EgyptologyLessons

Lower part of seated statue of King Menkaura (Mycerinus)

🔹This is the lower part of a colossal statue of King Menkaura that once stood in the offering hall of his valley temple — the monumental entrance to his pyramid complex. All that remains of Menkaura’s figure are his legs and part of his pleated kilt. But what matters here is the throne, its sides exquisitely carved in sunk relief.

🔹On each, two falcons, their wings meeting in the center, hover over the king’s names. Below appears the ancient Egyptian “coat of arms”: the gods tie the lily of Upper Egypt (the south) and the papyrus of Lower Egypt (the north) around the hieroglyph “sema” for ‘unite’ meaning “Uniting the Two Lands.” Thus, symbolically all Egypt is united under the king’s rule. A simpler version of the motif, without the deities, appears on the back.

Location: Egypt (Giza, Menkaura Valley Temple)
Date: Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, Reign of Menkaura, (2490-2472 BC)
Medium: Travertine (Egyptian alabaster)
Dimensions: Overall Lower half of figure and seated throne): 110.5 x 53.3 x 124.5 cm, 793.79 kg (43 1/2 x 21 x 49 in., 1750 lb.)
Catalogue no: 09.202

𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬
👉EgyptologyLessons 𓏟𓀁🇨🇦 𓋹𓊽𓋴𓆖𓎛𓇳𓎛𓏇𓇳𓏤
_______________ˁnḫ ḏd s ḏ.t nḥḥ mı͗ rˁ
‘Life, Stability, and Health Forever and
Eternity like Ra’
𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁

Statue of Kush*te King Senkamanisken
𓅭𓇳 (𓊃𓈖𓎡𓃒𓇋𓏠𓈖𓊃𓎡𓈖) “sA-ra s-n-ka-imn-s-k-n”

🔹At first glance, this statue looks similar to others in this gallery. In fact, it was created almost 2,000 years later than the Giza pyramids and stood in a temple nearly 1,000 miles to the south at Napata, in present day Sudan.

🔹Napata, now Gebel Barkal, was the religious and political capital of the kingdom of Kush, known by scholars today as Nubia. This statue portrays King Senkamanisken, a prolific builder at Gebel Barkal. Senkamanisken’s pose and muscular physique reflect the Nubian rulers’ familiarity with Egyptian art.

🔹Senkamanisken’s garments and accessories identify him as a ruler. Specifically, look for the cap-crown with double uraeus cobras, and a necklace adorned with ram heads representing Amun, the god most closely associated with Nubian kings. The kilt, headdress, jewelry, and sandals, which now appear rough and unpolished, were originally covered with gold leaf.

Location: Sudan (Gebel Barkal - B 500 Trench A;
B 800 room 904), Napatan (Nubian)
Period: Reisgn of Senkamanisken, (643-623 BC)
Dimensions: Height x width: 147.8 x 50.1 cm
(58 3/16 x 19 3/4 in.)
Weight: 272 kg or 600 lbs
Medium: Granite gneiss
Catalogue no: 23.731
📸 12-13: Ushabtis of the Pharaoh Senkamanisken

𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬
👉EgyptologyLessons 𓏟𓀁🇨🇦 𓋹𓊽𓋴𓆖𓎛𓇳𓎛𓏇𓇳𓏤
_______________ˁnḫ ḏd s ḏ.t nḥḥ mı͗ rˁ
‘Life, Stability, and Health Forever and
Eternity like Ra’
𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁

The Graffiti of Pharaoh Khufu and the Gangs of Workers

🔹In 1832 Howard Vyse, armed with gunpowder
and a rather liberal permission to explore the Giza Pyramids, confirmed his suspicions of more chambers higher up, in the Great Pyramid, when he blasted a vertical passage that breached four more chambers. The chambers were separated one from another by huge granite beams, weighing up to 40 or 50 tons.

🔹The pharaoh (Khufu) and builders’ graffiti on the masonry of the five chambers in the King’s Chamber (in Great Pyramid), are each only about three feet high, stacked one ‭ ‬over the other, the whole series ‭ ‬above the ‭ ‬granite pyramid. These rectilinear spaces, about the same floor dimensions as the King’s Chamber, were never meant to be seen, although builders left a crawl space.

