Category: Egyptian Artifacts

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Egyptian Artifacts

Talatat Blocks

These small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ โ€œTalatatโ€ Blocks are made of limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ 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–.ย 

Talatat Blocks
Talatat Blocks from the palace at Akhetaten on display at the Brooklyn Museum.

These limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ Talatat blocks were unique because they were so small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ a single worker could carry them 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.ย 

These Talatat at the Brooklyn Museum were once brightly painted in striking colors, as was most of the Egyptian monuments ๐“ ๐“. These specific blocks are from the palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ at Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–, which is where Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ grew up! These blocks reconstruct a pastoral scene. 

However, the Talatat were not found at Akhetaten ๐“ˆŒ๐“๐“‰๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“Š–; instead these blocks were reused by the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“ to build a pylon at Magna. The Talatat that are now seen in museums all over have been found in other places because the blocks were reused when other pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฅ took the throne. They were also reused by Horemheb ๐“‡ณ๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–. The famous Hypostyle Hall at Karnak (started by Seti I ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฃ๐“‡Œ๐“Œธ๐“ˆ– and completed by Rameses II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ˜๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“) is built with Talatat! 

Tens of thousands of Talata have been found across Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– and I’m sure that there are still many more to be found!ย 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Coffin Fragment of Isis

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

This is a coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ fragment (Late Period, Dynasties 26-31 c. 664-332 B.C.E.) that shows the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“†— in mourning. Since in Egyptian mythology Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ assisted in the resurrection of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, it was believed that she would be instrumental in the rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ which is why she was always seen on coffins ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ๐“ช or the on the foot panel of sarcophagi ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ๐“ฆ.ย This coffin ๐“…ฑ๐“‡‹๐“€พ๐“ช fragment of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is breathtaking in person!

Coffin Fragment of Isis
Me with the Coffin Fragment of Isis at the Brooklyn Museum

Itโ€™s usually easy to tell when Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“†— is being depicted in Egyptian art because she is wearing the same hieroglyphic symbol on her head that appears in her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–, which is the throne symbol ๐“Šจ!! Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“†— is shown wearing a white outfit, a broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ and two ๐“ป green ๐“‡…๐“„ฟ๐“†“๐“› bracelets ๐“‚๐“ ๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“‡›๐“ช which seem to blend in to her green ๐“‡…๐“„ฟ๐“†“๐“› skin. The green ๐“‡…๐“„ฟ๐“†“๐“› skin symbolizes life ๐“‹น and rebirth ๐“„Ÿ๐“ฟ๐“…ฑ.ย 

Coffin Fragment of Isis
Coffin Fragment of Isis

This is the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– in the right column: โ€œ๐“†“๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“†—๐“…จ๐“‚‹๐“Šน๐“…โ€

๐“†“๐“‡‹๐“ˆ– – Words Spoken By

๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“†— Isis (Isis is more commonly written like this โ€œ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅโ€œ or โ€œ ๐“Šจ๐“๐“†‡๐“ฅโ€)

๐“…จ๐“‚‹ – the Great (greatness)

๐“Šน – God

๐“… – Mother 

Put together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š—, the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– reads: โ€œWords spoken by Isis, the great Godโ€™s Mother…โ€ The rest of the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– on this column is cut off. 

On the left column, the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– starts of with โ€œ๐“น๐“ˆ–โ€ which translates to โ€œborn ofโ€ and then it says the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–of a person which is hard for me to translate because I canโ€™t tell what bird symbol is being used! The last part of the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– seems to say โ€œtrue of voice ๐“™๐“Šค,โ€ but again itโ€™s hard to tell because itโ€™s cut off!

