Good morning one and all and have a terrific Thursday! May it be exciting and breathtaking as this scene from Giza!! #AncientEgypt #Egypt #Egyptian #Pyramid #Giza #Sun #Clouds #Sky #Light #Bright #Morning #GoodMorning :)
Batman and Robin versus the mummy! But luckily this mummy had a tasty distraction creating the perfect opportunity for the dynamic duo’s getaway :) #Egyptomania #AncientEgypt #Egypt #Egyptian #Mummy #Batman #Robin #DCUniverse #Classic #Comics #Twinkies #Advertisement #RIPTwinkies
This sandstone, openwork low relief window piece is highly original in not only the blending Egyptian tradition with Graeco-Roman and Christian symbolism, but also portraying Egyptian in such a manner. This fragment of a window, dating to the 4th Century A.D, depicts the falcon god Horus on horseback, stabbing his spear into a crocodile, the symbol of the god Setekh, or commonly used name Seth. Egyptian deities were never portrayed on horseback, but due to the mixture of cultures it is evident why this is the case; Horus is dressed like a Roman soldier, portrayed in full profile, on a horse which is also in profile with its head turned full face. The falcon god of the sky is sitting on a saddle attached by a bellyband to his richly appointed mount. With a spear in his right hand, controlling the horse with his left, he is about to spear the crocodile who is slumped and hunched down under the mighty steed and the calmness of Horus. According to Egyptian mythology, the god Setekh (Seth) murdered his brother Osiris. Horus, the son of Osiris, avenged his father’s death by killing Setekh. The scene defines the battle between Good (overcoming) evil, which was a major theme in Christianity; the horseman killing the evil with a spear was a common motif, the most repetitive figure was that of St. George, a 3rd Century Christian warrior martyr. You can see the format similarities from the depiction of St. George as a horseman spearing a crocodile from a 17th century Ethiopian manuscript, which is a part of a larger manuscript of the Four Gospels housed in the British Library in London. Even with the Graeco-Roman and Christian symbolism, the Egyptian mythology still withstands. #AncientEgypt #Egypt #Egyptian #Egyptology #WindowArt #GraeoRoman #Christian #Christianity #StGeorge #Horus #Horseman #Horse #Crocodile #Seth #Setekh #Symbolism #Manuscript #History #Archaeology #Artifact #Art #ArtHistory #Museum #Louvre #Library #London
Cosmetic boxes are not a modern invention. They date back all the way to ancient Egypt. Ancient Egyptian toiletry items began in the Predynastic Period with ivory cosmetic articles, such as bone, stone, or even pottery. Ivory combs and kohl spoons were among the first. Kohl is an ancient eye cosmetic, traditionally made by grinding galena (lead sulfide) and other ingredients, to darken the eyes and was used as a mascara type for the eyelashes. The desert sun or Nile floodwaters during inundation produced a need for facial-eye protection, using ‘eyepaint’ or eyeliner, when working in the flooded lands; theoretically it was also used by males. The Kohl spoon was designed in many shapes, the most common being the ankh symbol, ducks, and lotus flowers, all symbolizing life and rejuvenation. This Cosmetic box of the Cupbearer Kemeni dates to the Middle Kingdom (12th Dynasty) during the reign of Amenemhat IV (a. 1814 - 1805 BC). Found in Upper Egypt of Thebes in the Tomb of Reniseneb, this Cedar box with ebony and ivory veneer and silver mounting, shows decoration on the front illustrating Kemeni presenting an ointment to Amenemhat IV. The inlaid inscription around the top of the lid contains the names of the king on the front and reads, from the front right to the back: “A royal offering of (the crocodile god) Sobek, lord of the wetlands, giving a good burial and being led to a state of honor, to the ka (life force) of the secretary of the king’s breakfast in preparing the tables of the Lord of the Two Lands, roomkeeper and cupbearer Kemeni possessor of honor and justified.” In the inscription from the front to the left, Kemeni is called “born by Any.” The box contains a mirror and four stone ointment jars, which were found around the box in the vicinity. #AncientEgypt #Egypt #Egyptian #Egyptology #Cosmetic #Box #Kohl #Makeup #EyeLiner #Mascara #Mirror #Ointment #Tomb #Museum #MET #History #Art #Archaeology #ArtHistory #Artifacts
The image of the scarab is almost synonymous with Ancient Egypt. No surprise that the Sun-god creator, Khepri, is in the form of the scarab beetle. This insect choice demonstrates the Egyptian eye for nature and unique understanding for the universe as a whole. Khepri’s iconography is the scarab pushing the sun disk in the sky up from the Underworld to make its journey. This is in comparison to the scarab’s natural activity of rolling balls of dirt across the ground: this method was translated into an explanation of the sun’s circuit. From the Middle Kingdom on the representation of Khepri as the scarab occurred in a three-dimensional form carved as the backing of seals. These scarabs connected the wearer with the sun-god. Kings would use the undersides of large scarabs to commemorate specific events. The scarab could form