Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Amarna Art (Part 2)

Something I love about visiting various museums is seeing similar pieces of Egyptian history no matter where I go! The Brooklyn Museum has a wonderful collection of Amarna-era pieces (many of which were found by Petrie), so itโ€™s no surprise that I have seen similar pieces in various museums around the world!

In the middle of the display, you can see a red quartzite inlay of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–. Inlays are part of what archaeologists call โ€œcomposite statues,โ€ or statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ฆ that are composed of many different parts that would come together to form a single statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ! The part that would be the crown, and the stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช that was supposed to go in the hole that represents the eye ๐“น๐“ค are both missing. Either the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ was never finished or both were lost in antiquity.

Next to the inlay of Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ–, there is another quartzite composite statue but it is a head ๐“ถ๐“ค of possibly Smenkare ๐“‡ณ๐“‹ด๐“Š๐“‚“๐“‚ฆ๐“†ฃ๐“ช, the mystery pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป that ruled ๐“‹พ for a short period of time in between Akhenaten ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– and Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“. The statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is in very bad condition, so it is really difficult to gather much information about it. However, at the time the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ was made, it was made with high quality workmanship!

The style during Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule ๐“‹พ was very different than the traditional Egyptian art styles, which makes these pieces so weird and wonderful in their own way! I will never get tired of studying Amarna art!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Thoth as a Babboon

This is a limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ! The god ๐“Šน Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ was usually depicted as a man ๐“Šƒ๐“€€๐“ค with the head of an ibis ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค, but was also commonly depicted as a baboon. The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ is actually the Greek version of his name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–; the ancient Egyptians referred to him as Djehuty (๐“…-Djhu ๐“- t, y-๐“ญ, ๐“€ญ).

While Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ is mainly known as being the patron of scribes ๐“Ÿ๐“€€๐“ช, the god ๐“Šน of writing ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ, and the creator of language ๐“‚‹๐“บ, he is also considered the god ๐“Šน of the sciences ๐“‚‹๐“๐“๐“œ๐“ฆ and the moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น. The moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น could be thought of as a โ€œnight sun,โ€ which places him as an opposite of the sun ๐“‡ณ๐“บ god ๐“Šน Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“›. Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ is also credited with inventing the 365-day calendar!

Since the moon ๐“‡‹๐“‚๐“Ž›๐“‡น is commonly a symbol of wisdom, Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ was also associated with being very wise. Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ has also provided guidance to the other gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน and can also be associated with truth ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„ and justice ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„๐“œ. Thoth ๐“…ค๐“€ญ was thought to have invented writing ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ, and was thus the god ๐“Šน of all record keeping. These characteristics are why he is the bookkeeper in the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony from the Book of the Dead. The scene acted as the โ€œLast Judgmentโ€ of the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ.

Due to his vast knowledge, Thoth ๐“Ÿ was thought to know magic ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ and secrets ๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“†Ÿ๐“›๐“ฆ that were unknown to the rest of the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน in the Egyptian pantheon. This made him an extremely powerful figure!

Thoth can be written as: ๐“…ค๐“€ญ, ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ, ๐“Ÿ. He also had various titles such as โ€œLord of the Divine Words,โ€ โ€œThree Times Great,โ€ and โ€œLord of Maโ€™atโ€ amongst many others!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Marriage Scarab and Senet

I love this display at the Brooklyn Museum because itโ€™s so blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ – blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ is my favorite color (and it was a favorite of the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช too – for various religious reasons)! Both of these pieces are dated to the reign of Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  (Dynasty 18).

The first piece is a scarab ๐“†ฃ that is known as a โ€œMarriage Scarab,โ€ even though it doesnโ€™t mention marriage! During his reign ๐“‹พ, Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  commissioned the production of her 200 ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ scarabs ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ that recorded important events. Fifty-six ๐“ކ๐“ކ๐“ކ๐“ކ๐“ކ๐“ฟ of the scarabs ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ๐“†ฃ, like this one pictured, contained information such as Amenhotep IIIโ€™s ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  complete list of names/titles, the boundaries of the empire and Queen Tiyeโ€™s official names and titles/the names of her parents. The mention of Queen Tiye and her relation to Amenhotep III ๐“‡ณ๐“ง๐“Ž  is what led Egyptologists to call these the โ€œmarriage scarabs.โ€

Senet ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“  is the worldโ€™s oldest board game – thereโ€™s evidence of its existence all the way back to the First Dynasty (though this particular board is dated c. 1390-1353 B.C.E.). During the New Kingdom, the game represented the journey of the Ka ๐“‚“ (soul) to the afterlife/Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. The word โ€œSenetโ€ ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“  actually means passage or gateway! If you look really closely, you can see details of the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ and the Tyet ๐“Žฌ (Isis Knot) painted on the sides!