When I saw this piece I really liked it because of how colorful it was! No matter how many times I see artifacts in museums, Iโ€™m always shocked by how bright the colors still are on some objects! 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.ย 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Flowers in Ancient Egypt

When we envision Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, we usually think of an arid desert ๐“…Ÿ๐“‚‹๐“๐“ˆŠ environment. While Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– is certainly a desert, it did have its own beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ and flowers that were definitely appreciated by the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช!ย 

Plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ were used for food ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ and medicine ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ, so they were vital in that respect. Plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ were considered to be so important that Hatshepsut ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Žน๐“๐“„‚๐“๐“€ผ๐“ช actually sent out an expedition of people to go and look for new plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ that could be used for food ๐“‡ฌ๐“€๐“…ฑ๐“”๐“ฅ or medicine ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ! The word for โ€œmedicine ๐“‡‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆŽ๐“๐“†ฐ๐“ฆโ€ in Middle Egyptian even has one of the plant hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช in it! 

Speaking of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, there is an entire section of Gardinerโ€™s Sign List dedicated to all of the plant symbols! There are 44 hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that represent plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ! For example, the phonogram/ideogram for the Nile Valley/Upper Egypt is ๐“‡— – which represents a flowering plant.

Flowers in Ancient Egypt
Different fragments from Amarna that show different flowers in ancient Egypt (Brooklyn Museum)

Here are some beautifully ๐“„ค colored pieces of art that represent different plants ๐“†พ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ๐“†ฐ! On the bottom left is a lotus flower ๐“†ธ and some grapes, the top right is a palm tree, and the bottom right is a small plaque or tile of some kind with daisies/rosettes! 

I love how bright the green ๐“‡…๐“„ฟ๐“†“๐“› and yellow colors are! I will never stop being amazed that all of these beautiful pieces are still so vibrant after thousands of years!

These pieces are at the Brooklyn Museum and are dated to the Amarna Period (Dynasty 18).ย The Amarna Period is another phrase that Egyptologists and historians use to mark the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–.

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Egyptian Artifacts

Amphora with an Ibex Head

This amphora ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ with an ibex ๐“ˆ–๐“„ซ๐“ƒต head is so beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹! An amphora ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ is a special type of pottery ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ that has a pointed bottom and two ๐“ป handles that was used for the storage and transport of various things in the ancient world! While Greek amphoras ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹๐“ช are the most recognizable, the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช had their own style too!

Amphora with an Ibex Head
Amphora with an Ibex Head at the MET

Ancient Egyptian amphoras ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹๐“ช, such as this one found at Malqata, were usually made of red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ clay ๐“Šช๐“ˆ–๐“‹ด๐“ˆ‡ and then covered with a cream colored coat. They were then painted ๐“ž๐“œ with blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ, red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ, or black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ. This vase ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ has some pretty ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ lotus flowers ๐“†ธ๐“†ธ๐“†ธ and other types of flowers ๐“†ผ๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“ฆ painted ๐“ž๐“œ on it!!

Amphora with an Ibex Head
A closeup of the Ibex head on the amphora at the MET

The best part about this vase ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹ in my opinion is the ibex ๐“ˆ–๐“„ซ๐“ƒต head that is on it! The ibex ๐“ˆ–๐“„ซ๐“ƒต head was not actually found attached to the amphora ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹, but it was found nearby and reattached. You can actually see where it was reattached by the line going across its neck! Also, take a look at how the head of the ibex ๐“ˆ–๐“„ซ๐“ƒต is in relation to the body of the animal – the head has a 3D effect which is just too cool! The body of the ibex ๐“ˆ–๐“„ซ๐“ƒต is painted on the vase ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹, while the head/neck of the ibex ๐“ˆ–๐“„ซ๐“ƒต kind of โ€œjump offโ€ the vase ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹! So creative!

While historians will refer to this type of pottery as an โ€œamphora,โ€ in Middle Egyptian, the standard word โ€œmni ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“‹โ€ was used which basically just means pot or pottery! 

This piece is dated to the reign of Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  (18th Dynasty) and was found at his palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ in Malqata. 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Hounds and Jackals Game

The ancient Egyptians loved playing games ๐“‡‹๐“ฒ๐“๐“Š‘๐“„›๐“ฆ, and many of examples of ancient games ๐“‡‹๐“ฒ๐“๐“Š‘๐“„›๐“ฆย  such as senet ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“  and Mehen ๐“Ž”๐“ˆ–๐“†“/๐“Ž”๐“ˆ–๐“†— exist both as actual artifacts and as depictions in art!

