The Gareden of the Egyptian Museum
The real discovery of the pharonic Egypt happened at the end of the 18 century specifically during Napoleon Bonabart expedition and that was due to the discovery of the Rosetta stone which helped in knowing much information about for Egypt. By the discovery of the Rosetta stone, Egyptologists from all over the world arrived Egypt in order to excavate about the pharonic monuments, among those who arrived for the purpose of excavation was Mariette bacha, he was interested in Egyptology and for that reason he thought in building a place to house all the collection excavated either by himself or by any one of other Egyptologists.
The Egyptian museum in Cairo was built to house the collection of monuments and masterpieces of the pre-dynastic period till the graeco-roman period mariette did not live long to see the fruit of his work, which was completed by his assistant Maspero who was the first director of the museum .The Egyptian museum is located in one of the main square of Egypt called al Tahrir square it was built on square ground plan and it's façade is having the graeco roman style, looking to the façade three figures will attract you, these figures belong to goddess Hathor who was located in the middle and goddess Isis who was located on both sides. They are dressed in graeco-roman style, despite the fact that they were Egyptians that indicates the influence between the two civilizations.
Goddess Hathor,(ht hr), meaning the house of the god hours,she was given that because she housed hours when his mother Isis was looking for his father osiris according to the ancient Egyptian legend .Hathor was represented in three different forms she was represented by the sundisk upon her head flanked by the two horns :
1- Once she was represented with the face of a lady that is she is represented like a lady having the solardisk in between two horns. 2-The second representation of the goddess is like a cow.
3-The third representation is like a lady but have the face of the cow. Goddess hathor was considered as the goddess of joy, love, beauty and motherhood in ancient Egypt, she also held many titles among which is "the lady of sycamore" her main emblem was the sistrum, as it makes the sound of the riefs of the marches of delta, the real location of Hathor.
To the right and the left sides of goddess hathor are two figures for the goddess Isis who was considered together with her husband as element of kindness on earth and who was consider as the second member of the triad
The Libyan Palette
The Libyan palette is also known as Tehenu palette.
The Libyan palette is the surviving lower portion of a stone cosmetic palette
it is bearing carved decoration and hieroglyphic writing.
It dates from the Naqada III or Protodynastic Period of Egypt .3200 to 3000 BC
It was found at Abydos .
The palette is decorated with intricate carvings .
It is believed to have been used for grinding and mixing cosmetics or pigments.
The palette is named after the Libyan people, who were a group of ancient North African tribes .
they had interactions with ancient Egypt.
On one side, there is a scene of walking lines of animals within registers.
Below these animals, an orchard with olive trees is depicted, and the hieroglyphic inscription thnw or tjehenw (usually transcribed as tehenu), most likely a toponym of Western Nile Delta or, according to most scholars, what was later associated with Libya.
On the reverse side of the palette we see the square shapes of seven fortresses.
Above each is a symbol of a god or goddess, such as a hawk, lioness, and scorpion; all are symbols of power and kingship, and each holds a hoe, performing the foundation ceremony for the town or fortress.
Cosmetic palettes were commonly used in predynastic Egypt. These palettes were flat, often made of stone or other materials, and were used for grinding and mixing cosmetics or pigments. They typically had a shallow depression or well in the center where the cosmetics would be ground with a pestle or spatula.
The designs and decorations on these palettes varied, showcasing intricate carvings and motifs that reflected the artistic styles of the time. These cosmetic palettes held cultural and symbolic significance in ancient Egyptian society and were often buried as grave goods with the deceased.
Khasekhemwy statue
The statue of last king of the second dynasty, Khasekhemwy,
Khasekhem, means the appearance of one power,
After he defeated the northerners and suppressed their revolt and united the two lands, his name became Khasekhemwy, means the appearance of the two powers.
He ruled for about 22 years and he constructed many temples at El-Kab, Abydos and Hierakonopolis. Also his tomb is at Abydos.
This statue is made out of green schist, was found in the temple of Hierakonopolis by Quibell in 1898.
The statue dates back to 2676-2649 BC,
- The statue represents the king seating on low back throne. Unfortunately, half part of the face and the head are broken.
-He is wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt. Also, he is wearing the Hib Sid garment which envelopes the body leaving parts of the hands and legs free.
-The Hib Sid was an important festival during which the king was rejuvenated and his right to rule confirmed.
-The base is decorated with fallen enemies, (a total of 47,209, according to the accompanying hieroglyphs). This most likely reflects a period of civil war that ended when Khasekhem (later Khasekhemui) reunited the country.
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Although the statue was made for a king, but there are some deformations like:
- The ear exposed in very exaggerating way,
-The high projection in the checkbone.
