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Egyptian Artifacts

Sistrum with the Face of Hathor

Hathor ๐“‰ก is one of the most prominent goddesses ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“ of the Egyptian pantheon. Along with Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ, she is regarded as the โ€œGodโ€™s mother ๐“…๐“๐“Šนโ€ of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป, but is also the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of love ๐“ˆ˜๐“, joy ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ๐“, music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ, and dance ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“‚ป- basically the fun things in life!ย 

Sistrum
Two sistrums with Hathor’s face on them at the Louvre

In some variations of Egyptian mythology, Hathor ๐“‰ก is also the wife ๐“‚‘๐“๐“ of Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ, and the daughter ๐“…ญ๐“ of Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“›. Hathor ๐“‰ก is usually associated with cows ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’๐“ช and can take the form of a cow ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’ in many forms of Egyptian art. 

The piece above is a sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ, which is a musical instrument from ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–. A sistrum ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ was a musical instrument that is similar to a modern rattle or tambourine. Since Hathor ๐“‰ก was the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ of music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ, she was portrayed on most sistrums ๐“Šƒ๐“ˆ™๐“ˆ™๐“๐“ฃ๐“ช in her human form! However, even though Hathor ๐“‰ก is represented as a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“, she is recognized easily because of her characteristic cow ๐“„ค๐“†‘๐“‚‹๐“๐“ƒ’ ears! 

Music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ was essential to many religious rituals, so it was considered to be extremely important! There is even a word in Middle Egyptian just for โ€œSistrum Player/Music Priest: ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡‹๐“Œ‚โ€!!! 

I love music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ and it is something that brings me so much joy ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ๐“! I love how Hathor ๐“‰ก is associated with both of these things, because I do truly think that music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ and joy ๐“„ซ๐“„ฃ๐“ are linked together ๐“ˆ–๐“Š— – and I’m sure that the ancient Egyptian people did too!

BTS ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ด and Il Volo ๐“‡‹๐“ƒญ ๐“†‘๐“ฏ๐“ƒญ๐“ฏ are my absolute favorite artists and I love ๐“ˆ˜๐“ listening to their music ๐“‡‹๐“Ž›๐“‡Œ! What I love ๐“ˆ˜๐“ about BTS ๐“ƒ€๐“๐“‹ด most are their lyrics – they have written some truly beautiful ๐“„ค songs!ย 

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

The Djed Pillar

The โ€œDjed Pillar ๐“Šฝโ€ is one of the most common symbols seen in Egyptian art and hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! This particular Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ is from the Book of the Dead of ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ Imhotep at the MET! Even though this Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ is from the Ptolemaic Period, the origin of the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ is in the Predynastic Period!

Djed Pillar

The Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ can be seen in inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ as a hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ, as an amulet ๐“А๐“Šช๐“…† for mummies ๐“‡‹๐“น๐“…ฑ๐“€พ๐“ช or the living ๐“†ฃ๐“‚‹๐“€€๐“ช,  in tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ and temple ๐“‰Ÿ๐“๐“‰ art, statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€พ๐“ช, and so much more! This is a wonderful symbol to understand the meaning of because it is everywhere! 

In terms of religious symbolism, The Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ is thought to represent the spine of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. When a person died ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ and became โ€œThe Osiris,โ€ The Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ was then thought to represent their spine! The spine was thought to keep Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ upright and able to function as the primary god ๐“Šน of the dead ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ. This is even referenced in the The Book of the Dead: โ€œRaise yourself up Osiris. You have your backbone once more, weary-hearted One; you have bones.โ€ 

Letโ€™s take a look at the hieroglyphic meaning! The โ€œreed column ๐“Šฝโ€ more commonly known as the โ€œDjed Pillarโ€ is a biliteral phonogram that has the sound โ€œแธdโ€ which sounds like โ€œDjed.โ€ It also functions as an ideogram for โ€œStability.โ€ 

There are many common words and phrases that have the Djed Pillar ๐“Šฝ in it: 

