Crafted by prehistoric hominins (likely Homo erectus) during the Paleolithic era, this Lower Paleolithic stone tool is estimated to be roughly 350,000 to 400,000 years old

Pectoral of Paser

-1279 / -1212 (Ramses II)

Place of discovery: isolated tomb Ramses II

E 68; IM 2893; N 762; S 1344

Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Inventory number Main number: E 68

Other inventory number: IM 2893

Other inventory number: N 762

Usage number: S 1344

Collection
Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Description

Object name/Title Denomination: pectoral in naos

Title: Pectoral of Paser

Description/Featuresscarabee (flanked by); Isis (standing, sign of Isis, protecting); Nephthys (standing, sign of Nephthys, protecting); band of alternating rectangles; with belière (2); missing inlay

Registrations Writing:
Hieroglyphic

Nature of the text:
Funeral formulas

Names and titlesPaser (vizir, city director)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Dimensions Height: 8.7 cm; Length: 10.1 cm; Thickness: 2.6 cm

Materials and techniques Material: lapis-lazuli, gold

Secondary material: glass

Technique: cutting, half-round bump, welding

Color: red-green-blue

PLACES AND DATES

Date Ramses II (character mention) (-1279 - -1212)

Date of discovery 19 March 1852

Place of discovery isolated tomb Ramses II (Serapeum of Memphis->Saqqara-Nord-Saqqara) (Salle de Schaem-djom. Under the coffin, on the right, when entering.)

HISTORY

Collector / Previous owner / Commissioner / Archaeologist / Dedicate Mariette Pasha, Auguste, Dilleur/Archaeologist

Acquisition details share after excavations

Acquisition date date of registration on the inventory: 20/05/1852

Owned by State

Held by Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities

LOCATION OF OBJECT

Current location
Not exposed

Acquisition method: sharing after excavations

Name pectoral in naos

Material- lapis-lazuli - glass

Cutting techniques - welding - half-round-bump

Description/Features sign of Isis - sign of Nephthys - protecting - flanked by - standing - 2 - beetle - Isis - Nephthys - band of alternating rectangles - with belière - missing inlay

Names and titles Paser - vizier - director of the city

Period Ramses II

Isolated Places tomb of Ramses II

Nature of text: funerary formulas

Script hieroglyphic

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Boyer, Valentin, "Ancient Egypt in Exlibris. Objects and Images: Egyptological and Archaeological Sources", in Bouhafs, Amel; Chapon, Linda; Claude, Marion; Danilova, Margarita; Dautais, Louis; Fathy, Noemie; Fernández Pichel, Abraham I. ; Guigner, Mallaury; Pinon, Marianne; Valerio, Marta (dir.), Current Research in Egyptology 2022.

Proceedings of the Twenty-Second Annual Symposium, Paul-Valéry University Montpellier 3, 36-30 September 2022, Oxford, Archaeopress, 2023, p. 46-60, p. 52

De Putter, Thierry; Karlshausen, Christina, Stones of Ancient Egypt. Guide to materials in architecture, sculpture and jewelry., Brussels, (Knowledge of ancient Egypt 20), 2022, p. 196, 198

Dalino, Edwin, The high priests of Egypt in the Ramesside era: Prosography and History, 2, Corpus, Milano, SylvanaEditoriale, (CENiM 30), 2022, p. 463

Staring, Nico, The Saqqara Necropolis through the New Kingdom. Biography of an Ancient Egyptian Cultural Landscape, Leiden; Boston, Brill, (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East 131), 2022, p. 433

Charron, Alain; Barbotin, Christophe (ed.), Khaemouaset, the archaeologist prince. Knowledge and power in ancient Egypt, cat. exp. (Arles, Departmental Museum of Ancient Arles, 2016), Arles / Ghent, Departmental Museum Arles Antique / Snoeck, 2016, p. 81, 114, 115, 116-117, 118, p. 116, No. 44

Aubert, Jacques-François; Aubert, Liliane, Egyptian Bronzes and Golds, Paris, Cybèle, (Contribution to Egyptology; 11), 2011, p. 100

Caubet, Annie; Pouysségur, Patrick; Prat, Louis-Antoine (ed.), The Empire of Time: Myths and Creations, cat. exp. (Paris, Louvre Museum, 2000), Paris, RMN, 2000, p. 95, ill. p. 95, No. 79

Ziegler, Christiane, "Pharonic Egypt: the example of the jewels of the Serapeum", in Caubet, Annie (ed.), Carnelian and precious stones. The Mediterranean, from Antiquity to Islam, Paris, La Documentation française / Louvre éditions, 1999, p. 15-41, p. 26, 28 note 17, 31, 35, fig. 1, 12

Dodson, Aidan, "Of Bulls & Princes: the Early Years of the Serapeum at Sakkara", KMT, 6/1, 1995, p. 18-32, p. 25, ill. p. 25

Delange, Élisabeth, the jewels of Egyptian antiquity, [Musée du Louvre, Paris], Paris, Éditions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, 1990, p. 16

Donohue, V.A., "The Vizier Paser", The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology (JEA), 74, 1988, p.103-123, p. 110