🔹Looking at the record that Howard Vyse‭ and his collaborator, J. S.‬ Perring‭ made of the masons’ graffiti, Ann Roth noted that ten blocks‬ on the northern side of the combined construction bore graffiti of gang‭ names compounded with the ‭𓆥 “nsw.t bity” or throne ‬name of the king, Khnum-‬Khufu (“The God Khnum Protects”), while seven blocks on the southern walls bear gang names compounded with the king’s Horus name.

Source:
1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303875906_Labor_and_the_Pyramids_The_Heit_el-Ghurab_Workers_Town_at_Giza
2. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.80207

𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬
👉EgyptologyLessons 𓏟𓀁🇨🇦 𓋹𓊽𓋴𓆖𓎛𓇳𓎛𓏇𓇳𓏤
_______________ˁnḫ ḏd s ḏ.t nḥḥ mı͗ rˁ
‘Life, Stability, and Health Forever and
Eternity like Ra’
𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁

Head of King Tutankhamun

🔹Howard Carter’s discovery in 1922 of the virtually intact tomb of Tutankhamen (“King Tut) in the Valley of the Kings made this previously obscure ruler of the late 18th Dynasty a household name. Although this statue head is not from the tomb, so familiar is the face of the “boy king” that one immediately recognizes his sculpted portrait, even if (as here) it lacks an archaeological context and an identifying inscription. Originally, the king’s face was painted red with the eyes outlined in black; the headdress was striped alternately blue and yellow, same as the famous gold mask found in the king’s tomb.

🔸Tutankhamun (𓇋𓏠𓈖𓏏𓅱𓏏𓋹𓋾𓉺𓇑) “twt-ˁnḫ-ı͗mn~hq3-ı͗wnw-šm3ı͗” ‘The Living Image of Amun, Ruler of Southern Iwnw (Heliopolis)’

Period: New Kingdom, Dynasty 18, Reign of Tutankhamun (1336-1327 BC)
Dimensions: Height x width: 29.6 x 26.5 cm
(11 5/8 x 10 7/16 in.)
Medium: Sandstone
Catalogue no. 11.1533

𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬
👉EgyptologyLessons 𓏟𓀁🇨🇦 𓋹𓊽𓋴𓆖𓎛𓇳𓎛𓏇𓇳𓏤
_______________ˁnḫ ḏd s ḏ.t nḥḥ mı͗ rˁ
‘Life, Stability, and Health Forever and
Eternity like Ra’
𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁

The Words of a Cattle Driver

🔹This painting is from the tomb chapel of Nebamen 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓎟𓀽 “nb-ı͗mn” is a fragment of polychrome tomb-painting divided into two registers. In the upper register a herd of cattle is brought to Nebamen; in front of the cattle are herdsmen who bow down to a standing scribe who records the produce. In the lower register a man drives cattle towards some seated scribes. Two horizontal registers of hieroglyphs survive above. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

🔸Translation: “Come on! Move off! Don’t speak in front of this favoured one (Nebamen). People who talk are his horror! He does what is true; he will not pass over any complaint. Spread out! Quietly and truly! He will not just do the bidding of people - he knows every occasion, so does the Scribe and Counter of Grain of [Amun] Neb[amen]!

🔸Fun Fact: In the lower register inscription, the name of the god Amun/Amen has been removed, presumably as part of Akhenaten’s reforms when monuments had the divine names of the old regime erased (📸 4-5). The tomb chapel must thus have been accessible during his reign.