๐“™๐“‹น๐“Šฝ๐“Œ€ – Given Life, Stability, and Strength

๐“Šฝ๐“Šฝ๐“ˆ‹๐“…ฑ๐“Š– / ๐“Šฝ๐“Šฝ๐“…ฑ๐“Š– – Djedu 

๐“Šฝ / ๐“Šฝ๐“ – Stability, Endure

๐“‹ด๐“Šฝ๐“Šฝ – Make Permanent

๐“Šฝ๐“‚ง๐“› – To Be Stable

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Reading Hieroglyphs

“High Priest” in Hieroglyphs

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

High Priest

Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at a common word that is seen on many funerary objects ๐“ˆŽ๐“‚‹๐“‹ด๐“๐“๐“Šญ such as stelae ๐“Ž—๐“…ฑ๐“†“๐“‰ธ๐“ฆ! These hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช pictured translate to โ€œPriest ๐“Šน๐“›,โ€ โ€œProphet ๐“Šน๐“›, โ€œHigh Priest ๐“Šน๐“›โ€ or even โ€œHigh Priestess ๐“Šน๐“›โ€ in English, but if you were to breakdown the hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, it translates to โ€œGodโ€™s Servant ๐“Šน๐“›โ€ in Middle Egyptian! 

๐“Šน – God 

๐“› – Servant

The word for โ€œServantโ€ on its own is usually written with the determinative and looks like this: ๐“›๐“€€ (for males) and ๐“›๐“๐“ (for females). For a phrase such as โ€œGodโ€™s Servant ๐“Šน๐“›,โ€ the determinative is left out! 

Usually, the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a god ๐“Šน or goddess ๐“Šน๐“ would come before the phrase โ€œGodโ€™s Servant ๐“Šน๐“›.โ€ For example, ๐“‰ก๐“Šน๐“› would translate to โ€œHigh Priest of Hathorโ€ and ๐“Šช๐“๐“Ž›๐“Šน๐“› would translate to โ€œHigh Priest of Ptah.โ€ 

Letโ€™s take a closer look at each of these symbols! 

The โ€œcloth on a pole ๐“Šนโ€œ symbol is an ideogram for the word god. ๐“Šน is also a triliteral phonogram, and represents the letters โ€œntrโ€ which may have been pronounced like โ€œneter.โ€ ๐“Šน Is also a determinative for โ€œgod.โ€ So the โ€œcloth on a pole ๐“Šนโ€œ symbol can function as all three types of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช. If you see this symbol, you are most likely looking at a word that has to do with the gods ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน!

The โ€œlaundererโ€™s club ๐“›โ€ is a biliteral phonogram which means it represents the sounds of two consonants. โ€œ๐“›โ€ represents the sound โ€œแธฅm.โ€

There are so many different ways to write priest in Middle Egyptian because there were so many different types of priests! Here are some of the other popular ones: 

๐“‹ด๐“…“ – Sem Priests (responsible for the Opening of the Mouth Ceremony ๐“„‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“บ)

๐“ƒ‚ / ๐“ƒ‚๐“ˆ— – Wab Priest

๐“€† – To Be a Priest

๐“‚– / ๐“‚—๐“€€ – Ka Priest/Soul Priest/Priest of the Dead

๐“‚๐“ˆŽ๐“‚ญ๐“‚ญ๐“€€ – Priest

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Heart and Heart Scarab

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!

Since itโ€™s Valentineโ€™s Day, letโ€™s talk about the Heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ in ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–! Today ๐“‡๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“‡ณ we are going to look at the Heart Scarab! This particular Heart Scarab at the Brooklyn Museum is so cool because it is actually in the shape of a heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ instead of a Scarab ๐“๐“Šช๐“‚‹๐“‚‹๐“†ฃ. The term โ€œHeart Scarabโ€ is a modern one used by archaeologists! 

In ancient Egyptian 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“‰. 

The personโ€™s heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ would be weighed against Maatโ€™s ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“ฆ feather ๐“†„๐“บ by Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, and that would determine if the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ would be presented to Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ and then enter the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š–, or eternal ๐“†– life ๐“‹น. This was called the โ€œWeighing of the Heart,โ€ย  or the โ€œJudgement of Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ.โ€ย 

Heart Scarab
Two Heart Scarabs in the shape of a heart, with Chapter 30B of the Book of the Dead inscribed on it.

