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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Osiris’ Name in a Cartouche

Osiris’ π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­ name π“‚‹π“ˆ– in a cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“·? Usually the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 appears in a cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“·! While this doesn’t happen often, there are instances where the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of a god π“ŠΉ will appear in the cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“·!

This is a fragment of a beautifully π“„€ painted 𓇨𓂋𓅱𓏭𓏸𓏦 sarcophagus π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­. I would estimate its from around the later New Kingdom period or later because that’s when painted 𓇨𓂋𓅱𓏭𓏸𓏦 sarcophagi π“ŽŸπ“‹Ήπ“ˆ–π“π“Š­π“ͺ such as these became popular!Β 

Osiris' Name in a Cartouche
Osiris’ name in a cartouche on a sarcophagus fragment

I love this piece because of the cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“·, but also because there is so much other stuff going on even though it’s small π“ˆ–π“†“π“‹΄π“…©! The hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ are: π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­π“ŽŸπ“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž› which translates to β€œOsiris, Lord of Eternity.” Let’s break down the symbols! 

π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­ – Osiris

π“ŽŸ – Lord

π“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž› – Eternity

I haven’t seen that many pieces like this, so I just found this one so cool! Usually the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 is what appears in a cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“·, but in this case it’s Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­ and his title! The top of the cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“· also has the Atef Crown π“‹š on it, which is the crown that is associated with Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­. 

The ancient Egyptians talked about β€œeternity π“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž›β€ a lot and were actually the civilization to derive the concept of β€œeternity 𓆖.” There were two 𓏻 very common ways they expressed the word for β€œeternity” in hieroglyphic symbols:Β 

π“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž› – Eternity

𓆖 – Eternity/Everlasting

There are some other popular hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ that appear on this piece!! See if you can spot them! 

π“„‘π“‚§π“π“Š– – Edfu

π“ŠΉπ“‰Ό – Great God

Both of the phrases appear symmetrically on either side of the cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“· which is something that is common on these types of pieces! 

Let’s take a look at some of the deities π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉ that appear! If you look in the lower left, you can see part of the god π“ŠΉ Osiris π“Ήπ“Š¨π“€­ with a large table of offerings π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ𓏏𓏔𓏦 in front of him. On the top left, below the winged π“‚§π“Œ³π“π“†ƒ sun disk 𓇳𓏺 is a falcon π“ƒ€π“‡‹π“Ž‘π“…„ which is representative of the god π“ŠΉ Horus π“…ƒπ“€­. On the top right, there is an ibis 𓉔𓃀𓅀 which is representative of the god π“ŠΉ Thoth 𓅝𓏏𓏭𓀭. 

On either side of the cartouche π“ π“ˆ–π“ˆ™π“·, the god π“ŠΉ Hapi π“Ž›π“‚π“Šͺπ“­π“ˆ˜ (god π“ŠΉ of the Nile River π“‡‹π“π“‚‹π“…±π“ˆ—π“ˆ˜π“ˆ‡π“Ί/flooding of the Nile) is shown. There are two 𓏻 of him because if you look closely, you can see both symbolically tying up papyrus π“ π“ˆ–π“Ž›π“†° and lotus 𓆸 plants together. This was meant to represent the union of Upper 𓇓 and Lower 𓆀 Egypt! You can easily recognize Hapi π“Ž›π“‚π“Šͺπ“­π“ˆ˜ because of the papyrus flowers π“ π“ˆ–π“Ž›π“†° on his head!