the bezel of a ring or be a part of a necklace or bracelet. Here is a wonderful example of a bracelet of King Tutankhamun with the scarab. This piece of jewelry, dating from the New Kingdom (18th Dynasty) from the area of the Valley of the Kings, is a rigid gold bracelet, composed of two semicircles joined together by a hinge on one side and a clasp on the other. The central plaque bears a cloisonne scarab inlaid with lapis lazuli. The bracelet itself is also inlaid with carnelian, lapis lazuli, and colored glass. The scarab was one of the most popular motifs in ancient Egyptian jewelry. Seldom to see examples of hard-stone statues of these insects, it is thought that in each of the major temples there possessed a colossal statue based on a plinth, which symbolized architecturally the concept that the temple was the site where the sun-god first emerged to the begin the creation of the cosmos. #AncientEgypt #Egypt #Egyptian #Scarab #Khepri #Deity #God #Mythology #SunGod #Creator #Jewelry #Tutankhamun #Tomb #Bracelet #Gold #LapisLazuli #Glass #History #Art #ArtHistory #Archaeology #Museum #Cairo
This is a pendant of a falcon with a Ram’s head, dating to the New Kingdom (19th Dynasty), during the reign of Ramesses II, who can be seen in statue form in the previous post. This pendant was found in Saqqara from the tomb of the Apis that dies in the 26th year of Ramesses II’s reign. This site was excavated from 1851 to 1853. The pendant is rare not just in the quality of the material but also the representation of the deity. The pendant is made from gold with 99.5 percent purity, which is extremely rare in Egyptian jewelry. Composed of 300 cloisons, this artwork has inlays of turquoise, lapis-lazuli, and carnelian, and the craftsmanship is detailed and defined. The New Kingdom pendant shows a composite figure of a deity, almost certainly a form of the sun god; The falcon is depicted with its wings outstretched and legs spread in a position ill-suited to flight, holding shen signs in its claws. The head is that of a ram’s with horizontal horns. The composite figure appears in The Book of Caverns, a royal funerary text that appears during the Ramesside period. The final scene with this deity describes the nocturnal transformations of the sun god in the underworld until the morning when the sun rises to start a new day. In the tomb of Twosre, the sun at the end of this transformation takes the shape of a ram headed falcon with wings and legs outstretched, as displayed in this pendant. This pendent is a representation of rebirth for the deceased, even in this case, a dead bull and not a dead person. Because of this fact, you can see that the Apis bull was an important animal in Egyptian mythology. #AncientEgypt #Egyptian #Egypt #Pendant #Falcon #Ram #Ramesses #Saqqara #Gold #Turquoise #LapisLazuli #Deity #BookofCaverns #Tomb #ApisBull #History #Museum #Louvre #France #History #Art #ArtHistory #Archaeology
Colossal statues during the Ramesside reign were not uncommon, it is a feature that sets this period apart artistically. This diorite colossal statue of Ramesses II, dating to the New Kingdom (19th Dynasty) during his reign. This statue from Tanis sits in the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. The statue illustrates the traditional pharaonic pose; The king is seated on a cubic throne, his hands flat on his thighs, wearing the nemes headdress with a cobra, broken off, and a false beard. This is an interesting statue due to its history. Although the names and titles of Ramesses II are inscribed on the belt buckle, and on the back and sides of the throne, the original identity of this work was the subject of much heated debate; There are traces of modifications to the crown, face, torso, and throne, which seemed to show that these were re-used works, preferably of one of his predecessors, namely Amenophis III. But due to the round face this statue has it corresponds exactly to the iconography of Ramesses II, and if this work was re-done from Amenophis III, much reconstruction would have been needed. According to Egyptian belief, an image only acquired an identity once it was given a name; its physical resemblance to the original was of secondary importance. A king’s image was his hieroglyph rather than his portrait. Scholars have suggested that at the time of its modernization for one of the festivals, or jubilees, held to confirm royal power throughout Ramesses II’s 67 year reign, it seems that the colossus was transported from its initial site to Pi-Ramesses, the great capital. Whether or not this statue was given a new face, the hieroglyphs mattered more than anything. #AncientEgypt #Egypt #Egyptian #Colossal #Statue #Ramesses #Diorite #Nemes #Cobra #Amenophis #Jubilee #History #Art #ArtHistory #Archaeology #Museum #Louvre #France
