Tag: the met

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Egyptian Artifacts

Talatat of Akhenaten

These small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ blocks are called โ€œTalatatโ€ and were used solely during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–! These were used in the construction of the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Karnak (this construction started when he was still Amenhotep IV ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“Œ€) and the palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ at Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–. Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– was the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–. 

Talatat of Akhenaten
Talatat from Amarna at the MET. The top talatat shows an image of the pharaoh Akhenaten

The top Talatat in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ was part of a much larger relief which was the pinnacle image of the time – Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– and the royal family (including Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ) receiving โ€œAnkhs ๐“‹นโ€ which is the symbol for โ€œLifeโ€ from the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ. 

The Talatat were unique because they were so small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ that a single worker could carry one and put it into place. This was meant to expedite construction and make building a lot faster. The Talatat are also unique because they were only used during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ–, and were never used again. 

Even though originally from Amarna ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–, these Talatat were actually found in other places across Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–.ย  After Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…ž๐“๐“ˆ– reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“, his monuments ๐“ ๐“ were destroyed and building materials were used by other pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ!

I like to think of this as an ancient Egyptian recycling program! It’s truly fascinating to see not only how the ancient Egyptians procured some of their building materials, but also to understand the intent behind them. Since Akhenaten was to be “erased” from history, his monuments were destroyed and the materials repurposed.

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Video

Tour of Gallery 122

Let’s go on a tour of Gallery 122 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art!

@ancientegyptblog

One of my favorite things about the Metropolitan Museum of Art are these little โ€œhiddenโ€ galleries that are off-shoots of the main galleries! This is Gallery 122, and itโ€™s one of my favorites because this gallery houses many Amarna-era pieces along with pieces from the 19th Dynasty! The 18th and 19th Dynasties are my favorite parts of Egyptian History! There are so many little and wonderful hidden treasures in these rooms! They may not be the โ€œbig-ticket must-seeโ€ artifacts, but they have their own unique charms and history and I love them! Among the pieces in this gallery are Amarna-age trial pieces, broken pieces of statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–/Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ, many different ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures, flowers ๐“†ผ๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ from the funeral of Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“, a wooden statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, lots of pottery ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ shards and so much more! I hope you enjoy this little gallery tour! Follow me to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, Egyptian mythology, art, culture and more! This is my personal video and original text. DO NOT repost. #ancientEgypt #egyptianhistory #egyptianmythology #metropolitanmuseumofart #metmuseum #egyptology #ancientegyptblog #anticoegitto #egitto

โ™ฌ Glimpse (Slowed + Reverb) – Gabriel Albuquerqรผe

One of my favorite things about the Metropolitan Museum of Art are these little โ€œhiddenโ€ galleries that are off-shoots of the main galleries! Gallery 122, is one of my favorites because this gallery houses many Amarna-era pieces along with pieces from the 19th Dynasty! The 18th and 19th Dynasties are my favorite parts of Egyptian History!ย 

There are so many little and wonderful hidden treasures in these rooms! They may not be the โ€œbig-ticket must-seeโ€ artifacts, but they have their own unique charms and history and I love them! 

Among the pieces in this gallery are Amarna-age trial pieces, broken pieces of statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–/Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ, many different ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures, flowers ๐“†ผ๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ from the funeral of Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“, a wooden statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, lots of pottery ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ shards and so much more! 

I hope you enjoy this little gallery tour! 

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

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Name of Thutmosis I or Thutmosis II?

Have you ever asked yourself “Are these hieroglyphs the name of Thutmosis I ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ or Thutmosis II ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ–?” The names are so similar, that if you’re reading hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, you probably have!

The discovery of the tomb ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฉ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of Thutmosis II ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– is so exciting and I cannot wait to learn more about this discovery!! The 18th Dynasty is my favorite time period, and Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช is my favorite pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป so I am really excited about all of the new information that can be learned from this discovery!

In celebration of this wonderful discovery, Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Thutmosis I or Thutmosis II
A display of scarabs which show the names of the 18th Dynasty pharaohs Thutmosis I and Thutmosis II. This display is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. Can you find the name of Thutmosis II amongst the Thutmosis I scarabs?

In this beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ display of scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช at the MET, there is a collection with the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ of the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ Thutmosis I ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ and Thutmosis II ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ–. Except there is a mistake in the display – one of the scarabs ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ๐“ช in the Thutmosis I ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ section actually belonged to Thutmosis II ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ–!