Senet ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“ˆ–๐“  is still a game that can be played today, though some of the rules are debatable! I find it so interesting that board games have been around for so long in history! Some things a about humanity have not changed!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Paddle Dolls

Here are two ๐“ป examples of paddle dolls – contrary to popular belief, these were not toys used by children ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€•๐“ฆ (as a kid I thought they were dolls that Egyptian ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“ children ๐“๐“‡Œ๐“€•๐“ฆ played with)!

A paddle doll is usually made of a flat piece of wood ๐“†ฑ๐“๐“บ that shows a very rough representation of a head ๐“ถ๐“บ, face, neck and torso of usually a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“. The bodies of the paddle dolls are usually pained in various designs, which are thought to represent either textile patterns or tattoos! The โ€œbeadsโ€ that you see coming off of the head ๐“ถ๐“บ are made of mud pellets, which is representative of hair ๐“ฒ๐“ˆ–๐“ญ. They would also make noise when shaken, similarly to that of a sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ. Sometimes paddle dolls are associated with the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก because of this!

The shape of the body (which is noticeably missing legs) is thought to be similar/representative of the menat necklace ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ง that is usually worn by women ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“๐“ฆ during religious ceremonies. These paddle dolls, were thought to be part of religious ceremonies due to this connection. It is also possible that these dolls were used as fertility figures, as some of them have been found with painted images of Taweret ๐“๐“„ฟ๐“…ฉ๐“‚‹๐“๐“†— or Bes ๐“ƒ€๐“‹ด๐“„œ; both deities are associated with fertility.

The paddle dolls in this picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“are dated to Dynasties 11-13 of the Middle Kingdom (c. 2081-1700 B.C.E.).

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Book of the Dead – The Four Sons of Horus

This copy of the Book of the Dead (known to the Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช as the Book of Going Forth By Day) belonged to Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช, Priest ๐“Šน๐“› of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, who lived during the early Ptolemaic Period (between 332-200 B.C.E.). No, it’s not that Imhotep from “The Mummy” (1999), however, this is still a funny coincidence! The Book of the Dead was created for Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช so he could have a successful journey into the afterlife/Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. The spells on the papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› were also meant to ensure his safety and well-being in the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰ (realm of the dead).

In this image ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, you can see some of the hieratic script that the Book of the Dead is written in – don’t ask me to translate, because I can’t read hieratic! I can only read hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! Some of the hieratic is in black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ ink while some of it is in red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ. The red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ ink seems to symbolize either the beginning or the end ๐“Žผ๐“‚‹๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“› of a spell, or it could highlight a word for a noun that was considered “bad” in Egyptian culture. However, sometimes even “offering table” could have been written/drawn in red ๐“‚ง๐“ˆ™๐“‚‹๐“…Ÿ and offering tables ๐“‚๐“ƒ€๐“…ก๐“„ฟ๐“‹ƒ were not bad at all!

On the top right, you can see Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช standing with his arms raised in a worshipping stance; he is worshipping the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Hathor ๐“‰ก, who is in her cow form ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’! Next to that, you can see the four Sons of Horus surrounding a canopic chest! The Four Sons of Horus guarded the organs ๐“‡‹๐“‚ง๐“‚‹๐“„น of the deceased! From the right: Duamutef ๐“‡ผ๐“…๐“๐“†‘(jackal head) held/protected the stomach ๐“‚‹๐“„ฃ๐“ป, Imseti ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‹ด๐“˜๐“‡‹(human head) held/protected the liver ๐“…“๐“Šƒ๐“๐“„น๐“ธ๐“ธ๐“ธ, Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‘๐“Šช๐“‡Œ(baboon head) held/protected the lungs ๐“Šƒ๐“Œด๐“„ฅ๐“…ฑ๐“„บ, and Qebehsenuef ๐“๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“Œข๐“†‘ (falcon head) held/protected the intestines ๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฎ๐“„ฟ๐“ฒ๐“ผ.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Mummy Beads

โ€œThe Mummy Roomโ€ (as I called it) at the British Museum was such an incredible place to be! It was a bunch of galleries that were filled with beautifully ๐“„ค painted sarcophagi ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ๐“ฆ and mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช! When I was a kid I was never afraid of mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช(wrapped or unwrapped); I was just completely fascinated by them and I still am!