Period: 18th dynasty (1350 BC)
Dimension:
Height - 58.50 centimetres (max)
Width - 97 centimetres (painting only)
Width - 106 centimetres (whole fragment)
Materials: Painted plaster
Location: British Museum British Museum
Museum number: EA37976
Description: https://www.britishmuseum.org/
Epigraphic drawing: EgyptologyLessons 𓏟𓀁🇨🇦
Nebamun reconstructed name: https://www.open.edu/

𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬
👉EgyptologyLessons 𓏟𓀁🇨🇦 𓋹𓊽𓋴𓆖𓎛𓇳𓎛𓏇𓇳𓏤
_______________ˁnḫ ḏd s ḏ.t nḥḥ mı͗ rˁ
‘Life, Stability, and Health Forever and
Eternity like Ra’
𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁

Colossal statue of King Menkaura

🔹Menkaura (called Mycerinus by the Grecks) built the third and smallest pyramid at Giza. This statue, found in a temple at its base, is the largest sculpture known from Egypt’s Old Kingdom. The royal headdress (or nemes) Menkaura wears remained an icon of kingship in Egypt for the next 2,500 years. The cobra at his brow, called a uraeus, magically protected him from his enemies by wrapping itself around the royal brow and spitting its poisonous venom at the king’s enemies. Menkaura’s long straight beard, another symbol of royalty, was attached by means of a strap that was once painted on the statue’s head. In statues, kings (and noblemen) often hold implements, including scepters, walking sticks, or document cases; Menkaura holds a folded cloth.

🔹The king’s expression is one of regal composure and supreme control. With its slightly bulging eyes, bulbous nose, painted moustache (now barely visible), set mouth with pouting lower lip and firm chin, the face is distinctive, but whether or not it represents a true portrait of Menkaura can never be known. This is the face of a mature adult, although neither face nor body displays any signs of aging. It has often been remarked that the head is unusually small for the king’s body.

🔹This statue was broken up in antiquity, and archaeologists found the head and knees in different rooms. The remainder of the statue is a plaster reconstruction from the 1920s by an artist from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Many people have commented on the small size of the head compared to the shoulders. This discrepancy disappears when the statue is seen from below, as it would have been in its original location.

Location: Egypt (Giza, pyramid temple of Menkaura)
Period: Old Kingdom, Dynasty 4, reign of Menkaura, (2490-2472 BC).
Dimensions: Overall: 243.8 x 115.6 x 83.8 cm (96 x 45 1/2 x 33 in.).
Weight: approximately 5,000 lbs as restored.
Medium: Travertine (Egyptian alabaster)
Catalogue no: 09.204

𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬
👉EgyptologyLessons 𓏟𓀁🇨🇦 𓋹𓊽𓋴𓆖𓎛𓇳𓎛𓏇𓇳𓏤
𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁

Seal of Office

Djedkare Isesi (known in Greek as Tancheres) was a pharaoh, the eighth and penultimate ruler of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt in the late 25th century to mid-24th century BC, during the Old Kingdom. Djedkare succeeded Menkauhor Kaiu and was in turn succeeded by Unas. His relationship to both of these pharaohs remain uncertain, although it is often conjectured that Unas was Djedkare's son, owing to the smooth transition between the two pharaohs.

Date: Old Kingdom, Dynasty 5, Reign of Djedkara Isesi (2381-2353 BC) Reportedly found in northwestern Anatolia
Medium: Gold
Provenance: Centennial Gift of Landon T. Clay, 1968
Catalogue no. 68.115

𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬
👉 𓋹𓊽𓋴𓆖𓎛𓇳𓎛𓏇𓇳𓏤
_______________ˁnḫ ḏd s ḏ.t nḥḥ mı͗ rˁ
‘Life, Stability, and Health Forever and
Eternity like Ra’
𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁



Date: Old Kingdom, Dynasty 5, Reign of Djedkara Isesi (2381-2353 BC) Reportedly found in northwestern Anatolia
Medium: Gold
Provenance: Centennial Gift of Landon T. Clay, 1968
Catalogue no. 68.115

𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬𓋹𓎬
👉EgyptologyLessons 𓏟𓀁🇨🇦 𓋹𓊽𓋴𓆖𓎛𓇳𓎛𓏇𓇳𓏤
_______________ˁnḫ ḏd s ḏ.t nḥḥ mı͗ rˁ
‘Life, Stability, and Health Forever and
Eternity like Ra’
𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁𓊁