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Reading Hieroglyphs Video

Video – Kohl Tube

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!

Today π“‡π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‡³ we are going to look at a Kohl π“†“π“‚π“Œ π“ƒ€ Tube! Kohl π“†“π“‚π“Œ π“ƒ€ was a type of eye paint (makeup) that was very popular amongst the ancient Egyptians π“†Žπ“π“€€π“π“ͺ! This tube would have contained the kohl π“†“π“‚π“Œ π“ƒ€, and then a wooden 𓆱𓏏𓏺 or faience π“‹£π“ˆ–π“π“Έπ“Ό stick would have been used to apply it! The kohl π“†“π“‚π“Œ π“ƒ€ tube itself is also made of faience π“‹£π“ˆ–π“π“Έπ“Ό, hence the gorgeous blue 𓇋𓁹𓏏𓄿𓏸π“₯ color! This piece is dated to the 18th Dynasty (c. 1390-1353 B.C.E.).

For me, the most interesting part of an artifact is always going to be the inscription π“Ž˜π“…±π“Ž– on the object! 

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!

π“ŠΉπ“„€ – Perfect God 

π“ŽŸπ“‡Ώπ“‡Ώ – Lord of the Two Lands

π“‡³π“§π“Ž  – Nebmaatra (Amenhotep III’s Throne Name)

π“‡“π“ˆžπ“ – King’s Great Wife

π“˜π“‡Œπ“­π“— – Tiye

π“‹Ήπ“˜ – May She Live!

Some of you may notice when looking at this inscription that Queen Tiye’s π“˜π“‡Œπ“­π“— name π“‚‹π“ˆ– is in a cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“· too! Sometimes, the names π“‚‹π“ˆ–π“¦ of the queens who held the title of the β€œKing’s Great Wife π“‡“π“ˆžπ“β€ also appeared in cartouches π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“·π“¦ to demonstrate their importance to the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻. Fun Fact: Tiye π“˜π“‡Œπ“­π“— was actually the mother 𓅐𓏏𓁐 of Akhenaten π“‡‹π“π“ˆ–π“‡³π“…œπ“π“ˆ– and Tutankhamun’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“π“…±π“π“‹Ήπ“‹Ύπ“‰Ίπ“‡“ grandmother!

Kohl Tube
A closeup image of the Kohl Tube of Amenhotep III, which is featured in the above video!
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Video

Video – Let’s Play #IFoundImhotep

My Nonno always made going to museums so much fun and I’m sure this is why I have always loved going to museums! 

One of our favorite things to see in a museum were the bronze π“ˆ”π“€π“ˆ’π“¦ statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ of Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ! My Nonno would always point out Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ and tell me about all of the incredible things he did (like being the architect behind Djoser’s 𓂦 Step Pyramid 𓍋𓅓𓂋𓉴)! I have always been fascinated by Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ! 

My Nonno turned finding the Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ into a game, and I want to play the game with everyone!! Tag me in your photos or use the hashtag #IFoundImhotep on Instagram to show me your pictures of the bronze π“ˆ”π“€π“ˆ’π“¦ statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ of Imhotep π“‡π“…“π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ that are in your local museums!Β 

Let’s keep my Nonno’s game alive!

Imhotep Statue
The bronze statue of Imhotep at the Brooklyn Museum

π“™π“‹Ήπ“†–π“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž›

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Book Recommendations Video

Video – “Hatshepsut” Book Review

It’s time for another book 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 review!

This book 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 on Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ is one of my absolute favorites that I have in my collection! My Nonno brought it for me in 2006 when we went to the β€œHatshepsut From Queen to Pharaoh” exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art! The book not only details the exhibition, but gives a lot of information about Hatshepsut π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ! 

The MET has a beautiful π“„€ collection of artifacts from Hatshepsut’s π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“ŽΉπ“π“„‚π“π“€Όπ“ͺ reign, and this book does an incredible job of highlighting these important objects. 

While the book is out of print, you can get it used online or you can get it as a PDF from the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Publications website! The MET has a great program that provides free PDFs for their out of print books! I have gotten amazing books through their program – you should check it out!

I hope you enjoy and love this book as much as I do!

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Video

Video – Egyptian Amulets and Molds

This video reveals the β€œsecret” to how the ancient Egyptians were able to make so many amulets π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…†π“ͺ that were so small π“ˆ–π“†“π“‹΄π“…© and detailed – they used molds! These molds are typically made of terracotta and allowed artists to not only mass produce amulets π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…†π“ͺ, but also make the amulets π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…†π“ͺ small and detailed! 