-The garment of the Hib Sid was made out in bad way. It looks as if it was made out of thick material like the wool although it is supposed to be made out of soft material like linen.
- These deformations on the statue are caused by the artist because he wasn't skillful enough and has limited experience. He was making his first steps in the art of making statues.
Heb Sed Vase
Heb Sed Vase
This alabaster vase is connected to the Heb Sed festival, an important event where the king would repeat his coronation rituals. During this festival, the king sat on the thrones of Upper and Lower Egypt, which are symbolized at the base of the vase’s handle.
These thrones were placed within a pavilion on a stepped platform, representing the primeval mound of creation in ancient Egyptian beliefs.
Below this scene, there’s a rectangle where a royal name would have been inscribed, supported by the god Heh, who symbolized eternity and millions of years. At the top of the vase’s handles, a scarab beetle, a symbol of rebirth, is depicted. These details ensured the king’s perpetual resurrection and his eternal rule.
The vase, dating from the Old Kingdom around 2686-2649 BC, was found in the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara and is now housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The vase is from the reign of Djoser, the second king of the 3rd Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Djoser was known for building the earliest major stone structure in Egypt, the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. His reign, lasting around 19 years, was a time of technological advances in stone architecture.
The Heb Sed festival was celebrated after a ruler had held the throne for 30 years and then every 3 to 4 years afterward. It was meant to rejuvenate the king’s strength and vitality while celebrating his continued reign.
The vase is from the reign of Djoser, the second king of the 3rd Dynasty of ancient Egypt. Djoser was known for building the earliest major stone structure in Egypt, the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. His reign, lasting around 19 years, was a time of technological advances in stone architecture.
The vase, dating from the Old Kingdom around 2686-2649 BC, was found in the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara and is now housed in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
The statue of Htp.di f
The statue of Htp.di.f
The statue of Htp.di.f is considered an example for earliest statuary in ancient Egypt. So we can say here that the art here was at a very early phase in the private statues.
Here the statue is represented in a kneeling position placing his arms on his laps, a praying attitude, may be because he was a priest. In ancient Egypt there were four main kinds of positions standing, sitting, squatting (crossed legs) and kneeling there were found representing the other positions but were positions, {of course workers in ancient Egypt during their workers}. As mentioned above that this statue belongs to a priest. Priest in ancient Egypt considered as an intermediate person between the of religion, he was man supreme untouched gods and the normal human-beings or the ordinary people. The priest reached this connection the supreme untouched gods through the rituals and hymns that were recited in the temple. We had five kinds of priests in ancient Egypt.
1) The high priest: he was responsible for all the temples' services, their revenues and their internal affairs
2) Lector priest : he was responsible for hymns and ritual recited in festivals.
3) waepriest: he was responsible for purification.
4) Daily life priest.
5) Funerary priest.
So we can conclude that the priests in ancient Egypt formed a powerful religious party in the country they didn't influence religious life only, but social life as well as political life. They had influence over the country in an indirect way they control the power of the king by two ways:
1) By consolidating the power of the king through some beliefs that the priests themselves had invented such as; the sacred marriage and the divine birth.
2)By weakening the power of the king and once the king became weak the priest can take over the throne immediately.
The statue infront of us was found at Memphis, Meit Rahina nowadays, we have two opinions concerning the date of the statue.
1) The 1st opinion dated the statue back to the end of 3rd dynasty because of the raised relief techniques used for the hieroglyphs which refers to that time.
2) The 2nd opinion dated the statue to the end of 2nd dynasty, archaic period, the thing that is proved by the names that were found at the back of the right shoulder of the statue and which carries the names of the first three kings of the 2nd dynasty.
The statue is made out of pink granite quarried from Aswan, he is represented wearing a curly hair-wig covering his ears and reaching his shoulders as if the artist was thinking of supporting the neck, which is considered the weakest part in the body, in this way.
We can see that the artist wasn't skilful enough in representing the details of the body, the facial features of the statue especially if compared with statues of the kings, like the statue of Khasekhem which was carved nearly at the same time. Looking to thefacial features you will conclude that they proportion as the body is very small in comparison to the head, the details of the body, the waste, the chest, the muscles aren't clear. The knees of the statue are represented flat with no details and when looking to the neck you are going to have an impression that three is no neck.
His name is htp di.f, which means, he gives peace or joy, is written under his left knee. At the back of the statue at the right shoulder there are three serkh for three kings of the 2nd dynasty each serkh is surmounted by the falcon god Horus, the serkhes belong to
Htp shmwy: means the two powers are in peace.
Ra neb: means: means who belongs to the god. the lord of Ra.
Ni nethr:: means who belongs to the god.
• Many scholars believed that hetp di.f served as a priest during the reign of those kings for that reason their names are existed.
