Tag: pepy ii

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Egyptian Artifacts

Statue of Pharaoh Pepy II and his Mother

Pharaoh Pepy II π“Šͺπ“Šͺ𓇋𓇋 ruled during Egypt’s π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– 6th Dynasty (Old Kingdom). He became pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 at only six years old, and his mother 𓅐𓏏𓁐 (Ankhnes-meryre II) served as his co-regent. His throne name, Neferkare 𓇳𓄀𓂓 means β€œThe Soul of Re is beautiful.”

Pepy II’s π“Šͺπ“Šͺ𓇋𓇋 reign actually marked the decline of the Old Kingdom – this was due to the fact that the power and influence of the governors (also called nomarchs) were growing, so the powers of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 declined. Since there was no strong central power, chaos began to erupt amongst the nomarchs.

This alabaster piece at the Brooklyn Museum is one of the more famous representations of Pepy II π“Šͺπ“Šͺ𓇋𓇋 and his mother 𓅐𓏏𓁐, mostly because the statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ has two β€œfront” sides!! The statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ shows Pepy II π“Šͺπ“Šͺ𓇋𓇋 seated in his mother’s 𓅐𓏏𓁐 lap. By placing Pepy II π“Šͺπ“Šͺ𓇋𓇋 and his mother 𓅐𓏏𓁐 in opposite directions, it creates a multi-view statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ! This is very different than other art from the Old Kingdom!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Vessels of Pepy II

Here are some vessels from the MET that are from the rule of Pepy II π“Šͺπ“Šͺ𓇋𓇋. Made of alabaster, the purpose of these vessels was to keep cosmetic oils cool.

In the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 above, on the middle vessel you can see Pepy II’s π“Šͺπ“Šͺ𓇋𓇋 cartouche. On the vessel to the left, you can see his throne name, Neferkare 𓇳𓄀𓂓, which means β€œthe soul of Re is beautiful.”

In the picture𓏏𓅱𓏏 above, the vessel on the right is a little more clear. You can see Pepy II’s π“Šͺπ“Šͺ𓇋𓇋 cartouche, however the title 𓅭𓇳, β€œSon of Ra,” is also embedded in the cartouche instead of on top of it. This was a stylistic thing that occurred during the Old Kingdom. However, the title π“†₯, β€œKing of Upper and Lower Egypt” is present before the cartouche in this instance. The placement of the hieroglyphs can be super interesting!