The amulets π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…†π“ͺ that you see in the video  are grapes, daisy/rosette, Taweret 𓏏𓄿𓅩𓂋𓏏𓆗, Bes π“ƒ€π“‹΄π“„œ, the Eye of Horus π“…ƒπ“€­, the Eye of Ra 𓇳𓏺𓁛, various types of plants 𓆾𓆰𓆰𓆰, scarabs 𓐍π“Šͺ𓂋𓂋𓆣π“ͺ, and then some rings π“‚π“ˆ–π“π“‹ͺ𓏦! I didn’t point them out in the video, but see if you can spot the frogs π“ˆŽπ“‚‹π“‚‹π“†π“¦!!

Lets’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! See if you can spot these in the video!!

π“‡³π“§π“Ž  – Nebmaatra (throne name for Amenhotep III)

π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ–π“Š΅π“‹Ύπ“‹† – Amenhotep III (birth name)

π“‡“π“ˆžπ“ – King’s Great Wife

π“˜π“‡Œπ“­- Tiye 

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Video

Video – Statues of Isis and Horus

The image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 of Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯ feeding Horus π“…ƒπ“€­ as a baby is one of the most popular images 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 of the Third Intermediate Period, Late Period and even through the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods.  This video examines the significance of the statues of Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯ feeding Horus π“…ƒπ“€­!

This image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 appeared in bronze π“ˆ”π“€π“ˆ’π“¦, stone π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‚‹π“Šͺ, and even as small π“ˆ–π“†“π“‹΄π“…© amulets π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…†π“ͺ! My Nonno would always point out these pieces of Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯ feeding Horus π“…ƒπ“€­ as a baby because he felt they were so significant to the evolution of religious art through time. 

While my Nonno loved Egyptian π“†Žπ“π“€€π“ and Roman art, he also loved Christian/Biblical art, so these Egyptian π“†Žπ“π“€€π“ statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ were kind of a natural connection between his area of interests! I always make sure to look for statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ like this in museums whenever I visit! 

Symbolically, Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯ was thought to be the mother 𓄿𓏏𓁐 of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, and was often associated with motherhood, the protection of women π“Šƒπ“π“‚‘π“π“, and a user of magic π“Ž›π“‚“π“„Ώπ“œ.  As Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯ became a more popular religious figure, she was associated with cosmological order and was considered to be the embodiment of fate by the Romans.  Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯ was widely worshipped during the Roman times, and Isis π“Š¨π“π“₯ feeding Horus π“…ƒπ“€­ as a baby has even appeared on the back of Roman coins.

This image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 of a mother 𓄿𓏏𓁐 holding a child π“π“‡Œπ“€• is thought to have inspired the well known Catholic images of the Virgin Mary holding Jesus as a baby. 

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Reading Hieroglyphs Video

Video – Maned Sphinx of Hatshepsut

Here’s a video on the Maned Sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­π“€ of Hatshepsut 𓇳𓁦𓂓!

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!

(𓇳𓁦𓂓) – Maatkare

π“‡‹π“ π“ˆ– – Amun

π“ŒΊπ“π“‡Œ – Beloved

𓋹𓏏𓏙- Life Given

𓆖 – Eternity (Forever)

β€œMaatkare, Beloved of Amun, Given Life for Eternity.”

I know this is strange, but β€œGiven Life” is written backwards! It should be β€œπ“™π“‹Ήβ€ not β€œπ“‹Ήπ“™β€ as it’s written (this inscription is read from right to left). 

There’s also an added 𓏏, which makes it the feminine form! There’s a second sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­π“€ just like this one in the Cairo Museum, and on that sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­π“€, there is no added 𓏏! Why would one sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­π“€ use the feminine form and one use the masculine?! We will probably never know! 

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Video

Video – Anubis Statue

This limestone π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“Œ‰ Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ was found near the Sacred Animal Necropolis at Saqqara (Memphis π“ π“ˆ–π“„€π“†‘π“‚‹π“‰΄π“Š–). The Sacred Animal Necropolis housed thousands 𓏲𓏲𓏲 of mummified animals such as falcons π“ƒ€π“‡‹π“Ž‘π“…„π“¦, baboons, ibises 𓉔𓃀𓅀𓏦 and bulls/cows 𓄀𓆑𓂋𓏏𓃒𓏦. This piece is dated to the Late Period – Ptolemaic Period (664–30 B.C.E.). 

Although mummified jackals π“Šƒπ“„Ώπ“ƒ€π“ƒ₯𓏦 were not found in the area, statues π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ of Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 have been found most likely because Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 is the god π“ŠΉ of mummification π“‹΄π“‚§π“π“…±π“Ž and embalming π“‹΄π“‚§π“π“…±π“Ž, so it would make sense that there would be statues π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ of him in the vicinity of this large necropolis. It is thought that Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 statues π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ such as this were used to guard embalming tents. 