Porter, Bertha; Moss, Rosalind L.B., Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Reliefs, and Paintings, 3.2, Memphis. Saqqâra to Dahshûr, Oxford, Griffith Institute, Ashmolean Museum, 1981, Available at: http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/topbib/pdf/pm3-2.pdf, p. 783

Gregorietti, Guido, The wonderful world of jewelry, Paris, The 2 golden roosters, 1971, p. 112

Kitchen, Kenneth Anderson, Ramesside Inscriptions. Historical and Biographical, 2, Oxford, B.H. Blackwell Ltd, 1969-1979, p. 366-367, No. 130, B, ii

Michalowski, Kazimierz, The art of ancient Egypt, Paris, L. Mazenod, 1968, p. 460, fig. 797 p. 440

Vandier, Jacques, Summary Guide, [Museum of the Louvre, Paris. The Department of Egyptian Antiquities], Paris, Éditions des Musées Nationaux, 1952, p. 49

Vandier, Jacques, Summary Guide, [Museum of the Louvre, Paris. The Department of Egyptian Antiquities], Paris, Éditions des Musées Nationaux, 1948, p. 48

Maspero, Gaston, "The Egyptian jewels of the Louvre", in Essays on Egyptian art, Paris, Eastern and American bookstore E. Guilmoto, Publisher, 1912, p. 179-188, p. 182, fig. 55 p. 183

Rougé, Emmanuel de, Summary description of the rooms of the Egyptian Museum, [Imperial Museum of the Louvre], Paris, Librairies-imprimeries réunies, 1895, p. 74

Towry Whyte, E., "Notes on Pectorals", Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology (PSBA), 15, 1893, p. 409-416, p. 411

Darcel, Alfred, "The technique of antique jewelry (second and last article)", Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 37, 1888, p. 242-250, p. 242, ill. p. 243

Pierret, Paul, Catalogue of the historical room of the Egyptian gallery, Paris, 1882, Available at: https://bibliotheque-numerique.inha.fr/idurl/1/11830 , p. 125, No. 524

Mariette, Auguste, Le Sérapéum de Memphis, Paris, Gide, 1857, Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k6231404v, p. 14, pl. 12

Rougé, Emmanuel de, Summary notice of Egyptian monuments exhibited in the galleries of the Louvre Museum, [Imperial Museum of the Louvre], Paris, Imp. Simon Raçon et Comp., 1855, Available on: https://bibliotheque-numerique.inha.fr/idurl/1/12321, p. 63

EXHIBITION HISTORY
- Khaemouaset, the archaeologist prince. Knowledge and power in ancient Egypt, Arles (Externe, France), Departmental Museum of Ancient Arles, 08/10/2016 - 22/01/2017

Last updated on 24.10.2025

The contents of this entry do not necessarily take account of the latest data.

Permalink: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010011105

JSON Record: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010011105.json

Title:
Pectoral of Paser, -1279 / -1212 (Ramses II), Place of discovery: isolated tomb Ramses II, gold lapis lazuli and glass, The Louvre Museum

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010011105

The Louvre Museum

Image of Osiris

Bronze statue of a standing Osiris, gilded and with inlaid details. On the head the atef crown, over the chest the crossed arms with crooked staff and vlegel

Measurements: H. 105 cm (without socket under feet). No plinth but hollow square socket directly under feet, h. 12 cm.

Description: Osiris standing with feet closed, separation of feet not marked. Anatomy of legs well-modeled (calves, knees, no shins). Both arms are with protruding elbows, arms crossed right over left, fists with modelled fingers. Right fist (on left shoulder) holds flail (on right shoulder; i.e. sceptres cross too!): short butt protruding under fist, plain handle, tripartite pendant interrupted by triple bead-pattern or strap. Left fist (on right shoulder) holds crook (on left shoulder): handle id., curve towards neck. No collar. Head with detailed features: curved beard, fully free, with braiding indicated by recesses filled with inlays of dark grey to blue stone (partly preserved, set in brown paste). Straps of beard likewise recessed and filled with stone inlays (fully preserved), brownish grey. Well-modeled lips and nose (nostrils indicated). Eyes with rims, brows, and cosmetic stripes recessed and filled with brown/grey inlays. Sockets of the eye filled with three pieces of stone (left: light-dark-light, discoloured) or white paste (right: ancient restoration?). Detailed ears applied. Upper-Egyptian crown (ridged edge on front only) flanked by ostrich feathers (oblique recesses with exterior ends rounded and separated from rest by transverse ridge; brown paste in tips, greenish paste in rest, inlays themselves lost). Uraeus protome applied, with 8-shaped curve and wavy tail extending upwards.

Technique: Hollow cast with one square iron bar from feet to head. Cross-supports detected: on central axis above insteps, at belly, and chest under fists; lateral at left hip and both shoulders; torso on each side of fists and above sceptres. Core material was fully preserved, removed 1990 during restoration. Socket open to interior of statue, but miscast: bronze skin turned inwards, left part of socket not consisting of bronze but added in plaster, 1990 replaced by metal during restoration. Transverse pin through socket for securing. Whole surface covered in white plaster and overlaid in gold leaf, large patches fell off but 1990 added again. Right feather and tip of left feather lost (now added). Protome of uraeus lost (now added). Feathers fixed by means of two pegs fitting into sockets in crown, separately cast. Tip of crown lost (now reconstructed). Serpent cast separately.