Preceding the serkh we have a representation of a phoniex above a benben symbolizing the eternal resurrection.
One of the titles of htp di.f was "Great of uncense in the red house".
Uninscribed libation tables with lion heads
These two altars were found at saqqara necropolis in the subterranean chamber of the tomb, but this tomb was found underneath the terrace erected by king djeser (zoser) north of his mortuary temple or may be underneath the subterranean galleries of the step pyramid, another theory said that they were brought from the solar temple of sahure at Abu sir (30 or 35 km south of Cairo), but most probably that they are dating either to the late second or early third dynasty. When they were found they considered them as slaughtering tables for birds as they are small size.
Or may be used for slaughtering animals, which were brought as a kind of sacrifice in front of the king or the deceased so when they start to slaughter the birds or the animals their blood will be collected at the small vase (container) at the back. As he blood could not be allowed to desecrate at holy place like the temple.
Other scholars say that may be these two altars are just libation tables. Another theory mentioned that they were two sacrificial altars responsible for the main process of embalming, as after the process of mummification, the viscera deceased were cleaned on this table and the blood will be collected in the small vase and may be that the priests used to drink this blood to make them powerful. As we know that they used to get out all the organs of the body (liver-stomach-intestine and lungs) except the heart as they thought that the heart was the main source of thinking not the brain. Also they left the heart for the judgment of Osiris, so these 2 altars are either four libation table as Mariette originally believed or sacrificial of slaughtering birds and animals.
Description:
These altars are made out of alabaster which was brought from Hatnub (a province near el menia) each one consists of a tray, supported by two lions. Then their tails slop over a vase or certain bowl.
We realize here that the tray is slightly sloping down towards the vase. This proves that the blood used to be collected in this vase.
The altar in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo
The statue of king Zoser Djoser.
Zoser was considered the founder of the 3rd dynasty and the old kingdom. He was the legitimate son of king ha shm wy and queen nỉ maat h3b. We are not sure of the exact duration of Zoser's reign; some said that he reigned for 19 years. His Hours name was netry ht or Iry het netry which means he who belongs to the divine body, but for the name Zoser which he is very famous for nova days, there are two theories 1-.The name Zoser didn't exist during his life time and the only name that existed the name Zoser appeared during the middle kingdom. (12th were Ntry ht and dynasty)
2- The name Zoser was given to him during his life time, but was rarely used and the most famous name that was used was ntry ht or Iry ht ntry and the name Zoser began to be used during the old kingdom.
Zoser built for himself two tombs, a mastaba at beit Khallaf and a funerary complex at Saqqara which includes his step pyramid. The importance of the stone funerary complex at Saqqara is due to two reasons
1-The step pyramid is considered to be the first true standing pyramid built of stone and that's why they attributed to Imhotep, who was responsible for that building, the title of "the inventor of the art of building in stone"
2- The architectural elements inside this complex were connected with the hb sd which gives us a lot of information about this festival. Also these architectural elements didn't appear after or before this period.
The statue:
It is made out of limestone known in hieroglyphics as in hieroglyphics as inr hd meaning the white stone. Limestone was quarried from Tura, El Masara and Mokatam hills. This kind of stone has many advantages; first of all it is a soft stone very easy to be quarried and shaped not difficult as granite or alabaster. Secondly, it gets harder when it is exposed to air as it reacts chemically with the air. The statue was covered with plaster and then painted; now only remains of colures are shown here.
Statuette of Cheops at
the Egyptian Museum
This statuette belongs to King Cheops the owner of the great pyramid at Giza plateau. It is made out of ivory, it is about 7.5 cm in height, it was discovered in 1903 by sir Flinders Petrie in the temple of Khenti Imnti at Abydos. This statuette is the only statue of Cheops that had come to light. Although we all know that Cheops dates back to the 4th dynasty, but we have some confusions concerning the dating of the statuette. Petrie the excavator of the statuette immediately dated the statuette to the 4th dynasty after the name inscribed on the throne, but Dr. Zahi Hawass disagreed with the dating as he believes that this statuette dates back to the 26th dynasty, ie was carved on the 26th dynasty on the basis of different archaeological evidence.
The artistic conventions
After, Dr. Zahi Hawass, made a comparison between the statuette and other examples of art work that dates back to the 4th dynasty like that of Mycerinus which is made out of ivory and which is closest in type to the statuette of Cheops he came out to two main points.
1) The imagine of Khufu (Cheops) shows no sign of careful work man ship, so he said that maybe it is a work of artisan rather than an artist.
2) In contrast, the statue of Mycerinus is finely craved although the head is missed, but concerning the details of the body they were well done together with kilt.
And since there only 38 years between the reign of Cheops and Mycerinus, so it isn't logic to say that the artist style has been changed in such a short time.