Can you find it? Scroll below to see the answer once youโ€™ve looked!ย 

Thutmosis I or Thutmosis II

Itโ€™s the scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ in the bottom row, second from the left! The throne names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ of Thutmosis I ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ and Thutmosis II ๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– are very similar to each other – there is only a one hieroglyph difference between the two! 

Letโ€™s take a closer look at the names: 

๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“‚“ – โ€œGreat ๐“‰ป is the Manifestation ๐“†ฃ of the soul ๐“‚“ of Ra ๐“‡ณโ€ (Thutmosis I)

๐“‡ณ๐“‰ป๐“†ฃ๐“ˆ– – โ€œGreat ๐“‰ป is the Manifestation ๐“†ฃ of ๐“ˆ– Ra ๐“‡ณโ€ (Thutmosis II) 

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Egyptian Artifacts

World Hippopotamus Day

Apparently yesterday ๐“‹ด๐“†‘๐“‡ณ was World Hippopotamus ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ Day and I missed it! I guess itโ€™s not that big of a deal because I feel like every day ๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ณ is hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ day to me! This picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is the last time I saw William at the MET before I moved to Florida, and yes I was crying!ย 

World Hippopotamus Day
Me with my plush William (and the real William) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. I was crying in this picture because I don’t know when I will see William in person next as I have moved to Florida!

Itโ€™s no mystery that I love the blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ that were common during the Middle Kingdom! โ€œWilliamโ€ is the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– given to the blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ hippo ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ at the MET! William was made in the first part of the 12th Dynasty (c. 1961โ€“1878 B.C.E.) and was found in a tomb ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฉ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ in Upper Egypt ๐“‡“. 

In Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ were both feared and respected ๐“ˆ™๐“†‘๐“„…. They were feared because they were one of the most dangerous animals in the Nile Valley ๐“‡—. 

However, hippos ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ๐“ฆ were also thought to be powerful protectors ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ against evil, which is why statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช such as Willam were placed in tombs ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฉ๐“Šƒ๐“‰! If you look closely though, three of Williamโ€™s legs have been restored – they were probably broken off in antiquity to protect the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ from the hippopotamus ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ! 

A closeup image of William at the MET! This image clearly shows the painted Lotus flowers and his restored legs!

William has lotus flowers ๐“†ธ๐“ช painted all over him to associate him with rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ and regeneration! William is most likely painted blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ to represent the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ.ย 

I hope everyone had a wonderful World Hippopotamus ๐“Œ‰๐“๐“ƒฏ Day!

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Egyptian Artifacts

Head of Akhenaten or Nefertiti?

The MET has this piece listed as โ€œHead of Akhenaten or Nefertitiโ€ but to me, the head looks more like Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ than Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–! Let me know who you think this piece looks more like in the comments!  

This piece is dated to c. 1353โ€“1336 B.C.E., which unsurprisingly is during the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. The piece was found during the 1891-1892 excavations of Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– (present-day Amarna) by Flinders Petrie and Howard Carter. 

The bust was found in one of the sculptorโ€™s ๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“€€ workshops. The sculptorโ€™s ๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“€€ workshops in Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š– have been the source of many beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ pieces from this time period. I love the artifacts that are found in an unfinished state because it gives such insight into how these incredible ancient Egyptian artists worked and it shows that even the most grand of pieces started off in humble states! If this piece had been finished, would it have looked like the famous Bust of Nefertiti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“„ค๐“‡๐“๐“ญ? Or was the piece just meant to be a trial piece and this was what it was supposed to look like?

One of my favorite things about this account is I get to learn as I am teaching! I did not know the word for โ€œsculptor ๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“€€โ€ off the top of my head so I looked it up! One of the alternative translations for โ€œsculptor ๐“‹ด๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“€€โ€œ is โ€œLife Giverโ€ which I find so fascinating – it really gives insight into the Egyptian culture because the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ or statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of a person could give ๐“™ life ๐“‹น to them after death! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

The Apis Bull

These are bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ of the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’. The worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข of the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ can actually be traced back to as early as the First Dynasty! 

The Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ was associated with fertility and rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ and was mostly worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข in Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š– near the Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ Temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰. People would travel from various locations to the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ just to worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’, and the mother ๐“…๐“ of the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’. 

While Hathor ๐“‰ก is probably the most famous of the cow ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’ deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ was also very widely worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข and represented eternity ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› and the harmonious balance of the whole universe. The Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ was usually associated with the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป which is probably why a lot of pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ were referred to with the title of the โ€œstrong bull ๐“‚ก๐“ƒ’.โ€ This was to represent the strength ๐“„‡๐“๐“‚๐“ญ and vitality of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป. 