It was reported today that archaeologist Maria Gatto has found that the oldest-known representations of a pharaoh, carved on rocks near the Nile River in southern Egypt, may have been before his reign of unified Egypt. The carvings were first observed and recorded in the 1890s by Archibald Sayce who first sketched the carvings, found at the village Nag el-Hamdulab. It was rediscovered in 2008 by the finding of photographs of the carvings dating back to the 1960s by Egyptian archaeologist Labib Habachi. In them, a white-crowned figure travels in ceremonial processions and on sickle-shaped boats, perhaps representing an early tax-collecting tour of Egypt. The scenes place the age of the carvings between 3200 B.C. and 3100 B.C. One of the most detailed carvings shows five boats, one that houses the white-crowned pharaoh, his fan and standard-bearers (depicted in the top photo). In this travel across Egypt, the pharaoh cemented power and collected taxes. It is thought that only do the carvings represent the oldest known vision of a pharaoh, who would be King Narmer (bottom photo), they may also show the oldest Egyptian tax campaign. From the carvings and hieroglyphs on these seems, it illustrates the strong possibility that this took place before Narmer unified Upper and Lower Egypt. Gatto believes that it was important for Narmer to control the situation in the South, than to conquer the South, and once he conquered the North, the unification of Egypt would be complete, and a first in Egyptian antiquity. #AncientEgypt #Egypt #Egyptian #Egyptology #News #Pharaoh #King #Narmer #Carvings #Antiquity #Artifacts #Hieroglyphs #History #Archaeology #Art #ArtHistory
Maat: The goddess Maat or Ma’at personifies all the elements of cosmic harmony as established by the creator god since the beginning of time. She is known as the goddess of Truth, Justice, and Moral Integrity. The consistant iconography is the goddess shown as a woman wearing an ostrich feather, her being the only goddess to dawn this feather, it is easy to identify her in art. The top photo is a sculpture, now housed in the Egyptian museum in Florence, Italy, from the Tomb of Seti I in the 19th Dynasty that depicts the typical look of the goddess. The hieroglyph of her name is a symbol of a plinth, which represents the primeval mound where the creator god, Atum, arose. As early as the Old Kingdom, Ma’at is recognized with the sun god Re, whether standing behind or representing the nostrils of the god, illustrating being the force of life. In the New Kingdom, however, she is depicted as the daughter of Re, and participates in the judging of the dead with Osiris, god of the Underworld (‘lord of Ma’at’ in Pyramid Texts). The bottom picture shows Ma’at’s feather being used as the other weight in the ‘Weighing of the Heart’ ceremony, orchestrated by Anubis in the Hall of Two Truths (or the ‘Maaty’). The primeval goddess is also represented as the goddess crucial to the dead reaching paradise. Ma’at was an important figure to the pharaoh since she was their authority to govern and stress how their reigns upheld the laws of the universe, which she represented. Many examples show the king being named ‘beloved of Ma’at’ and she is standing in the palm of their hands before other deities. A small ruined Temple is dedicated to Ma’at at Karnak. Ma’at not only set order, justice, and truth to the rulers of ancient Egypt, but she was known to set order and harmony in the universe. #AncientEgypt #Egypt #Egyptian #Egyptology #Maat #Cosmic #Harmony #Goddess #Justice #Feather #Pharaoh #Re #Osiris #Underworld #Anubis #History #Archaeology #Art #ArtHistory #Museum #Florence #Italy
Wood was among the few rare materials that needed to be imported into ancient Egypt, yet there have been very impressive statues and small funerary objects made from this material. The best piece, although quite damaged, from the Old Kingdom (4th Dynasty) is this statue of a man and woman. The couple, due to extensive study, have been found to have been carved from the same acacia piece of wood. Tomb statues were very important in Egypt since they immortalized the physical presence of the deceased once the individual went through the ‘opening the mouth’ ceremony that restored the five senses. Their primary function was to receive offerings during the funerary rites of the deceased to assure his or her survival for eternity. The couple is standing side by side, the woman to the right of the man. In traditional Egyptian iconography the woman is significantly smaller than the man. The man is wearing a simple hemmed kilt and is depicted with his left foot forward. His right arm, which must have held a cane, is held close to his chest. His right arm hangs from his side, and his first is clenched. The woman, probably his wife, stands close to her partner, holding him by the waist. She is wearing a close-fitting dress that reveals her finely carved body. Unfortunately, the base to these statues is missing, which held the inscriptions and hieroglyphs of the identities of this couple. It is thought that this piece came from Memphis, but this is not certain. Although this work is very damaged, it can still be seen the artist’s intention of not only illustrating the attachment to the family unit that was so important in pharaonic Egypt, but also going beyond the conventional artistic style of this time and creating a lively and detailed depiction of these ancient people. #AncientEgypt #Egypt #Egyptian #Egyptology #Acacia #Wood #Funerary #Statue #OldKingdom #Tomb #Memphis #Artifact #Antique #Antiquity #Archaeology #History #Art #ArtHistory #Museum #Louvre #France