What is striking about this mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ is that the beautiful ๐“„ค beaded shroud that covers the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ is still mostly intact! In ancient times, the beaded shroud would have been placed over the mummy ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ after it had been placed in its coffin ๐“‹ด๐“…ฑ๐“Ž›๐“๐“†ฑ. The pattern of the beaded shroud was supposed to be representative of the cloak that Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ, god ๐“Šน of the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰, wears.

These types of shrouds were mostly made with blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ beads because in ancient Egyptian culture, the color blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ was symbolic of rebirth and regeneration. Faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ was an extremely popular material to work with because it was both cheap and easy to use! Faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ is a quartz based material that can be molded and then heated to a very high temperature to keep its shape. Objects made of faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ were thought to hold magical powers!

Beaded shrouds on mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช were very popular during the Late Period and this one is estimated to be dated at c. 760-656 B.C.E., which is the 25th Dynasty. Beaded shrouds are very delicate and are usually found broken up, so this piece here is a beautiful ๐“„ค example of one.

Do you like mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช?! Let me know!!!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Ushabti of Paser

My Nonnoโ€™s favorite non-Royal ancient Egyptian has always been Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ. While I have seen Paserโ€™s ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ in other museums, it was always so difficult to find the one that is at the MET because it is hidden amongst other ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ in one of the smaller galleries! But yesterday I FINALLY saw it! I was so excited because Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ meant so much to my Nonno!!

Nicole (me) with Paser’s ushabti!

The blue ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“๐“„ฟ๐“ธ๐“ฅ faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ ushabti ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ belongs to Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ! Objects made of faience ๐“‹ฃ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ธ๐“ผ were thought to hold magical ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“„ฟ๐“œ powers! The ushabtis ๐“†ท๐“„ฟ๐“ฏ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ฎ๐“€พ served as substitutes for the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and would perform labor or jobs for them in the afterlife ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰. They are usually inscribed with spells which are specific to a certain task!

Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ was one of the most prominent men of his time and he served 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“ކ๐“ކ๐“พ years! He was vizier ๐“…ท๐“๐“บ๐“€€ 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, judicial, financial, and many other things. Honestly that sounds exhausting ๐Ÿ˜‚!

Paser ๐“…ฎ๐“€™๐“€ฝ had many different titles, including โ€œHigh Preist of Amun,โ€ โ€œsuperintendent of every work of the king,โ€ and โ€œchief of secrets of the hieroglyphs.โ€

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Limestone Statue of Anubis

This limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ was found near the Sacred Animal Necropolis at Saqqara (Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–). The Sacred Animal Necropolis housed thousands ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ๐“ฒ of mummified animals such as falcons ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„๐“ฆ, baboons, ibises ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค๐“ฆ and bulls/cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ฆ. This piece is dated to the Late Period – Ptolemaic Period (664โ€“30 B.C.E.).

Although mummified jackals ๐“Šƒ๐“„ฟ๐“ƒ€๐“ƒฅ๐“ฆ were not found in the area, statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ have been found most likely because Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ is the god ๐“Šน of mummification and embalming, so it would make sense that there would be statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of him in the vicinity of this large necropolis. It is thought that Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช such as this were used to guard embalming tents.

Interestingly, this piece was originally painted ๐“ž๐“œ black ๐“†Ž๐“…“, but through time it has lost its coloring! Itโ€™s hard to see in my pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ (the MET really needs better lighting – the galleries are so dark) but you can still see remnants of some of the black ๐“†Ž๐“…“ paint ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ on the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ!

I was very excited to see this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ, because there is a similar one in the Petrie Museum in London! I love seeing similar pieces in different museums around thr world! Also (no surprise), I love anything Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ!

