Tag: louvre

Scribes 𓏟𓀀𓏪 were very highly regarded in ancient Egyptian society. Due to the complexity of hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪/hieratic, those who were able to master it were extremely valued. Scribes 𓏟𓀀𓏪 recorded magic spells, wills and other legal contracts, medical procedures, and tax records. Scribes 𓏟𓀀𓏪 also helped to preserve Egyptian culture throughout time. They were considered part of the royal court and did not have to serve in the military because their job as a scribe 𓏟𓀀 was so essential.

It took almost ten 𓎆 years for a person to complete scribal training and children started school as young as five 𓏾 years old. Though most scribes 𓏟𓀀𓏪 are shown to be men 𓊃𓀀𓏤, there is archaeological evidence that some girls also attended school and learned to read. Most boys inherited the job of scribe 𓏟𓀀 from their father 𓇋𓏏𓀀 as is the same with other occupations in ancient Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖.

Fun fact: it took me about six 𓏿 years to really master reading hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪! Even though I’ve been practicing/reading them for over 20 𓎆𓎆 years now, I’m still learning every single day!

This beautifully 𓄤 painted sarcophagus 𓎟𓋹𓈖𓐍𓊭 belonged to a woman 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐 named Madja who lived during the 18th Dynasty (c. 1550 – c. 1069 BCE). The sarcophagus 𓎟𓋹𓈖𓐍𓊭 was found in a cemetery in West Thebes 𓌀𓏏𓊖, which overlooked Deir el-Medina.

The thing that is most striking about the sarcophagus 𓎟𓋹𓈖𓐍𓊭 is how the painted images 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 stand out in contrast to the white 𓌉𓆓𓇳 background. On the bottom there are four 𓏽 panels, each with different images. From the lest you can see the Eye of Horus 𓂀 on a shrine, two 𓏻 female 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐 mourners, and two 𓏻 priestesses 𓊹𓍛𓏏𓏦 with the sarcophagus 𓎟𓋹𓈖𓐍𓊭. On the middle panels are two 𓏻timages 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 of the god 𓊹 Anubis 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱𓃣 on top of a shrine.

The hieroglyphs 𓊹𓌃𓏪 going down the middle of the lid consist of the standard funerary offering formula:

𓇓𓏏𓊵𓏙𓊩𓁹𓀭𓎟𓊽𓊽𓈋𓅱𓊖𓊹𓉻𓎟𓍌𓈋𓃀𓅱𓊖𓂞𓆑𓉓 – “An offering the king gives Osiris, Lord of Djedu, the Great God, Lord of Abydos, Given a voice offering of…”

“𓊩𓁹𓀭” is not a common variation of Osiris’ name 𓂋𓈖 but it can be seen on a lot of 18th Dynasty sarcophagi.

𓊽𓊽𓈋𓅱𓊖 is also a variation of Djedu which is more commonly written as “𓊽𓊽𓅱𓊖.”

𓏙𓋹𓊽𓌀

Sorry for the glare, but I quite like this piece! This papyrus 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 is a very cool artifact – it is a papyrus 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 depicting a building foundation ceremony from the 22nd Dynasty (c. 1069-664 B.C.E.).

On the top right side of the papyrus 𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛, Sobek 𓋴𓃀𓎡𓆋 and Neith 𓈖𓏏𓋌𓀭 are pictured. The names 𓂋𓈖𓏦 of Sobek 𓋴𓃀𓎡 and Neith 𓈖𓏭𓏏 appear above their heads 𓁶𓏦, and act almost like captions which I always think is such a cool feature of Egyptian art! The names 𓂋𓈖𓏦 do not include the determinative symbols, just the phonograms! Even without the captions, Sobek 𓋴𓃀𓎡𓆋 and Neith are easy deities to recognize because Sobek 𓋴𓃀𓎡𓆋 is usually represented as a man’s 𓊃𓀀𓏤 body with a crocodile 𓅓𓋴𓎛𓆌 head, while Neith 𓈖𓏏𓋌𓀭 is a slender woman 𓊃𓏏𓂑𓏏𓁐 wearing the Red Crown of Lower Egypt 𓂧𓈙𓂋𓏏𓋔.

The other people (drum and tambourine players) are dedicating the foundation of the building that is to be built to Neith 𓈖𓏏𓋌𓀭 and Sobek 𓋴𓃀𓎡𓆋. There are also workers who are breaking ground, using various tools (on the bottom left you can see them using a hoe, which is also a popular hieroglyph 𓌺).