Hounds and Jackals Game
The Hounds and Jackals Game was named after the Hounds and Jackals that appear on the top of the pegs! This is the most complete version of the game that’s ever been found!

The game ๐“‡‹๐“ฒ๐“๐“Š‘๐“„›๐“ฆ in this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is one that was named โ€œHounds and Jackalsโ€ by Howard Carter! Carter named the game after the hounds ๐“ฟ๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“„›๐“ช and the jackals ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ๐“ฆ that are at the tops of the pegs. This particular piece is the only game of โ€œHounds and Jackalsโ€ that has been found with the pegs! The game has also been referred to as โ€œ59 Holesโ€ due to the holes that are on each side of the palm tree!ย 

No one knows the rules to this game, but it is thought to be symbolic of the deceasedโ€™s ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ journey to the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ and that the hounds ๐“ฟ๐“Šƒ๐“…“๐“„›๐“ช and the jackals ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ๐“ฆ were used as pieces because they could be related to Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, the god ๐“Šน of mummification ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž and protection ๐“…“๐“‚๐“Žก๐“€œ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. Other less-complete versions of this game have been found in other tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ. 

Unlike senet ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“  and Mehen ๐“Ž”๐“ˆ–๐“†“/๐“Ž”๐“ˆ–๐“†—, games ๐“‡‹๐“ฒ๐“๐“Š‘๐“„›๐“ฆ which seem to have persisted throughout Egyptian history, โ€œHounds and Jackalsโ€ seems to be a Middle Kingdom exclusive! This piece is made of the wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ from a sycamore tree ๐“ˆ–๐“‰”๐“๐“†ญ and ivory ๐“‹๐“ƒ€๐“…ฑ๐“ŒŸ. 

This piece was discovered in 1910 by Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon – I find this to be so cool because this was about twelve years before they discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“! This piece is dated to the Middle Kingdom, reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of Amenemhat IV ๐“‡ณ๐“Œถ๐“‚๐“Šค๐“…ฑ (12th Dynasty). 

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Mother’s Day – Isis and Mut

Happy Motherโ€™s ๐“…๐“๐“ Day to all of the moms – and especially to my Mom, Nonna, and Oma! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ Iโ€™m going to do a post about some of the Moms ๐“…๐“๐“๐“ช of Ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– who happen to be goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“!ย 

Mother's Day Isis
A calcite statue accented with bronze of Isis feeding the baby Horus (Brooklyn Museum)

The first ๐“ƒ picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows a calcite ๐“ฑ and bronze ๐“ˆ”๐“ค๐“ˆ’๐“ฆ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ feeding Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. This is one of the most popular images ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ of the Third Intermediate Period, Late Period and even through the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods.  This image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ has even appeared on the back of Roman Coins! 

Symbolically, Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ was thought to be the mother ๐“…๐“๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, and was often associated with motherhood, the protection of women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“, and she was also a user of magic ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ.

Mother's Day Mut
A sunken relief of the goddess Mut, from a Ramesside-era stela (Brooklyn Museum)

The second picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ shows the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“ whose name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– happens to mean โ€œMother!โ€ Symbolically, Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“ was also thought to be the divine mother ๐“…๐“๐“ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, and this idea became popularized as Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ (her husband) became one of the most worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน during the 18th Dynasty.ย  Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“ didnโ€™t appear in religious texts until the Middle Kingdom, and some think she was โ€œinventedโ€ to be Amunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ wife and a mother ๐“…๐“๐“ figure.ย 

The word for “mother ๐“…๐“๐“/๐“…๐“” in Middle Egyptian seems to predate the appearance of the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Mut ๐“๐“…‘๐“, so it’s possible that her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– was intended to mean “mother.”

There are multiple variants for โ€œmotherโ€ in Middle Egyptian/hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, so letโ€™s take a look at them:

๐“…๐“๐“

๐“…๐“๐“๐“

๐“…๐“

๐“…๐“…†๐“†‡

๐“…๐“๐“Ž

๐“…๐“๐“๐“…†

Happy Mother’s Day!

