Tag: museo egizio

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Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of the Scribe and Architect Kha

I was inspired by a video that @egyptologylessons posted on TikTok to write about this piece! This beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is called โ€œThe Sculpted Statue of the Scribe and Architect Kha ๐“ˆ๐“‚ก๐“€ผโ€ and it is currently on display at the @museoegizio in Torino, Italy. My Nonno took this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ during one of his trips to the Museo Egizio!ย 

Statue of the Scribe and Architect Kha
A display at the Museo Egizio showing the Statue of the Scribe and Architect Kha

Kha ๐“ˆ๐“‚ก๐“€ผ was a scribe ๐“Ÿ๐“€€ and the royal architect under the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ (18th Dynasty) and he lived in Deir el-Medina. Khaโ€™s titles included โ€œHead of the Great Place ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“Šจ๐“๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“๐“›,โ€ โ€œOverseer of the Works ๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‚“๐“๐“€‹ in the Great House ๐“‰๐“‰ปโ€ and โ€œRoyal Scribe ๐“‡“๐“ž.โ€ 

Fun Fact!!! Did you know that the โ€œGreat Place ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“Šจ๐“๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“๐“›โ€ is how the ancient Egyptians referred to the Valley of the Kings?

Khaโ€™s ๐“ˆ๐“‚ก๐“€ผ high rank as an official ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“€€ allowed for him to have an elaborate burial for himself – most Egyptians would not have been able to afford something like this! 

What strikes me most about Khaโ€™s ๐“ˆ๐“‚ก๐“€ผ tomb ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฉ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ is how these wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ objects (the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ and the chair ๐“Ž›๐“Šจ๐“๐“†ฑ) are so well preserved! Wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ is organic and can decay very quickly even Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! The flower ๐“ท๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“๐“†ฐ collar ๐“ƒ€๐“ฒ๐“ƒ€๐“ฒ around the neck of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is even still there – thatโ€™s so remarkable!

I also love how the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures are included in this display! The ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures are made out of steatite ๐“…ฎ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“ˆ’๐“ŠŒ which is a very durable type of stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost. 

@ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok

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Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of Amun and Horemheb

This is a limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of the god ๐“Šน Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ with the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Horemheb ๐“‡ณ๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–. This picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is special because my Nonno took it at the Museo Egizio in Torino, Italy.

Amun and Horemheb
Statue of Amun (left) and the pharaoh Horemheb (right) at the Museo Egizio in Torino, Italy

Horemheb ๐“‡ณ๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– was the final pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of the 18th Dynasty, having taken over the throne from Ay ๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ๐“ช๐“น๐“™๐“. Before he was pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, Horemheb ๐“‡ณ๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– was the commander of the army for the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“. He continued the restoration of traditional Egyptian religious practices that Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ began, and he also usurped a lot of monuments from both Ay ๐“‡ณ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ๐“ช๐“น๐“™๐“ and Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“. 

Letโ€™s take a closer look at the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ! The god ๐“Šน Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ (left) is depicted larger than Horemheb ๐“‡ณ๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– (right) because the only person more important than the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป himself was another god ๐“Šน! 

Amun and Horemheb
A closer view of the hieroglyphic inscription that appears on either side of Amun’s throne on the statue.

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! We are going to start on the left side of Amunโ€™s throne!ย 

๐“Šน๐“„ค – The Perfect God 

๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands

๐“‡ณ๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– – Horemheb (Throne Name – The sacred one of the manifestations of Ra, chosen of Ra)

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ – Amun-Ra

๐“Œบ๐“‡Œ – Beloved

๐“™๐“‹น- Given Life

So all ๐“ŽŸ together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š— the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– reads: “The Perfect God, Lord of the Two Lands, Horemheb, Beloved of Amun-Ra, Given Life.”

Now letโ€™s look at the left side of the throne: 

๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ – Son of Ra

๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ฅ – Lord of Appearances 

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œบ๐“„ฟ๐“‹”๐“๐“Žฑ – Horemheb (Birth Name – Horus in Jubilation, whom Amun has loved)

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ – Amun-Ra

๐“Œบ๐“‡Œ – Beloved

๐“™๐“‹น- Given Life

So all ๐“ŽŸ together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š— the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– reads: “Son of Ra, Lord of Appearances, Horemheb, Beloved of Amun-Ra, Given Life.”

While the last part of the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– is the same on either side of the throne, the titles are different because of Horemheb’s birth name versus the throne name! Different titles in the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are associated with each name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–!

Notice how the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are mirrored on either side of the throne! This makes it so all of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are facing Amun’s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ legs! The ancient Egyptians loved to have symmetry in their art!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of Pendura and Nefertari

This is a picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ my Nonno took at the Museo Egizio in Torino, Italy.ย That is the main reason why I love this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ so much; I love seeing Egyptian artifacts through the eyes of my Nonno! I wish I could have visited the Museo Egizio with him!

Statue of Pendura and Nefertari
Statue of Pendura and Nefertari at the Museo Egizio in Torino, Italy

This limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ depicts Pendura, a scribe ๐“Ÿ๐“€€ and his wife ๐“‚‘๐“๐“ Nefertari. This is a very typical โ€œcouples statue,โ€ which is a statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ that depicts a husband ๐“‰”๐“„ฟ๐“‡Œ๐“‚บ๐“€€ and wife ๐“‚‘๐“๐“ embracing ๐“‡‹๐“†›๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“€œ. They are both also wearing stylish wigs ๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“๐“ธ๐“ฆ.ย 

If you look closely in between Pendura and Nefertari, you can see one of their daughters ๐“…ญ๐“๐“ฅ carved into the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ.ย  The back of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ contains invocations to the gods, including Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค, Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ, Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“, Khonsu ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡“๐“…ฑ๐“€ฏ, and Atum ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚Ÿ๐“€ญ.ย 

This limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ was found at Deir el-Medina, and was originally located in a funeral chapel. The funeral chapel would be where family ๐“…•๐“‰”๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ฆ members left offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, as those offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ would help to sustain their kas ๐“‚“๐“‚“๐“‚“ (souls). This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is dated to the 19th Dynasty reign ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“‹พ of pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Rameses II ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“.

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Blog Video

Video – Replica Statue of Rameses II

This little replica of the Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ from the Museo Egizio in Torino was given to me by my Nonno, and I love it so much!

You can read more about this beautiful ๐“„ค statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ in my post about it!

Here is a picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ to show you where Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ (and a replica ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figure, also from the Museo Egizio) sits on my bookshelf!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Rameses II at the Museo Egizio

Todayโ€™s ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ are from Nonnoโ€™s point of view! While I have never been to the Museo Egizio in Torino, my Nonno had been there many times and always spoke so highly of it. He took these photos ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ on one of his trips there. He spoke about this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ a lot because he thought it was just stunning ๐“„ค. It is one of my dreams to go to the Museo Egizio one day – I just wish Nonno and I could have gone there together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—. 

Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“

This granodiorite ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“๐“ŠŒ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ is one of the most majestic pieces in the museumโ€™s collection and one of the most lifelike statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช there is of Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–. This may just be mine (and Nonnoโ€™s) opinion, but I think it is one of the most majestic of all of the pharaonic statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช (Besides Hatshepsutโ€™s of course)!!! 

Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– is depicted here wearing the khepresh crown ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ (also known as the blue crown) and he is holding a scepter ๐“‹พ in his hand. On his feet he is wearing sandals ๐“ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ธ๐“ช, but under those sandals ๐“ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ธ๐“ช are nine bows ๐“‰บ๐“๐“Œ”๐“ฆ which represent the enemies ๐“๐“†‘๐“๐“€๐“ช of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! 

On either side of Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ legs, there are two ๐“ป smaller figures. On the right side is Queen Nefertari ๐“๐“…‘๐“„ค๐“๐“‡‹๐“ฎ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“ and on the left is Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ and Nefertariโ€™s ๐“๐“…‘๐“„ค๐“๐“‡‹๐“ฎ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“ first ๐“ƒ born son ๐“…ญ Amunherkhepeshef ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ท๐“บ๐“„˜๐“€ผ. 

Amunherkhepeshef ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ท๐“บ๐“„˜๐“€ผ
Queen Nefertari ๐“๐“…‘๐“„ค๐“๐“‡‹๐“ฎ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“

While it may be difficult to see in the photographs, a special symbol appears on both sides of the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ. This symbol, called the sema-tawy ๐“‹, is a combination of many different symbols all combined into one! Most prominently, it is thought to be representative of the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ and the windpipe ๐“„ฅ. The lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ are a symbol of Upper Egypt ๐“‡“ and the windpipe ๐“„ฅ was a symbol of Lower Egypt ๐“†ค. Due to this, the sema-tawy ๐“‹ is thought to be the symbol of a unified Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–.

The pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป was always referred to as the โ€œLord of the Two Lands ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟโ€ or โ€œKing of Upper and Lower Egypt ๐“†ฅโ€ because Upper ๐“‡“ and Lower ๐“†ค Egypt, although united, were in fact very different from each other. They each had their own natural resources, cultures and local gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน. The lung ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ and windpipe ๐“„ฅ design ๐“‹ was usually found on objects that belonged to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. In this case, it is on the side of one of Rameses II’s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ most beautiful ๐“„ค statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช!

Some Egyptologists think that this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ looks like Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ–, and that Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ usurped it from his own father ๐“‡‹๐“๐“€€. However, there are no signs of reworking on the cartouche or on the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– as a whole, so the two ๐“ป pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ probably just resembled each other!ย 

This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ is dated to the first 30 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† years of the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“, because Nefertari ๐“๐“…‘๐“„ค๐“๐“‡‹๐“ฎ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“ died during Year 30 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† of Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Bronze Osiris Statues at the Museo Egizio

This picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ was taken by my Nonno at the Museo Egizio! While I have never been to the Museo Egizio, my Nonno always spoke so highly of the museum; he absolutely loved it there! He always brought me back books whenever he went! I always got an English and Italian version so I could practice my Italian too!ย 

These are three bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ! The statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ are dated to the Late Period. Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ Is typically depicted as a mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ wearing the Atef crown ๐“‹š and holding a crook ๐“‹พ and flail๐“Œ… . The crook ๐“‹พ and flail ๐“Œ… are symbols associated with kingship. Bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ are highly abundant and have been associated with worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข in homes and temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ช but have of course been found in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช. 

Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ was one of the main figures of Egyptian religion.  This is because Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ was the god ๐“Šน of the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and the ruler of the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. Egyptians spent their entire time living preparing for their death ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and meeting with Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ.  The deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ would be presented to Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ ๐“€ญ by Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ after the Weighing of the Heart ceremony; but only if their heart was in balance! 

When the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป was alive, he was thought to be the living image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น of the God ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, but more importantly when the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป died, he was thought to then become an Osiris-like figure.