Nicole (me) with Anubis!

Fun fact! There are no temples ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰๐“ฆ dedicated to Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ because all tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ and large burial areas were considered โ€œtemplesโ€ to worship ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ in! It makes so much sense because he is the god ๐“Šน of tombs ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰๐“ฆ and mummification!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Small Statue of Ptah

Although tiny (only about 5cm in height), this is a striking lapis lazuli ๐“๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“‚ง๐“ง statuette of the creator god ๐“Šน Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ. Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ is easily recognized, and I always called him the โ€œbald godโ€ as a kid even though he isnโ€™t necessarily bald – he is wearing a cap on his head! Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ has always been a favorite of mine because he is so fascinating!

Lapis lazuli ๐“๐“‹ด๐“ƒ€๐“‚ง๐“ง is a very hard ๐“„‡๐“๐“‚๐“ญ stone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“Šช and is very difficult to work with, so that only makes the very tiny details such as the beard ๐“๐“ƒ€๐“Šƒ๐“…ฑ๐“ (the only god ๐“Šน to be consistently depicted with one) and the broad collar ๐“…ฑ๐“‹ด๐“๐“Žบ๐“‹ even more impressive! Although itโ€™s hard to see, the staff that Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ is holding in his hands is actually a merging of the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ and the Was Scepter ๐“Œ€. The hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ for Djed ๐“Šฝ means โ€œstabilityโ€ while the hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ for the Was Scepter ๐“Œ€ means โ€œstrength.โ€

Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ was not created; he existed before anyone else and anything. In short, he was the creator of the other creator gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน, like Atum ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚Ÿ๐“€ญ. Due to Ptahโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ creativity, he is also the designated god ๐“Šน of all forms of craftsman such as carpenters , shipbuilders, potters, metalworkers, and sculptors. Imhotep ๐“‡๐“…“๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช, the famous architect of the Step Pyramid (the first pyramid ๐“‹๐“…“๐“‚‹๐“‰ด built in Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–) is said to be the direct son ๐“…ญ of Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ due to his incredible work! There is so much I can say about Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ, but Instagram captions can only be so long!

This piece is estimated to be from the Third Intermediate Period โ€“ early Dynasty 26 (c. 945โ€“600 B.C.E.). Since it is such a high quality piece, it is most likely that it was meant for use in Ptahโ€™s ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ large temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ at Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–(Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ was the chief god ๐“Šน of Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š–). Ptah ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“ฑ was worshipped ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข at Memphis ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“‰ด๐“Š– from the Old Kingdom forward.

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

Granodiorite Statue of Amun

This is a beautiful ๐“„ค granodiorite statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of the god ๐“Šน Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ. Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ was the most popularly worshipped god ๐“Šน during the 18th Dynasty amongst the pharaohs ๐“‰๐“‰ป๐“ฆ and the elite.

This statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ is special because it was made during the reign of pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ (18th Dynasty, c. 1336โ€“1327 B.C.E.). After Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– rule, Tutankamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ was responsible for moving the capital of Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š– back to Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š– and reestablishing the traditional Egyptian pantheon. Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ commissioned a lot of statues ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ to be made, most likely as a way to show that the old religion was once again free to be worshipped. Egyptologists believe that this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ was specifically sculpted to be placed in the Temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ of Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ at Karnak.

Something else that is interesting about the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is that it does still have some Amarna-style features, which suggests that some of the sculptors that worked in the Amarna workshops went to Thebes ๐“Œ€๐“๐“Š– with Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ after Akhenatenโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ๐“…œ๐“๐“ˆ– reign. Some of the facial features of the statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ are also similar to other representations of Tutankhamun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ (for example, the full lips, the drooping chin). The braided beard and the crown, however, make it unquestionable that this statue ๐“„š๐“ˆ–๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ is meant to represent Amun ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“€ญ.

Nicole (me) with the statue of Amun

Geology Lesson!!!! Granodiorite is an igneous rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™ that is a โ€œin betweenโ€ granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ and diorite in terms of mineral composition. Granite ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ–๐“Œณ๐“ฟ contains mostly quartz ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œ๐“ˆ™, while diorite contains a lot of plagioclase/potassium feldspars. Granodiorite contains both, hence it is an โ€œin-betweenโ€ rock ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‚‹๐“ˆ™!