Interestingly, this piece was originally painted π“žπ“œ black π“†Žπ“…“, but through time it has lost its coloring! It’s hard to see in my pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 (the MET really needs better lighting – the galleries are so dark) but you can still see remnants of some of the black π“†Žπ“…“ paint 𓇨𓂋𓅱𓏭𓏸𓏦 on the statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ! 

I was very excited to see this statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ, because there is a similar one in the Petrie Museum in London! I love seeing similar pieces in different museums around the world! It is really cool to see pieces that are similar across museum collections – I can’t explain why, but I just find it incredible! Also (no surprise), I love anything Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣, so of course I absolutely love this statue and I need to visit it every time I go to the MET!

Fun fact! There are no temples π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰π“¦ dedicated to Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 because all tombs π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰π“¦ and large burial areas were considered β€œtemples” to worship 𓇼𓄿𓀒 Anubis π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“Šͺ𓅱𓃣 in! It makes so much sense because he is the god π“ŠΉ of tombs π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰π“¦ and mummification π“‹΄π“‚§π“π“…±π“Ž!Β 

Anubis Statue
A picture of me with the Anubis statue!
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Video

Video – Funerary Cones

While not as artistically decorated as most of the artifacts in the Egyptian π“†Žπ“π“€€π“ collections of museums, these β€œfunerary cones” 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 (Gallery 117) at the MET solely because of the funerary cones! 

Funerary cones (a modern name given to these objects) are made of clay π“Šͺπ“ˆ–π“‹΄π“ˆ‡ and usually found at the openings of tombs π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰π“ͺ at Thebes π“Œ€π“π“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 π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ𓏏𓏔𓏦, or even as passports to the Duat 𓇼𓄿𓏏𓉐! Thousands 𓆼𓆼𓆼 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 π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ with the name of the tomb π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰ occupant as well as a god π“ŠΉ. These objects can also be referred to as β€œfunerary stamps.”

An example inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ that is common on a funerary cone would be something like: 

β€œVenerated before Osiris, Son of ____, Name of Deceased.” 

π“„ͺπ“π“‡Œ – Venerated 

𓐍𓂋 – Before

π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­ – Osiris

π“…­ – Son

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Reading Hieroglyphs Video

Video – The Goddess Hathor in Hieroglyphs!

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! 

This is the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of the goddess π“ŠΉπ“ Hathor 𓉑 in hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! I’m sure you can see this, but Hathor’s 𓉑 name π“‚‹π“ˆ– is unique compared to that of the other deities π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ! This is because her name is written with a composite hieroglyph π“ŠΉπ“Œƒ! A composite hieroglyph π“ŠΉπ“Œƒ is the combination of many symbols into one symbol! Even with the combination of the symbols, the sounds of the original symbol are still retained! 

Hathor’s 𓉑 name π“‚‹π“ˆ– is the combination of an enclosure (house) 𓉗 and the falcon π“…ƒ. 

𓉗 +π“…ƒ = 𓉑 

Het (𓉗) + Heru (π“…ƒ) = 𓉑 

If the two 𓏻 symbols were written separately, we would actually read Hathor’s 𓉑 name π“‚‹π“ˆ– as β€œHouse of Horus” or β€œEstate of Horus” (depending on how you translated the 𓉗 hieroglyph) – so that is the literal translation of her name π“‚‹π“ˆ–! 

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Reading Hieroglyphs Video

Video – Let’s read some Hieroglyphs!

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ!

This inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ comes from the false door of a man named Mery (4th Dynasty/Old Kingdom), however the inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ is about his wife 𓂑𓏏𓁐 Niankhwadjet π“ˆ–π“‡…π“π“‹Ή. 

Right Hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ Column:

𓇓𓂋𓐍𓏏 – King’s Acquaintance

𓉑 – Hathor

π“ŠΉπ“› – Priest [Priestess in this case] (literally β€œGod’s Servant”) 

All together, this inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ would read β€œThe King’s Acquaintance, Priestess of Hathor…” The title β€œKing’s Acquaintance π“‡“π“‚‹π“π“β€œ is taken to mean that the person was close to the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻! 

Left Hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ Column: 

π“ŽŸ – Possessor

π“Œ³π“π“„ͺ – Reverence

π“ˆ–π“‡…π“π“‹Ή – Niankhwadjet

β€œPossessor of Reverence, Niankhwadjet.”

Let’s put it all together! 

π“‡“π“‚‹π“π“π“‰‘π“ŠΉπ“›π“ŽŸπ“Œ³π“π“„ͺπ“ˆ–π“‡…π“π“‹Ή

β€œThe King’s Acquaintance, Priestess of Hathor, Possessor of Reverence, Niankhwadjet.”

Here is my past post (with photographs) on this beautiful piece!