So how does the Heart Scarab play into this? In modern terms, the Heart Scarab could be seen as a โ€œcheat codeโ€ for getting past the โ€œWeighing of the Heartโ€ – most are inscribed with the spell ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“› from Chapter 30B from the Book of the Dead. In this spell ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›, the deceased ๐“…“๐“๐“ฑ asks their own heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ to not betray them during the โ€œWeighing of the Heart.โ€ 

Here is an excerpt from Chapter 30B from the Papyrus of Ani: โ€œO my heart of different ages! Do not stand up as a witness against me, do not be opposed to me in the tribunal, do not be hostile to me in the presence of the keeper of the balance, for you are my ka which was in my body, the protector who made my members hale.โ€ 

Basically, the ancient Egyptians ๐“†Ž๐“๐“€€๐“๐“ช feared the outcome of their final judgement so they developed this amulet ๐“А๐“Šช๐“…† as a way to ensure a positive outcome to the scales!

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Osiris’ Name in a Cartouche

Osiris’ ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– in a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท? Usually the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป appears in a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท! While this doesn’t happen often, there are instances where the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a god ๐“Šน will appear in the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท!

This is a fragment of a beautifully ๐“„ค painted ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ sarcophagus ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ. I would estimate its from around the later New Kingdom period or later because thatโ€™s when painted ๐“‡จ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ญ๐“ธ๐“ฆ sarcophagi ๐“ŽŸ๐“‹น๐“ˆ–๐“๐“Šญ๐“ช such as these became popular!ย 

Osiris' Name in a Cartouche
Osiris’ name in a cartouche on a sarcophagus fragment

I love this piece because of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท, but also because there is so much other stuff going on even though itโ€™s small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ! The hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช are: ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ๐“ŽŸ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› which translates to โ€œOsiris, Lord of Eternity.โ€ Letโ€™s break down the symbols! 

๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ – Osiris

๐“ŽŸ – Lord

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

I havenโ€™t seen that many pieces like this, so I just found this one so cool! Usually the name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– of a pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป is what appears in a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท, but in this case itโ€™s Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ and his title! The top of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท also has the Atef Crown ๐“‹š on it, which is the crown that is associated with Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ. 

The ancient Egyptians talked about โ€œeternity ๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›โ€ a lot and were actually the civilization to derive the concept of โ€œeternity ๐“†–.โ€ There were two ๐“ป very common ways they expressed the word for โ€œeternityโ€ in hieroglyphic symbols:ย 

๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž› – Eternity

๐“†– – Eternity/Everlasting

There are some other popular hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช that appear on this piece!! See if you can spot them! 

๐“„‘๐“‚ง๐“๐“Š– – Edfu

๐“Šน๐“‰ผ – Great God

Both of the phrases appear symmetrically on either side of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท which is something that is common on these types of pieces! 

Letโ€™s take a look at some of the deities ๐“Šน๐“Šน๐“Šน that appear! If you look in the lower left, you can see part of the god ๐“Šน Osiris ๐“น๐“Šจ๐“€ญ with a large table of offerings ๐“Šต๐“๐“Šช๐“๐“”๐“ฆ in front of him. On the top left, below the winged ๐“‚ง๐“Œณ๐“๐“†ƒ sun disk ๐“‡ณ๐“บ is a falcon ๐“ƒ€๐“‡‹๐“Žก๐“…„ which is representative of the god ๐“Šน Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ. On the top right, there is an ibis ๐“‰”๐“ƒ€๐“…ค which is representative of the god ๐“Šน Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ. 

On either side of the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท, the god ๐“Šน Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“Šช๐“ญ๐“ˆ˜ (god ๐“Šน of the Nile River ๐“‡‹๐“๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ—๐“ˆ˜๐“ˆ‡๐“บ/flooding of the Nile) is shown. There are two ๐“ป of him because if you look closely, you can see both symbolically tying up papyrus ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ and lotus ๐“†ธ plants together. This was meant to represent the union of Upper ๐“‡“ and Lower ๐“†ค Egypt! You can easily recognize Hapi ๐“Ž›๐“‚๐“Šช๐“ญ๐“ˆ˜ because of the papyrus flowers ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Ž›๐“†ฐ on his head! 

