Tag: senwosret ii

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Necklace of Princess Sithathoryuet

This beautiful π“„€ necklace π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“…±π“‹ belonged to the princess Sithathoryunet, who is thought to be the daughter 𓅭𓏏 of the 12th Dynasty (c. 1887–1813 B.C.E) Pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Senwosret II π“„Šπ“‹΄π“‚‹π“π“Šƒπ“ˆ–. She is thought to be his daughter 𓅭𓏏 because her tomb π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰ is linked to his pyramid.Β 

Necklace of Princess Sithathoryuet
The Necklace of Princess Sithathoryuet

Flinders Petrie was actually the one to discover her tomb π“‡‹π“«π“Šƒπ“‰. Despite being robbed in antiquity, the tomb robbers left a chest full of beautiful π“„€ jewelry 𓂝𓏏𓍒 behind! 

The necklace π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“…±π“‹ is made out of gold π“‹žπ“ƒ‰π“ƒ‰π“ƒ‰, carnelian (stone with a red color), lapis lazuli 𓐍𓋴𓃀𓂧𓏧, turquoise π“…“π“†‘π“‚“π“π“ˆ“, green feldspar, and garnet π“„‘π“›π“ˆŽπ“„Ώπ“Œ³π“„Ώπ“…“π“²π“ˆ’π“¦! 

Let’s take a look at all of the beautiful 𓄀𓆑𓂋 symbolism and imagery 𓏏𓅱𓏏 that is compressed into this piece!

Necklace of Princess Sithathoryuet
A closeup of the Necklace of Princess Sithathoryuet highlighting the intricate design.

The necklace π“ˆ™π“ƒ€π“…±π“‹ is centered around the throne name cartouche of Pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Senwosret II π“‡³π“ˆπ“†£.

Each side is symmetrical, and if we start by looking at the outermost part, the Falcon represents the sun 𓇳𓏺 god π“ŠΉ Ra 𓇳𓏺𓁛 and he is is holding a shen 𓍢 symbol. The shen 𓍢 symbol is a circle of rope that is tied at the end. The tied rope symbolizes the completeness and eternity π“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž› of the reign of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻. 

There are two Ankh π“‹Ή symbols that are hanging on two cobras π“‡‹π“‚π“‚‹π“π“†˜π“ͺ who are representative of Nekhbet π“‡‘π“ƒ€π“π“…π“ŽŸ and Wadjet π“‡…π“‡Œπ“π“†˜, two traditional goddesses π“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ŠΉπ“ who are protectors of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻. Underneath the cartouche is the god π“ŠΉ Heh 𓁨, who is the personification of infinity and eternity π“Ž›π“‡³π“Ž›. His hieroglyphic symbol is actually the symbol for the number β€œone million 𓁨,” thus ensuring that the king’s rule is eternal 𓆖. 

Underneath the god π“ŠΉ Heh 𓁨, are stones arranged to look like the β€œripple of water π“ˆ–β€ hieroglyph, which is representative of the primordial waters that the land came from in the Egyptian creation myth. Much like the water π“ˆ— of the Nile π“‡‹π“π“‚‹π“…±π“ˆ—π“ˆ˜π“ˆ‡π“Ί supported Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, the primordial waters support this piece!

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

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Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Lid of an Ointment Jar with a Cartouche

This is the lid of an ointment π“ŒΈπ“Ž›π“π“Ž―π“ƒ‹ jar that has some beautiful π“„€ hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ inscribed on it! One thing that is so interesting about Old and Middle Kingdom cartouches is that sometimes the titles and epithets associated with the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 are also enclosed in the cartouche, not just the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– itself!Β 

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! We are going to start reading from the right, because the directional symbols are pointing to the right!

Here is the full inscription: π“‹Ήπ“ŠΉπ“„€π“„Šπ“‹΄π“‚‹π“π“Šƒπ“ˆ–π“Šͺπ“π“Ž›π“±π“‡” π“Š…π“†‘π“ŒΈπ“‡Œ

Now let’s break it down! 

π“‹Ή – May He Live/Life

π“ŠΉπ“„€ – The Perfect God

π“„Šπ“‹΄π“‚‹π“π“Šƒπ“ˆ– – Senwosret 

π“Šͺπ“π“Ž›π“± – Ptah

𓇔 – South

π“Š… – Wall

𓆑 – His 

π“ŒΈπ“‡Œ – Beloved

So the full inscription reads: β€œMay He Live, the Perfect God, Senwosret, Beloved of Ptah, South of His Wall.” The last part, β€œSouth of His Wall,” refers to Memphis π“ π“ˆ–π“„€π“†‘π“‚‹π“‰΄π“Š–, which was the main cult center where Ptah π“Šͺπ“π“Ž›π“± was worshipped 𓇼𓄿𓀒. 

It is actually quite hard to have an exact date for this piece because Senwosret π“„Šπ“‹΄π“‚‹π“π“Šƒπ“ˆ–, the birth name of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, was used a bunch of times! There’s Senwosret I, II, and III who all use this birth name on their monuments! Unless the throne name is also present, we don’t know which Senwosret π“„Šπ“‹΄π“‚‹π“π“Šƒπ“ˆ– this is! Since the piece just has the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– Senwosret π“„Šπ“‹΄π“‚‹π“π“Šƒπ“ˆ– on it, we know the jar lid is from the 12th Dynasty, but it could have been made between the dates of 1961–1840 B.C.E.Β 

The symbol underneath the cartouche is the Hieratic symbol for the number 20!