These are my personal photographs and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.

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Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Ushabti of Thutmosis IV

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at a ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ that belonged to the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ! This picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ also shows a shabti coffin! The shabti coffin allowed for the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ to take the place of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ in case the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ was destroyed! I like to think of this as a call back to the original โ€œwax ushabtisโ€ of the Middle Kingdom, which served the same purpose.ย 

Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ was the eighth pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป of the 18th Dynasty and he was actually not supposed to be pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป! His brother ๐“Œข๐“ˆ– was chosen successor by their father ๐“‡‹๐“๐“€€ Amenhotep II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช, but Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ usurped the throne and made himself the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป!ย 

Ushabti of Thutmosis IV
A Ushabti of Thutmosis IV (left) and a shabti coffin that also belonged to Thutmosis IV (right) on display at the MET

Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช!!!ย Letโ€™s take a closer look at the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– on the ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ:ย 

๐“Šน๐“„ค – Perfect God 

๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands

๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ – Menkheperura โ€œEstablished Manifestations of Raโ€ (Throne name of Thutmosis IV)

๐“™๐“Šค – True of Voice (Justified)

๐“น๐“Šจ – Osiris (Osirisโ€™ name is written without the determinative symbol here (๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ))

๐“Œธ๐“‡Œ – Beloved

So all ๐“ŽŸ together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š— the inscription ๐“Ž˜๐“…ฑ๐“Ž– says: โ€œThe Perfect God, Lord of the Two Lands, Menkheperura, True of Voice, Beloved of Osiris.โ€ 

The tomb ๐“‡‹๐“‡ฉ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ of Thutmosis IV ๐“‡ณ๐“ ๐“†ฃ๐“ผ in the Valley of the Kings was excavated by Theodore Davis and Howard Carter in 1903, which is where these objects were found! Many blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ pieces were found during this excavation! I love how bright the blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ color still is; itโ€™s really striking in person! 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Ushabti of Rameses II

Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– was arguably one of Egyptโ€™s ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– greatest builders, and his face/name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– can be found pretty much everywhere you look in a museum (this is why his cartouches ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท๐“ฆ are good to learn – you will see them a lot).ย 

Ushabti of Rameses II
Me with the wooden Ushabti of Rameses II at the Brooklyn Museum!

This beautiful ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹ piece is a Wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ Ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ of Rameses II ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– (New Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 1292-1190 B.C.E.). While the provenance of this ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ is unknown, it is assumed that it was originally from Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– original tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ (KV 7). 

Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ was plundered in the 20th Dynasty, and only three ๐“ผ of his wooden ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ figures remain! Tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ robbing during ancient Egyptian times was a huge problem even though the tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฅ were โ€œhiddenโ€ in the Valley of the Kings! 

In 1049 B.C.E., the High Priest of Amun ordered Rameses IIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ be moved from his original tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ and to the Royal Cache, a place where many royal ๐“‹พ mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช were re-buried in order to protect the mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช from tomb robbers.ย 

Ushabti of Rameses II
The wooden Ushabti of Rameses II with the Shabti Text carved into the wood

The text ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ on the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ is a version of the โ€œShabti Spellโ€ from Chapter 6 of the Book of the Dead. This spell ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“› gives the ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ the power to complete tasks (farming, manual labor, etc) for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ in the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š–. I love how detailed the hieroglyphs are! 

This ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ has a lot of mummiform details; it is wearing the nemes ๐“ˆ–๐“…“๐“‹ด head cloth and there is an intact Uraeus ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— on his forehead. Like Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, it is wearing a broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹, and is holding the crook ๐“‹พ and flail ๐“Œ…. 

