Tag: senwosret iii

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Sphinx of Senwosret III (Part II)

Here is a link to Part I!

The Horus Name is one of five 𓏾 ways to write the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, and it is the oldest way to do so. The purpose of the Horus Name was to identify the king 𓇓 as an earthly representation of the god π“ŠΉ Horus π“…ƒπ“€­.Β 

The Horus Name consists of three elements: the palace facade π“Š, Horus the Falcon π“…ƒ standing on top of the palace π“Š, and the name π“‚‹π“ˆ– of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 within the palace π“Š. The palace π“Š hieroglyph π“ŠΉπ“Œƒ is pronounced like β€œserekh” and some Egyptologists are now referring to the Horus Name as the Serekh Name. This was basically the early version of the cartouche! 

On the sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­ of Pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Senwosret III π“‡³π“ˆπ“‚“π“‚“π“‚“, you can see the Horus name, however, the throne name is also in the serekh! This is unusual to see both names π“‚‹π“ˆ–π“¦ in the serekh! 

Let’s read some hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ! 

π“ŠΉπ“†£π“…± – β€œHorus, Divine of Form” (Neter-kheperu) (Horus Name)

π“‡³π“ˆπ“‚“π“‚“π“‚“ – β€œThe Souls of Ra have Appeared” (Kha kau ra) (Throne Name)

Something I love about this sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­, is that it is made out of gneiss, which is one of my favorite rocks π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‚‹π“ˆ™π“¦! Gneiss is a foliated metamorphic rock π“‡‹π“ˆ–π“‚‹π“ˆ™ which means that it was subjected to such extreme heat and pressure during its formation (probably due to mountain π“ˆ‹π“…³ building or plate tectonics), that the minerals π“‡‹π“Œ»π“‚‹π“…±π“ˆ™π“¦ have separated into bands of light (felsic) and dark (mafic) colored minerals π“‡‹π“Œ»π“‚‹π“…±π“ˆ™π“¦! This gives gneiss a natural zebra-like appearance! 

Gebel el-Asr is the only quarry π“Ž›π“π“π“‰ in Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– where gneiss can be found, and gneiss was prized from the Predynastic to Middle Kingdoms for statue 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾 making!

The following pictures 𓏏𓅱𓏏 show a close up of one of my samples of gneiss, so you can see this banding! 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Sphinx of Senwosret III (Part I)

Pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 were commonly represented as sphinxes π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­π“¦ in ancient Egyptian art for many reasons. A sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­ is a mythical creature that has the body of a lion π“Œ³π“Ήπ“„Ώπ“„› and the head of a human. In ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, lions π“Œ³π“Ήπ“„Ώπ“„›π“ͺ have been associated with kingship π“‡“π“‡Œ since prehistoric times due to their strength π“Œ€ and ferocity. The sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­ was the perfect representation of the strength π“Œ€ of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 due to its lion π“Œ³π“Ήπ“„Ώπ“„› body, while the face still preserved the image 𓏏𓅱𓏏 of the king 𓇓 himself. 

This magnificent sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­ is a representation of the 12th Dynasty Pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Senwosret III π“‡³π“ˆπ“‚“π“‚“π“‚“. Senwosret III π“‡³π“ˆπ“‚“π“‚“π“‚“ has very distinctive facial features, so he is very easy to spot in Middle Kingdom art. Senwosret III π“‡³π“ˆπ“‚“π“‚“π“‚“ is wearing the characteristic nemes head cloth π“ˆ–π“…“π“‹΄ and false beard π“π“ƒ€π“Šƒπ“…±π“π“Έ, which are both signs of kingship π“‡“π“‡Œ. 

While this is not a professional term, to me, Senwosret III π“‡³π“ˆπ“‚“π“‚“π“‚“ looks like a β€œsad and tired old man,” which is how I distinguish him from statues 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓀾π“ͺ of other pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦. This depiction of a pharaoh demonstrates how in the Middle Kingdom, some of the art took a more realistic approach, instead of the typical idealistic approach. Usually, pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦 and people were shown at their best, not how they actually looked. However, this sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­ shows a detachment from idealistic depictions. 

This sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­ is in a crouching position, which to the Egyptians π“†Žπ“π“€€π“π“ͺ meant that it was a guardian of a sacred place, such as a temple π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰ or an important building. This is why rows or lines of sphinxes have been found at various temples π“‰Ÿπ“π“‰π“ͺ around Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– – the sphinx π“Ž›π“…±π“ƒ­, and therefore the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻, was using his strength π“Œ€ and might to protect these sacred places!Β 

Here is a link to Part II!

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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!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Statue of Senwosret III

This is a black granite statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ of the 12th π“Ž†π“» Dynasty pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 Senwosret III π“‡³π“ˆπ“‚“π“‚“π“‚“. Senwosret III π“‡³π“ˆπ“‚“π“‚“π“‚“ is thought to be the most powerful pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 of the 12th π“Ž†π“» Dynasty because his successful military campaigns gave rise to an era of peace π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ. Peace π“Š΅π“π“Šͺ led to economic prosperity, and this led to a newfound revival in artistry and craft works.

Statue of Senwosret III at the Brooklyn Museum

This newfound artistry during this time period then led to some new styles in how the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 was portrayed in statuary. The statues π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύπ“ͺ of Senwosret III π“‡³π“ˆπ“‚“π“‚“π“‚“ are so distinctive that they can be immediately recognized as his, even without reading the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ. Some parts of the statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ are realistic, like the protruding eye sockets and the lines on his face, while some features, like the young and strong torso, are most likely idealized. Egyptologists can only speculate on why he was portrayed this way – some argue that it’s because Senwosret III π“‡³π“ˆπ“‚“π“‚“π“‚“ wanted to be seen as human before divine.

This statue π“„šπ“ˆ–π“π“­π“€Ύ in particular shows Senwosret III π“‡³π“ˆπ“‚“π“‚“π“‚“ wearing the royal nemes π“ˆ–π“…“π“‹΄ headcloth. Beneath his feet are nine bows – each meant to represent one of Egypt’s π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– enemies. Since the enemies are beneath his feet, it shows successful defeat by the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻!

In the hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ, you can see his Horus nameπ“…ƒπ“Š[π“ŠΉ 𓆣𓅱] which I think means β€œHorus in divine form.” Also, you can see his prenomen or β€œthrone name” which is marked by the π“†₯ (he of the sedge and the bee aka King of Upper and Lower Egypt) hieroglyphs π“ŠΉπ“Œƒπ“ͺ before the cartouche. π“‡³π“ˆπ“‚“π“‚“π“‚“ means β€œthe Souls of Ra have returned.”

Statue of Senwosret III at the Brooklyn Museum