Categories
Ushabti Friends

Ushabtis of Seti I – Ushabti Friends

Ushabtis of Seti I

As part of my โ€œUshabti Friendsโ€ series, I am teaching you how to look at the different characteristics of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ to show how unique and wonderful these pieces are! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at the ushabtis of the 19th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ !ย 

Pharaoh Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  had an estimatedย  1000+ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช, however, only about 700 remain! Most of Seti Iโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช were wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ and when Giovanni Belzoni discovered Seti Iโ€™s tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ in the Valley of the Kings in 1917, he used a lot of the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช as torches (this fact still haunts me – it was also one of my Nonnoโ€™s favorite stories to tell). Anytime Seti I came up in conversation my Nonno would say โ€œcan you believe some idiots used his ushabtis as torches??!!โ€

Besides the tragic wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabtis, Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ– had many faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช. His faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช are such a beautiful ๐“„ค blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ color and are inscribed with the Shabti Spell in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช.

Ushabtis of Seti I

Some of the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช contain hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช as well, however, the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are better preserved on some pieces better than others because wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ will naturally deteriorate over time due to the nature of the organic materials. 

So how can we tell these are ushabtis of Seti I from the 19th Dynasty? 

  1. The ushabtis were found in his tomb in the Valley of the Kings
  2. The ushabtis are inscribed with his throne name (๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ ) and birth name (๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ–).
  3. The ushabtis have characteristics of the 19th dynasty such as the faience ushabtis which are holding a hoe in each hand ๐“Œธ (typical of 18th-25th dynasties)
Ushabtis of Seti I

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

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Ushabtis of Seti I
Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Lintel of Amenhotep II

My sister ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“๐“, my brother ๐“Œข๐“ˆ–๐“€€ and I are with a red granite ๐“…“๐“Œณ๐“๐“Žถ temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ relief, titled โ€œLintel of Amenhotep II!โ€ This is a really interesting piece that contains so much history!ย 

Lintel of Amenhotep II
My sister (left), brother (middle) and me (right) with the Lintel of Amenhotep II at the British Museum

This piece was originally carved for the 18th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช. Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช was the son ๐“…ญ of Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ and he even co-ruled with his father! It was during the co-reign of Thutmosis III ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ and Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช that the destruction of Hatshepsutโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช monuments ๐“ ๐“ began.ย 

This relief shows mirrored scenes of Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช wearing the khepresh crown ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™๐“‹™ (also known as the blue crown) presenting nemset jars ๐“Œ๐“Œ๐“Œ (containing either wine or water ) to the god ๐“Šน Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ.

Over fifty ๐“ŽŠ years after this relief was carved, many of the figures (see the left side) and the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of the god ๐“Šน Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ were destroyed by the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– in an attempt to erase images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of the old religion. 

Then, many years after Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– during the 19th Dynasty, the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ– had some of the damage repaired – most of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช and the images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช and Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ were actually recarved! How can Egyptologists tell it was recarved? The sunken relief is deeper in the rock! 

In order to show that it was he, pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ– who restored this piece, he had his cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ and a record of the restoration carved in between the two ๐“ป images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of Amun-Ra ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ! Can you spot Seti Iโ€™s throne name (๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ ) and birth name (๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ–) cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“? 

The description of this piece from the British Museum gave a short timeline of the history of this fascinating piece! I remember being confused by seeing the cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ of both Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช and Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ– on the same relief because they are pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ from different dynasties! Whatโ€™s even more interesting is that this is not a case of the more common โ€œusurping of monuments ๐“ ๐“โ€ from previous pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ!

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

@ancientegyptblogย 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Large Granite Statue of Queen Tiye

This large granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Queen Tiye ๐“˜๐“‡Œ๐“ญ๐“— has quite the story and journey through history! It’s amazing how some pieces can start off in one place, but end up in a completely different location! Letโ€™s take a closer look at this striking piece that is currently at the Vatican Museum, and follow her journey from Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– to Rome!

Queen Tiye at the Vatican Museum

This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ definitely resembles other works of Queen Tiye ๐“˜๐“‡Œ๐“ญ๐“— – from the characteristic wig to the distinct face shape and design. In my opinion, there is no doubt that this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ was originally Queen Tiye ๐“˜๐“‡Œ๐“ญ๐“—. Queen Tiye ๐“˜๐“‡Œ๐“ญ๐“— was married to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  and possessed the title of โ€œKingโ€™s Great Wife ๐“‡“๐“ˆž๐“,โ€ which pretty much meant that she was his favorite wife. Queen Tiye ๐“˜๐“‡Œ๐“ญ๐“— was actually the mother ๐“…๐“๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ grandmother!ย 

After some time had passed, the great usurper, Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“, recognized the beauty ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ of this statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ and brought it to his mortuary temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ where he had it dedicated to his mother ๐“…๐“๐“ (and wife of Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ ), Tuya ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“—. โ€œUsurpingโ€ was a popular practice where pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ would take old statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ ๐“ช from previous pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ and put their names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ on it. Think of it as ancient plagiarism! 

Then, the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ made its way out of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– and to Rome! For a long time, the statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ adorned the โ€œGardens of Sallust,โ€ which belonged to the Emperor Caligula ๐“ˆ๐“‹พ๐“ฉ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“๐“Žผ๐“ƒญ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“ฐ at the time. Many Roman Emperors liked Egyptian art, and some (like Caligula ๐“ˆ๐“‹พ๐“ฉ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“๐“Žผ๐“ƒญ๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“ฐ and Hadrian ๐“‰”๐“๐“‚‹๐“‚๐“ˆ–๐“Šƒ๐“ˆŽ๐“Šƒ๐“‚‹) had pieces from ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– brought to Rome to adorn their gardens ๐“Ž›๐“Šƒ๐“Šช๐“ˆˆ๐“ฅ or estates. This statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ was then re-discovered in 1714 and was brought to the Vatican Museums in 1839. 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Small Stela of the Vizier Paser

This tiny ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ and unassuming stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ at the Louvre is really important to me and my Nonno because it depicts Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ, who was my Nonnoโ€™s favorite non-royal Egyptian! Nonno and I would always make it a point to try and find something related to Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ in every museum we went to! 

Though he wasnโ€™t a royal, Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ was one of the most prominent men of his time and he was vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ under two ๐“ป pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป – Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  and then Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–.  Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ served many different roles over twenty-five ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“พ years! Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ was also an architect and one of his most famous works is the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  in the Valley of the Kings! 

A vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ was the highest ranking official ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“€€ and was the most powerful position in the government, besides the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. Not only was the vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ the most trusted advisor to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, but he also saw to the day-to-day operations of the government. The vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ was in charge of architecture, taxation, agriculture, military, the judiciary, finances, and many other things. Honestly that sounds exhausting, however, his hard work got Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ a nice tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ for himself, so thatโ€™s how we know so much about him! I guess wanting to preserve his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– for eternity ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› was a success! 

Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ had many different titles, including โ€œHigh Preist of Amun ๐“Šน๐“›๐“Œ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ ,โ€ โ€œsuperintendent of every work of the king,โ€ โ€œprophet of Maat,โ€ โ€œmouth of Nekhenโ€ and โ€œchief of secrets of the hieroglyphs.โ€ This last title is probably why he is depicted with the god Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ on this small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ! 

I wish I could see the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช more clearly, but I can see Paserโ€™s ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– on the bottom part of the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ! 

Sorry the first picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is a bit blurry – I wanted to get as close as I could! The second picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows how small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ the stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ is in relation to other objects!

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Hieroglyphs from the Abydos King List!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

These beautiful ๐“„ค hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are from the Abydos King List at the British Museum. There are two ๐“ป surviving King Lists from temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ช at Abydos, the cult center of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. One temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ is from Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ , and the other from his son ๐“…ญ Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Šƒ, who were both pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ during the 19th Dynasty. Seti Iโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  list is still in the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Abydos, while Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Šƒ was excavated and brought to the British Museum.ย 

While the two ๐“ป lists were very similar, Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Šƒ had more rows to accommodate the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ so it appears to be shorter. There are three ๐“ผ rows of cartouches on the remaining limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ relief – the upper two ๐“ป rows contain the cartouches of earlier pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ, while the bottom row shows Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Šƒ throne name and birth name alternating – this is the part we will be reading today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! We are going to start from the right!