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Blog

I Miss You Nonno

โ€œAll of this is all for you, Oh, I swear to God, you’re living, Through everything I’ll ever do.โ€ – โ€œTwo of Usโ€ by Louis Tomlinson – this song really hits if youโ€™re dealing with the death of a loved one. Itโ€™s raw and poignant and hard to listen to, but I feel like these particular lyrics really describe a lot.ย 

Nicole (as an infant) and Nonno!
Nicole (as an infant) and Nonno!

Today is a very difficult day for me (and my family), because itโ€™s been three years since my Nonno passed away. Itโ€™s been three years since Iโ€™ve seen him, since we talked, since we laughed. There are times when Iโ€™m overwhelmed with sadness because I still cannot believe it happened. We spent so much time together and life still feels empty without my Nonno here. Iโ€™m not going to lie – I spent a lot of yesterday crying, and I will probably spend today that way too.ย 

Nicole and Nonno with a statue of Tutankhamun at the British Museum
Nicole and Nonno with a statue of Tutankhamun at the British Museum

This website (and my original Instagram account) is basically a manifestation of my grief and I started it in April 2020 as a way to try and manage my grief because it was overwhelming me. This account is also a way for my Nonnoโ€™s name and image to continue on. All I want is for people to see what an incredible person my Nonno was and how much he meant to me.ย 

Nicole and Nonno at Circus Maximus in Rome
Nicole and Nonno at Circus Maximus in Rome

Iโ€™m so lucky that my Nonno shared his passion for history with me at such a young age, and started my lifetime passion. Every time I post, youโ€™re seeing an extension of what my Nonno knew, because he either taught it to me, or graciously gave me his books to read. All of this is Nonno – Iโ€™m just the messenger.ย 

Nicole and Nonno outside of the British Museum

Nonno and I have been best buds since day one and while Iโ€™m so lucky I had my Nonno with me for 27 years, I still feel like we needed more time. But if Iโ€™m being honest, no amount of time wouldโ€™ve been enough. 

Nonno, I love you and miss you so much.

๐“™๐“‹น๐“†–๐“Ž›๐“‡ณ๐“Ž›

Categories
Reading Hieroglyphs

Common Hieroglyphic Phrases

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

This hieroglyphic ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ text from the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ of Imhotep contains some really common hieroglyphic phrases and words!  These phrases are short and easy to recognize, so once you learn them, youโ€™ll be reading through some partial inscriptions ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ in no time! 

Some parts of this papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› are written in hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช, which is very cool because I can read it! I have not mastered Hieratic at all, which is what a lot of papyri ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“›๐“ฆ and Books of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ are written in! Hieratic is pretty much short-hand hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! I really want to learn Hieratic, and itโ€™s one of my long term goals, but there are a lack of books on the subject which has hindered me from learning!

Common Hieroglyphic Phrases

Letโ€™s break down the following text: ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“„ค๐“€ญ๐“™๐“Šค

๐“ƒน๐“ˆ– – It Is

๐“„ค – Perfect/Beautiful

๐“€ญ – God

๐“™๐“Šค – True of Voice/Justified

All together the text reads: โ€œIt is ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ– the perfect god ๐“„ค๐“€ญ, true of voice ๐“™๐“Šคโ€ฆโ€ 

The phrase โ€œIt isโ€ can be written as ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ– or ๐“ƒน๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ– – both are grammatically correct, itโ€™s just spacing that can become an issue which is why sometimes only one โ€œ๐“ˆ–โ€ appears! 

Letโ€™s break down each of the symbols individually!

