherโ€ in Middle Egyptian/hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, so letโ€™s take a look at them:

๐“…๐“๐“

๐“…๐“๐“๐“

๐“…๐“

๐“…๐“…†๐“†‡

๐“…๐“๐“Ž

๐“…๐“๐“๐“…†

Happy Mother’s Day!

These are my personal photographs and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Ushabti of Rameses II

Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– was arguably one of Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– greatest builders, and his face/name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– can be found pretty much everywhere you look in a museum (this is why his cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ are good to learn – you will see them a lot).ย 

Ushabti of Rameses II
Me with the wooden Ushabti of Rameses II at the Brooklyn Museum!

This beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ piece is a 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.). 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). 

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! Tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ robbing during ancient Egyptian times was a huge problem even though the tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฅ were โ€œhiddenโ€ in the Valley of the Kings! 

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.ย 

Ushabti of Rameses II
The wooden Ushabti of Rameses II with the Shabti Text carved into the wood

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 ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“› 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–. I love how detailed the hieroglyphs are! 

This ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ has a lot of mummiform details; it is wearing the nemes ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด head cloth and there is an intact Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— on his forehead. Like Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, it is wearing a broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹, and is holding the crook ๐“‹พ and flail ๐“Œ…. 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.