๐“…“๐“‚ž๐“‚ž – By Permission Of

๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ – Son of Ra

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Šƒ – Rameses II, Beloved of Amun (birth name)

๐“…“๐“‚ž๐“‚ž – By Permission Of

๐“†ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt

๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– Rameses II (โ€œUsermaatreโ€ throne name)

๐“…“๐“‚ž๐“‚ž – By Permission Of

๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ – Son of Ra

๐“ฉ๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ – Rameses II (birth name variant)

โ€œBy Permission Of ๐“…“๐“‚ž๐“‚žโ€ is meant to signify that Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– commissioned the creation of this King List! Itโ€™s also cool how different variants of the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– were used throughout the relief!

The point of the King Lists was not to preserve history for future generations, rather the main objective was to glorify the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, and as we know, pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ were considered gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน on Earth. These lists allowed Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  and Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“œ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“Šƒ to assert their legitimacy amongst the old pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

How to Read a Three-Symbol Cartouche

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

When I was first starting to learn to read hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, the cartouches of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ were some of the first things I learned how to read and recognize! Learning the cartouches allowed me to become familiar with the different uniliteral, biliteral, and triliteral signs! By remembering the signs/meanings of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช associated with the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฅ of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ, I was able to then expand my knowledge using the Book of the Dead transliteration/translation!

A lot of the New Kingdom pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ had simple three ๐“ผ symbol throne name cartouches, which sometimes takes some practice to read because of the order of the symbols! For the three symbol cartouches, usually (not always) the symbols were read โ€œMiddle-Right-Leftโ€ or โ€œMiddle-Bottom-Topโ€ depending on the orientation of the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช.

For example, Hatshepsutโ€™s throne name of (๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“) would be read โ€œMaatkareโ€ (Maat ๐“ฆ ka ๐“‚“ re ๐“‡ณ) and the throne name of Thutmosis III (๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ) would be read โ€œMenkhepherreโ€ (Men ๐“  kheper ๐“†ฃ re ๐“‡ณ).ย 

While to most this is just a piece of wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ, to me this is significant because this piece of wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ is inscribed with the cartouche of the throne name of the 19th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Seti I!

So in this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, Seti Iโ€™s cartouche reads (๐“ฆ๐“ ๐“‡ณ) or โ€œMenmaatreโ€ (Men ๐“  maat ๐“ฆ re ๐“‡ณ), however, in most inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ his cartouche is written as (๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ )! A lot of people will translate his name as โ€œMaatmenreโ€ (Maat ๐“ฆ men ๐“  re ๐“‡ณ) because of the way it is written. So as you can see, the orientation of the three ๐“ผ symbols definitely changes and can be confusing to a beginner! I have seen both Menmaatre and Maatmenre used in published books, but if we are going to get technical, the translation of Menmaatre (Eternal is the Truth of Re) makes a little more sense than Maatmenre (Truth is the Eternal of Re). 

I chose to use Seti Iโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  cartouche for this example because Nonno loved Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ !

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Offering Table Dedicated to the God Seth

This piece is a large offering table ๐“‚๐“ƒ€๐“…ก๐“„ฟ๐“‹ƒ that was dedicated to the god ๐“Šน Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ by the 19th Dynasty pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ .

There is a lot going on with this piece! On the reliefs, Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  can be seen worshipping thegod Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ, whose likeness has been erased. During the Ramesside time period, many pharaohs had โ€œSethโ€ as part of their name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– because Sethโ€™s ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ status was elevated at the time due to him being both a powerful aggressor and being associated with foreign lands. Once Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ fell out of favor, his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–/images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ were no longer used. Seth’s image is even removed, except for when he is mentioned in Seti I’s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! The image of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“Nephthys ๐“ŽŸ๐“๐“‰—๐“๐“‰๐“ has not been erased, because even though she is the consort of Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ, she was considered a favorable figure in Egyptian mythology.

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

In the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ above, we see Seti Iโ€™s Horus Name: ๐“…ƒ๐“ƒ’๐“‚ก๐“…“๐“ˆ๐“‹†๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™ โ€œThe Strong bull who appeared in Thebes and sustains the Two Lands.โ€ 

In the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ above, we see Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  making an offering ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ to the goddess ๐“Šน๐“Nephthys ๐“ŽŸ๐“๐“‰—๐“๐“‰๐“ (her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– is written above her), who is the consort of Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ. We can also see Seti Iโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  titles and cartouches: 

๐“†ฅ – King of Upper and Lower Egypt 

๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands

(๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ ) – Menmaatra (throne name)

(๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ–) – Seti, Beloved of Ptah (birth name)

๐“™ – Given

๐“†– – Eternity

In the next picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ (above) we see the cartouches again, and Seti worshipping Seth. The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช translate to:

๐“™ – Given

๐“‹น – Life

๐“†‘ – His

๐“Šฝ – Stability

๐“Œ€ – Strength

So all together, the inscription reads: “๐“™๐“‹น๐“†‘๐“Šฝ๐“Œ€ Given Life, His Stability and Strength.”