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Egyptian Artifacts

Menat Necklace

This is a picture of a special type of necklace called a menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง. The menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง necklace is unique because it consists of a keyhole shaped piece and a lot of beads ๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“‚ง๐“๐“ฏ๐“ธ๐“ฆ. The beads ๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“‚ง๐“๐“ฏ๐“ธ๐“ฆ on this menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง are made of blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ and there are some glass ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ beads ๐“‹ด๐“…“๐“‚ง๐“๐“ฏ๐“ธ๐“ฆ near the keyhole piece!ย Blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ is my favorite color, so I really love how blue was such a popular color in ancient Egyptian art!

Menat Necklace
A beautiful example of a menat necklace on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง necklace not only appears a lot in Egyptian art, but it was clearly used by real people too! The menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง necklace was often carried or worn by women during religious ceremonies. Similar to a sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ, the menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง necklace was shaken like a rattle. The person would hold the keyhole piece and then shake the menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง to create the rattle-like sound!

The sound produced was meant to appease gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน or goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“. Similar to the sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ, the menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง necklace was often associated with Hathor ๐“‰ก, who was the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of music ๐“‰”๐“‡Œ๐“†ธ (amongst other fun things).ย Hathor ๐“‰ก is often seen in art giving the menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง to a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป in Egyptian art.

This particular menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง necklace was found at Malqata and is dated to the reign ๐“‹พ๐“ˆŽ๐“ of pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  (c. 1390 – 1352 BCE). In order to celebrate his Heb Sed Festival ๐“Ž›๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“Žฑ๐“‡ณ๐“ช, the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  built a new palace ๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“๐“‰ฅ๐“‰ which was referred to as โ€œThe House of Rejoicingโ€ at present day Malqata in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. It would be interesting to know if this menat ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง was specifically used during his Heb Sed Festival ๐“Ž›๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“Žฑ๐“‡ณ๐“ช!

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Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Birthdays in Ancient Egypt

My birthday is soon, so letโ€™s talk about birthdays in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–!

Birthdays in Ancient Egypt
Me hanging out at the Temple of Dendur at the MET!

This picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“ is from my last trip to the MET, when I just got to sit and hang out in one of my absolute favorite places – The Temple of Dendur! The temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ was actually commissioned by Augustus ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“€€ (first emperor of Rome) and the temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ was primarily used to worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ.

The ancient Egyptians didnโ€™t celebrate the birthdays of regular people – they celebrated the birthdays of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน and goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“! The 365-day calendar which is one of the ancient Egyptiansโ€™ long lasting contributions to the world! Egyptian astronomers even adjusted the year to be exactly 365.25 days when their calculations got more accurate! 

The Egyptian calendar consisted of 12 ๐“Ž†๐“ป months that were each 30 ๐“Ž†๐“Ž†๐“Ž† days long. The extra five ๐“พ days left over at the end of the year were festival days – each day dedicated to celebrating the birthday of a different deity ๐“Šน! 

Day 1 was the Birthday of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ

Day 2 was the Birthday of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ

Day 3 was the Birthday of Seth ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„ก๐“ฃ

Day 4 was the Birthday of Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ

Day 5 was the Birthday of Nephthys ๐“‰ ๐“๐“†‡

So how do we write โ€œbirthdayโ€ in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช? Letโ€™s use Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ as an example: ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“Žฑ or ๐“„Ÿ๐“๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“Žฑ. 

Letโ€™s break it down: ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“/๐“„Ÿ๐“ is the word for โ€œbirthโ€ and both are pronounced โ€œmswt.โ€ In the case of  โ€œ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“,โ€ this is what we call a โ€œphonetic complementโ€ – the sounds are written twice but pronounced once!

The โ€œalabaster basin ๐“Žฑโ€ symbol is a determinative for โ€œfeastโ€ or โ€œfestivalโ€ but can also be an ideogram for โ€œhebโ€ (feast). 

So if I wanted to write out my own birthday, it would look like this: ๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“ฏ๐“ƒญ๐“๐“Žฑ. You can do the same with your own – just replace my name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– with your name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! 

A big thank you ๐“‹ด๐“๐“ฏ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข to the UCL website for the list of the festival days!!ย Check out their website for incredible information about ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–!

This is my personal photograph and original text. DO NOT repost without permission.ย