Usually a live bull ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ’ was used to be worshipped, and the bull ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ’ needed to have special markings on it such as a triangle shape on its forehead, or patches that represented wings ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ๐“ฆ on its body. When the bull ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ’ that was being worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข as the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ died, it was embalmed ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž and buried elaborately. A new bull ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ–๐“ƒ’ would then take its place. 

One of the easiest ways to recognize the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’ in statuary is by looking for the sun disc ๐“‡ณ on its head, and the elaborate cloth that is decorating the back of its body. In this picture itโ€™s hard to see the triangle on its forehead that usually represented the Apis Bull ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“ƒ’, but it is there! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Painted Wooden Stela

This painted wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ is an absolutely beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ piece from the Third Intermediate Period (22nd Dynasty, c. 825โ€“712 B.C.E.) and one of my favorites to see at the MET. 

Painted Wooden Stela at the MET

This stela ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ depicts the god ๐“Šน Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ leading the deceased woman, Tjanetiset, to the deity ๐“Šน Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค. This imagery ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is very common on stelae ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ from this time period. Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค is the combination of the deities Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“› and Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ and he is the god ๐“Šน of the morning sun ๐“…ƒ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ. Images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ  and depictions of Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค in funerary art became more prominent during the Late Period. 

I love this piece so much because it looks like Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ and the woman Tjanetiset are holding hands and he is leading her to Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค! Whatโ€™s very interesting is what is in Tjanetisetโ€™s other hand! If you look closely, she is holding a heart in her hand ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ and it looks like she is holding it in an offering position to Ra-Horakhty ๐“…Š๐“”๐“”๐“ค. 

In ancient Egyptian religion/culture, the heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ was not only the center of a personโ€™s life ๐“‹น, but also thinking, memory, and moral values. The heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ was not removed during the mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž process, because the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ person would need it on their journey through the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. 

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Reading Hieroglyphs

Hatshepsut’s Ovoid Stone

This piece is known as an โ€œOvoid Stoneโ€ or a โ€œHammering Stoneโ€ and was probably used as a type of tool during building construction.

Ovoid Stone
A closeup image of the Ovoid Stone and the hieroglyphs on it!

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! I divided the inscription into two parts, and then translated each of the individual words so you can get a sense of the sentence structure used in the Middle/New Egyptian language!! Hereโ€™s the first row:

๐“Šน๐“๐“„ค(๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“)๐“น๐“ˆ–๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“ ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“›๐“†‘๐“Šƒ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ

๐“Šน๐“๐“„ค – Great Goddess

๐“‡ณ๐“ฆ๐“‚“ – Maatkare

๐“น๐“ˆ– – to make/to do/born of

๐“Šƒ – she

๐“…“ – for

๐“ ๐“๐“Šƒ๐“›- monument

๐“†‘ – father 

๐“Šƒ – her 

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“บ – Amun-Re

โ€œThe Great Goddess, Maatkare, she made the monument for her father, Amun-Reโ€ฆโ€ 

And hereโ€™s the second row: 

๐“๐“†‘๐“ธ๐“ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ธ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‚ฆ๐“›๐“‚ฆ๐“…ฑ๐“‰๐“น๐“Šƒ๐“‹น๐“˜

๐“๐“†‘ – in front of/at (a preposition)

๐“ธ๐“ฑ๐“ˆ™ – Stretching of the Cord

๐“ท๐“ธ – over

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ– – Amun 

๐“‚ฆ๐“›๐“‚ฆ๐“…ฑ๐“‰ – Holiest of Holies

๐“น๐“Šƒ๐“‹น๐“˜ – May She Live / That They Live

โ€œโ€ฆat the stretching of the cord over the Holiest of Holies Amun, May She Live!โ€

The โ€œStretching of the Cordโ€ was part of the foundation ritual that occurred when a building was constructed in ancient Egypt. โ€œHoliest of Holiesโ€ is the name for Hatshepsutโ€™s temple at Deir el-Bahri. 

Ovoid Stone
A larger view of the display that contains the Ovoid Stone

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Reading Hieroglyphs Ushabti Friends

Ushabtis and Hieroglyphs

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ, we are going to combine two of my favorite things: ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ and hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!

Ushabtis and Hieroglyphs
This display combines two of my favorite things: Ushabtis and Hieroglyphs! This ushabti belonged to a woman named Isis and is on display at the MET.

This ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is made out of limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ and was made for a woman named Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“ who was ironically a singer for the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ ! 

