Tag: scribe

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Egyptian Artifacts

Scribes in Ancient Egypt

Happy first day of school to all of us in New York!! To celebrate, let’s learn about scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ!Β 

Scribes
A beautiful statue of a scribe on display at the Louvre in Paris, France

Scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ were very highly regarded in ancient Egyptian society. Due to the complexity of hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ/hieratic, those who were able to master it were extremely valued. Scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ recorded magic spells, wills and other legal contracts, medical procedures, and tax records. Scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ 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 π“Ÿπ“€€ was so essential. 

It took almost ten π“Ž† years for a person to complete scribal training and children started school as young as five 𓏾 years old. Though most scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ are shown to be men π“Šƒπ“€€π“€, there is archaeological evidence that some girls also attended school and learned to read. Most boys inherited the job of scribe π“Ÿπ“€€ from their father 𓇋𓏏𓀀 as is the same with other occupations in ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–. 

Fun fact: it took me about six 𓏿 years to really master reading hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! Even though I’ve been practicing/reading them for over 25 π“Ž†π“Ž†π“Ύ years now, I’m still learning every single day – that’s the beauty of learning a language! The learning is never complete!

There were also many different types of scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ in ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, and their roles were usually designated by titles written on funerary objects π“ˆŽπ“‚‹π“‹΄π“π“π“Š­ such as stelae π“Ž—π“…±π“†“π“‰Έπ“¦! 

π“ž – Scribe

π“Ÿπ“€€ – Scribe

π“‡“π“ž – King’s Scribe / Royal Scribe / King’s Secretary

π“žπ“Žπ“› – Scribe of Accounts 

π“žπ“ŠΉπ“‰—π“π“‰ – Scribe of the Temple

π“žπ“Ž˜π“Ž›π“²π“‹π“« – Scribe of the Offering Table

π“žπ“‰’ – Scribe of the Treasury

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

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Blog

Scribal Palette

School supplies in ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– definitely look a little bit different than what my students and I use every day π“ŽŸπ“‡³! This piece is a scribal palette π“ π“ˆ–π“‰”π“†“π“ž which we’re used by scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ! Scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ held an important place in ancient Egyptian society because they were the few that were literate! While scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ are famous for their work in tombs π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰π“ͺ and temples π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰π“ͺ they had other exciting responsibilities as well – such as recording taxes. Scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ were also the only profession that we’re not drafted into the army because they were that important to the functioning of Egyptian society!Β 

A scribal palette

A typical scribal palette π“ π“ˆ–π“‰”π“†“π“ž was usually in a long rectangular shape made of wood 𓆱𓏏𓏺. In some cases, the palettes π“ π“ˆ–π“‰”π“‚§π“žπ“ͺ were made of ivory π“‹π“ƒ€π“…±π“ŒŸ. At one end, there were indented circles to hold the black π“†Žπ“…“ and red π“‚§π“ˆ™π“‚‹π“…Ÿ ink that the scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ used to write, and the other end had a place for them to hold the reeds 𓇋𓇋𓇋/sticks that they used to write with! The jars that you see in the picture 𓏏𓅱𓏏 are water jars π“Ž›π“ŽΏπ“‹΄π“π“Œπ“¦ that the scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ used to use to clean off their reeds 𓇋𓇋𓇋 while switching between inks while writing! 

While this particular scribal palette is π“ π“ˆ–π“‰”π“†“π“ž dated to the Second Intermediate Period – New Kingdom (c. 1635–1458 B.C.E), there are also examples at the MET from the Middle Kingdom that look extremely similar to this one! Through time, the style of the scribal palette π“ π“ˆ–π“‰”π“†“π“ž hasn’t changed at all! 

There are two 𓏻 ways to write β€œscribal palette” in hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ: π“ π“ˆ–π“‰”π“†“π“ž and π“ π“ˆ–π“‰”π“‚§π“ž! Both would have sounds like β€œmnhD” since both β€œπ“†“β€ and β€œπ“‚§β€ are phonograms with a hard β€œd” sound like in the name β€œDjoser.” 

There were also many different types of scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ in ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, and their roles were usually designated by titles written on funerary objects π“ˆŽπ“‚‹π“‹΄π“π“π“Š­ such as stelae π“Ž—π“…±π“†“π“‰Έπ“¦! 

π“ž – Scribe

π“Ÿπ“€€ – Scribe

π“‡“π“ž – King’s Scribe / Royal Scribe / King’s Secretary

π“žπ“Žπ“› – Scribe of Accounts 

π“žπ“ŠΉπ“‰—π“π“‰ – Scribe of the Temple

π“žπ“Ž˜π“Ž›π“²π“‹π“« – Scribe of the Offering Table

π“žπ“‰’ – Scribe of the Treasury

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Scribe Statuette

How cute is this little π“ˆ–π“†“π“‹΄π“…© scribe π“Ÿπ“€€ statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ?! I think he is just adorable!!! Though small π“ˆ–π“†“π“‹΄π“…©, the statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ is wonderfully detailed. The eyes 𓁹𓏏𓏦, nose π“†‘π“ˆ–π“‚§π“‚‰, wig, and hands 𓂧𓏏𓏦 can all be clearly seen with great detail.

The base of the statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ is interesting too! You can see part of the Offering Formula, except it’s written a little β€œstrangely.” Let’s take a look!

Here is the inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ on the base of the statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ:

π“Š΅π“π“™π“‡“π“‡“π“™π“Š΅

The inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ on the statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ can be read β€œsplit” down the middle:

π“Š΅π“π“™π“‡“ || π“‡“π“™π“Š΅

As you can see in the statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ itself, the direction of the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ change which indicates that you start reading in a different direction! When written out β€œproperly,” the Offering Formula looks like this: π“‡“π“π“Š΅π“™.

So obviously the symbols are mixed up, and even the 𓏏 is missing from the inscription π“Ÿπ“›π“₯ at the right. This was done probably because of spacing issues – this statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ is tiny π“ˆ–π“†“π“‹΄π“…© when you see it in person!

Scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ were very highly regarded in ancient Egyptian society. Due to the complexity of hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ/hieratic, those who were able to master it were extremely valued. Scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ recorded magic spells, wills and other legal contracts, medical procedures, and tax records. Most importantly for us, scribes π“Ÿπ“€€π“ͺ 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 π“Ÿπ“€€ was so essential.