The last picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ (above) is another variant of the Horus name! 

I always find pieces such as these so fascinating, because upon first look, it looks like just a large slab of rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™. But in reality, there is so much to analyze and unpack when it comes to the images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ and the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, and how they relate to the time period, and even the time periods that came long after this piece was made. While it was made during the 19th Dynasty (reign of Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ–), it was definitely altered afterwards.

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Relief of Seti I and Hathor

This is such a beautiful ๐“„ค relief and it is actually from the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ ! The tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  is the largest in the Valley of the Kings and it is also my Nonnoโ€™s favorite of all the tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช! This relief is now located at the Louvre in France.

The relief shows Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  and the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก. Hathor ๐“‰ก was known as the Lady of the West ๐“ŽŸ๐“๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ (the underworld ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰). The West ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ and the Underworld ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ were equated by the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช because the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ set in the west ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ! This is why all of the Egyptian tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช are located on the western ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ side of the Nile!

Here, Hathor ๐“‰ก is seen welcoming Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  into her domain, while offering him a menat necklace ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง, which was a symbol of protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ. They are even holding hands ๐“‚ง๐“๐“บ!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

๐“‰ก – Hathor
๐“ถ๐“ท๐“๐“๐“Š–๐“‹† – Chief one of Thebes
๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands
(๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ ) – Menmaatra (throne name – โ€œEternal is the Truth of Raโ€)
๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ฅ – Lord of Appearances
(๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ต๐“‡Œ๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ–) – Seti, Beloved of Ptah (birth name – this is an uncommon variant that uses the Osiris ๐“ต symbol instead of the Seth ๐“ฃ symbol)
๐“™๐“‹น๐“‡ณ๐“‡๐“บ๐“†– – Given Eternal Life, Like Ra

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Ushabti of Pharaoh Seti I

Pharaoh Seti I ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“‡Œ๐“ฃ๐“ˆ– had over 700 ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช! The typical number was around four hundred – 365 worker ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช, and the rest were overseer ushabtis. Most of Seti Iโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“‡Œ๐“ฃ๐“ˆ– ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช were wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ- when Giovanni Belzoni discovered Seti Iโ€™s tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ in the Valley of the Kings in 1917, he used a lot of the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช as torches (this fact still haunts me – it was also one of my Nonnoโ€™s favorite stories to tell).

Besides the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabtis, Seti I ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“‡Œ๐“ฃ๐“ˆ– had many faience ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช. His faience ushabtis are such a beautiful blue color and are inscribed with hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช. Seti Iโ€™s throne name, Maatmenra ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“ , is clearly seen on the first line of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Blue Faience Ushabti of Seti I

This beautiful ๐“„ค blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ ย ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ belongs to the pharaohย ๐“‰๐“‰ปย Seti I ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“‡Œ๐“ฃ๐“ˆ–! I have seen ones like this in other museums too! I love seeing the โ€œsameโ€ pieces in museums around the world!ย 

Seti I ๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“  had many faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures. His faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures are such a beautiful ๐“„ค blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ color and are inscribed with hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. 

Chapter 6 is also known as the โ€œShabti Text,โ€ and it is a spell ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“› that allows for the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ to take the place of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ if the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ is asked to do any type of work in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰.  This is why the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ is holding a pick (๐“Œธ) in each hand – he needs to be ready to work when called upon! 

Pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Seti I ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“‡Œ๐“ฃ๐“ˆ– had over 700 ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures! The typical number was around four hundred – 365 worker ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช, and the rest were overseer ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช. Most of Seti Iโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“‡Œ๐“ฃ๐“ˆ– ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช were wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ – when Giovanni Belzoni discovered Seti Iโ€™s tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ in the Valley of the Kings in 1917, he used a lot of the wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช as torches, so many of them were destroyed. 

Not going to lie; fact still haunts me!! This was also one of my Nonnoโ€™s favorite stories to tell. I can still hear him in my head saying โ€œCan you believe that idiot used ushabtis as firewood?!?!โ€