This ushabti ๐“™๐“๐“‚๐“Šค was made during the 18th Dynasty reign of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. The 18th Dynasty is almost the โ€œgolden ageโ€ of ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ because they undergo much development during this time period. Itโ€™s very easy to date this ushabti because the Aten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ was only worshipped during his reign! Also, the ushabtiโ€™s ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ hands are crossed in a mummiform way and holding tools – another 18th Dynasty clue! 

Hereโ€™s the full inscription on the ushabti: ๐“‡“๐“‚๐“๐“ˆ–๐“…ฎ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“๐“™๐“๐“‚๐“Šค

Letโ€™s break down the inscription by each individual word:

๐“‡“๐“‚๐“ – Singer 

๐“ˆ– – of

๐“…ฎ – (indicates past tense)

๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ – Aten 

๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“ – Isis

๐“™๐“๐“‚๐“Šค – True of Voice/justified

While limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ is not the most common material for ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ to be made out of, itโ€™s not unheard of to have ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ like this during the 18th Dynasty period.

It always fascinates me that even though Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– completely changed the whole ancient Egyptian religion during his reign, certain aspects of the original religion, such as ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, remained. 

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

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Reading Hieroglyphs

The Tomb Chapel of Raemkai

The images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฅ in this post are from the West Wall of the Tomb Chapel ๐“€ป๐“‹ด๐“‰ of Raemkai. The West ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ is significant in ancient Egypt because the West ๐“‹€๐“๐“๐“ˆŠ is the realm of the dead. In a typical tomb chapel ๐“€ป๐“‹ด๐“‰ built during the Old Kingdom, the West Wall would have a False Door and then scenes that would be typical of offering rituals.ย ย 

In the ancient Egyptian religion/culture, it was thought that the carvings on the walls of tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ช could come to life. If people were depicted providing food ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ to the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ, then it was thought that the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ would have enough sustenance for the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰! 

Tomb Chapel of Raemkai
Tomb Chapel of Raemkai -this first image shows a butchering scene

This first image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is a closeup of the wall to the right of the False Door, which shows a butchering ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ด scene. Meat ๐“†‘๐“„น was one of the most important offerings ๐“‚ ๐“ that could be given to the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ which is why this type of scene would be included in a tomb chapel ๐“€ป๐“‹ด๐“‰.ย 

While you can probably tell that the people in this image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ are butchering ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“Œช cattle ๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ, in case you did not know, the ancient Egyptians put it in the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

In the image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, you can see the word โ€œ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ดโ€ which means โ€œto slaughterโ€ or โ€œto butcher.โ€ This word can also be written as โ€œ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“Œชโ€ which is the same word but with the determinative at the end! I prefer it when the words have determinatives because it makes everything easier to read! 

If you look closely, the ๐“‹ด symbol is actually carved backwards which confused me at first because if you read the word the opposite way, it becomes โ€œ๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“โ€ which translates as โ€œto know/to learnโ€ which does not make sense in the context of the scene! 

So here are some new vocabulary words for you:ย 

๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ด to slaughter/to butcher

๐“‹ด๐“‚‹๐“ to know/to learn

Tomb Chapel of Raemkai
Tomb Chapel of Raemkai -this image shows a butchering scene

This second image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is also a closeup of the wall to the right of the False Door, which also shows a butchering ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ด scene. Meat ๐“†‘๐“„น was one of the most important offerings ๐“‚ ๐“ that could be given to the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ!ย 

While you can probably tell that the people in this image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ are butchering ๐“‚‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“Œช cattle ๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ, in case you did not know, the ancient Egyptians put it in the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! I love these ancient Egyptian โ€œcaptionsโ€ because there arenโ€™t a lot of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช so itโ€™s not too overwhelming to translate if youโ€™re just starting out! 

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Here is a breakdown of the inscription ๐“Šฎ๐“‡‹๐“†‘๐“๐“†‘๐“„น: 

๐“Šฎ – to cook/to bake

๐“‡‹๐“†‘๐“ – bone marrow

๐“†‘๐“„น – meat

This tomb chapel ๐“€ป๐“‹ด๐“‰ is on display at the MET and is absolutely beautiful to go in and explore! Hereโ€™s a tip for your next visit: it is kind of hidden and located directly across from the Blue Faience Tiles from Saqqara and itโ€™s not very crowded so you can really enjoy it! 

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

Follow me @ancientegyptblog on Instagram and TikTok to learn all about ancient Egypt, hieroglyphs, mythology, culture and more!