The โ€œhare ๐“ƒนโ€ is normally used as a biliteral phonogram. The  ๐“ƒน represents the sounds โ€œwn.โ€

The โ€œripple of water ๐“ˆ–โ€ is a uniliteral phonogram. The โ€œ๐“ˆ–โ€ is associated with the sound of โ€œn!โ€ 

The โ€œheart and windpipe ๐“„คโ€ symbol is a triliteral phonogram that represents the sound โ€œnfrโ€ which in modern times we pronounce like โ€œnefer.โ€

The โ€œseated god ๐“€ญโ€ symbol is a determinative for the word โ€œGodโ€ or โ€œKing.โ€ 

The โ€œplatform ๐“™โ€ symbol is a triliteral phonogram which represents the sound โ€œm3หโ€ which would be pronounced like โ€œmah.โ€ 

The โ€œoar ๐“Šคโ€ symbol is a triliteral phonogram and represents the sound โ€œแธซrw.โ€ 

Categories
Egyptian Artifacts

The Book of the Dead of Nauny

The Weighing of the Heart (sometimes called the Judgement of Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น) is my absolute favorite part of the Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ. I love how each version is unique and not a single one is the same! I find this particular papyrus ๐“…“๐“‘๐“๐“› to be absolutely stunning.ย 

The Book of the Dead of Nauny

In ancient Egypt ๐“†Ž๐“…“๐“๐“Š–, the Book of the Dead was actually called โ€œComing Forth By Day ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ,โ€ and it was a collection of magic spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ to help the deceased enter the Duat ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“๐“‰, and eventually the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š–.ย 

The Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ is interesting because it doesn’t follow a particular story.ย  The spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ do seem to be grouped by theme, and sometimes pictures ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“ฆ can be representative of the spells ๐“Ž›๐“‚“๐“›๐“ฆ that are written!ย 

This particular Book of the Dead ๐“‰๐“‚‹๐“๐“‚ป๐“…“๐“‰”๐“‚‹๐“ฒ๐“‡ณ๐“บ๐“ผ๐“บ belonged to a woman ๐“Šƒ๐“๐“‚‘๐“๐“ named Nauny ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“ who lived during the 21st Dynasty reign of the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Psusennes I ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“…ฎ๐“‡ผ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ–๐“Š–. Naunyโ€™s ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“ ushabtis ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ๐“ช are also at the MET!ย 

The Book of the Dead of Nauny
Isis (left) and Nauny (right)

Starting from the left: the goddess ๐“Šน๐“ Isis ๐“Šจ๐“๐“ฅ is shown next to Nauny ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“, who is shown holding her eyes ๐“น๐“น and mouth ๐“‚‹ in her hands. Naunyโ€™s ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“ heart ๐“‡‹๐“ƒ€๐“„ฃ is weighed by Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ against Maat ๐“ฆ. Usually, Maatโ€™s ๐“ฆ feather ๐“†„๐“บ is used, but this time Maat ๐“ฆ herself is shown on the scale, and is represented by the hieroglyph ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ that is used in her name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–! Thoth ๐“…๐“๐“ญ๐“€ญ is shown on top of the scale, and his job is to record the findings. Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น presides over the scene.ย 

The Book of the Dead of Nauny
Anubis

Luckily for Nauny ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“, the scales are in balance which means that she lead a true ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„ and just ๐“™๐“Œด๐“‚ฃ๐“๐“†„๐“œ life ๐“‹น and is worthy enough to enter the Field of Reeds ๐“‡๐“๐“ˆ…๐“‡‹๐“„ฟ๐“‚‹๐“…ฑ๐“†ฐ๐“Š– and enjoy eternal ๐“†– life ๐“‹น with Osiris ๐“Šฉ๐“น! Above the Weighing of the Heart scene, Nauny ๐“ˆ–๐“„ฟ๐“ˆ–๐“‡Œ๐“ is seen standing by her own tomb ๐“‡‹๐“ซ๐“Šƒ๐“‰ and worshipping ๐“‡ผ๐“„ฟ๐“€ข Horus ๐“…ƒ๐“€ญ.ย 

The Book of the Dead of Nauny
Osiris
Categories
Egyptian Artifacts Reading Hieroglyphs

Cartouche Box of Shosenq II

This cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท shaped box is a small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ yet interesting piece at the MET! I stumbled upon this piece because it is in a display with lots of ushabti ๐“…ฑ๐“ˆ™๐“ƒ€๐“๐“ญ๐“€พ figures! One of my absolute favorite Egyptian artifacts is Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“ cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท box, and while this is a smaller and less elaborate version of Tutankhamunโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“‹น๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡“, I still love it!ย 

This cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท shaped box is dated to the Third Intermediate Period (c. 825-773 B.C.E.) which would be in the 22nd Dynasty! The box is also inscribed for the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Shosenq II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“†ท๐“†ท๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ.ย 

Cartouche Box of Shosenq II
Cartouche Box of Shosenq II

Even though they may be difficult to see in the picture ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“, Letโ€™s read some hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

๐“ŽŸ๐“‡ฟ๐“‡ฟ – Lord of the Two Lands

๐“…ญ๐“‡ณ – Son of Ra

๐“ŽŸ๐“ˆ๐“ฅ – Lord of Appearances 

๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ– – Usermaatre setep en Ra (Throne Name)

๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ – God and Ruler of Heliopolis

๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“†ท๐“†ท๐“Žฏ๐“๐“ – Shosenq II (Shoshenk, Son of Bastet, Beloved of Amun)

There are a lot of interesting things going on in this inscription! The first ๐“ƒ interesting thing is that Shosenq II ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“†ท๐“†ท๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ has the same throne name as the pharaoh ๐“‰๐“‰ป Rameses II ๐“ฉ๐“›๐“ˆ˜๐“„Ÿ๐“‹ด๐“‡“! The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– โ€œUsermaatre setep en Ra ๐“‡ณ๐“„Š๐“ง๐“‡ณ๐“‰๐“ˆ–โ€ translates to โ€œThe Justice of Ra is powerful, Chosen of Ra.โ€

The second interesting thing is that all of the titles appear before both names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ, instead of being broken up and appearing before either the throne name or the given/birth name! 

Another interesting thing is that the part of Shosenq IIโ€™s ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“†ท๐“†ท๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ birth name, โ€œGod and Ruler of Heliopolis๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ,โ€ appears at the beginning of this birth name instead of at the end, hence why I broke it up in my translation! The name ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ– should appear like this in the inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ: ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“†ท๐“†ท๐“Žฏ๐“๐“๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ, but instead  appears as ๐“Šน๐“‹พ๐“‰บ๐“‡‹๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“Œป๐“†ท๐“†ท๐“Žฏ๐“๐“! 

The fourth interesting part is that neither the birth name nor the throne name appear in a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท! I guess the whole box is the cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท so maybe the artist felt that the names ๐“‚‹๐“ˆ–๐“ฆ didnโ€™t need a cartouche ๐“ ๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“ท on the inscription ๐“Ÿ๐“›๐“ฅ?! 

Who knew such a small ๐“ˆ–๐“†“๐“‹ด๐“…ฉ piece could hold so many interesting things! Itโ€™s amazing what can be discovered by just reading a couple of hieroglyphs ๐“Šน๐“Œƒ๐“ช! 

Categories
Video

Video – Anubis Statue

@ancientegyptblog

This limestone ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“ˆ™๐“Œ‰ Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ statue ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€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 โ€“ 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“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€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 ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž and embalming ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž, so it would make sense that there would be statues ๐“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€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“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€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 โ€“ 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“๐“…ฑ๐“๐“€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 the world! It is really cool to see pieces that are similar across museum collections โ€“ I canโ€™t explain why, but I just find it incredible! Also (no surprise), I love anything Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, so of course I absolutely love this statue and I need to visit it every time I go to the MET! 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 ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž! This is my personal video and original text DO NOT repost! #ancientEgypt #egyptianhistory #egyptianmythology #anubis #metropolitanmuseumofart #metmuseum #ancientegyptblog #egyptology #anticoegitto

โ™ฌ original sound – ancientegyptblog Nicole Lesar

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 ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž and embalming ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž, 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 the world! It is really cool to see pieces that are similar across museum collections – I can’t explain why, but I just find it incredible! Also (no surprise), I love anything Anubis ๐“‡‹๐“ˆ–๐“Šช๐“…ฑ๐“ƒฃ, so of course I absolutely love this statue and I need to visit it every time I go to the MET!

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 ๐“‹ด๐“‚ง๐“๐“…ฑ๐“Ž! 

Anubis Statue
A picture of me with the Anubis statue!

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

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