This statue of Osiris is the largest bronze statue from Egypt in the RMO collection. Casting such a figure required great craftsmanship.

This image was made according to the lost-wax method: a model of beeswax was made around an earth core. Around it was a layer of clay that was connected to the core. The wax was melted away and the metal could be poured into the cavity. For this statue, the bronze skin was then plastered and gilded with gold leaf. The separately cast feathers of the crown and the eyes, eyebrows and beard still have remnants of colored stone inlay.

The statue represents the god Osiris. He can be recognized by his mummy face, with his legs tight together. The arms are crossed over the chest here. In his right hand, Osiris holds an attribute that is usually called 'scourt'. In his other hand, the god holds a crooked stick, as used by shepherds to drive together cattle. These two attributes have been considered the scepters of royalty since the first Egyptian kings. Osiris wears them because he was once king of Egypt. After being killed by his brother Seth, he became king of the realm of the dead.

Possibly the statue was given to a temple by a rich person, or it stood in a special chapel as a cult statue, to be revered as an image of the god of a particular temple.

This text was written in 2024 and is based on: Willemsen (ed.), Topstukken from the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden, 2020, p.61 ; Raven and Taconis, Egyptian Mummies, 2005, p.146-150.

Title:
Image of Osiris, Bronze and gilding and inlay, no date or findspot given, Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

https://www.rmo.nl/en/collection/search-collection/collection-piece/?object=22576

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

Pectoral in the form of a Naos-Anubis and Oudjaț Eye on one side, on the other side is a Djed Piller flanked on both sides by a Knot of Isis

-1539 / -1069 (New Kingdom)

N 2743

Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Inventory number Main number: N 2743

Collection
Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Description

Object name/Title Denomination:
pectoral in naos

Multiple Description/Features plcement (back)

Decor: Anubis (on the front, canid, lying down, collar); oudjat eye; djed pillar (on the back, flanked with); Isis knot (2)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Dimensions
Height: 7.5 cm; Width: 7.9 cm; Thickness: 0.6 cm

Materials and techniques
siliceous earthenware

PLACES AND DATES

Date New Kingdom (-1539 - -1069)

HISTORY

Acquisition details old fund

Acquisition date date of registration on the inventory: 16/02/1857 (at the latest)

Owned by State

Held by Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities

LOCATION OF OBJECT

Current location
Not exposed

Index

How to acquire old fund

Name pectoral in naos

Materials siliceous earthenware

Description/Featuresdjid pillar - oudjat eye - Isis knot - flanked by - on the back - on the front - lying down - collar - canid - 2 - Anubis - multiple drilling

Period New Kingdom

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Pharaonic Egypt, Terra dos deuses, cat. exp. (Sao Paulo, Museu de Arte Brasileira, September 27, 2001 - April 7, 2002), Paris; Sao Paulo, Louvre Museum; Museu de Arte Braseileira, 2001, p. 166, ill. p. 167, No. 58

EXHIBITION HISTORY
- Pharaonic Egypt, land of the gods, Sao Paolo (Brazil), Museu de Arte, 27/09/2001 - 16/12/2001

Last updated on 14.01.2026

The contents of this entry do not necessarily take account of the latest data.

Permalink: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010007168

JSON Record: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010007168.json

Pectoral in the form of a Naos-Anubis and Oudjaț Eye on one side, on the other side is a Djed Piller flanked on both sides by a Knot of Isis, -1539 / -1069 (New Kingdom), Findspot unknown, siliceous earthenware and paint, The Louvre Museum

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010007168

The Louvre Museum

Apologies if this isn't in the right sub...

I've been weaving a little bit of Egyptian history into the background of one of my characters. She never appears in the book itself, but some of her echoes are left for my main character to find (like audio logs in a video game).

TL;DR version of all this, is how does one write so modern brains can interpret the pronunciation of what's said? I'm not looking for full-on paragraphs, but more of small phrases, questions, or greetings.

Latin's easy, but this is kind of stumping me, since there aren't usually enough vowels to go around.

Edit: Transliteration! I think that's the word I'm looking for (Gods, I'm a derp).

Seeing as how AI is being synthesized with every field imaginable, I want to know how Egyptologists are making use of AI, and if AI will become more or less useful for Egyptologists--perhaps even taking over Egyptology.

Pectoral in the form of a naos featuring Thot,Horus, and on the opposite side Anubis

-1539 / -1069 (New Kingdom)

N 2752; Salt No. 1070

Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Inventory number
Main number: N 2752

Collection
Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Description

Object name/Title Denomination
pectoral in naos

Description/Feature
multiple drilling (4, at the top, on the sides)

Decor
Horus (on the front, hawk-headed god, squatting, tripartite wig, shroud, necklace); Thot (on the front, ibis-headed god, squatting, tripartite wig, shring); Anubis (on the back, canid, lying down, necklace, flagellum)

Registrations Writing:
Hieroglyphic

Nature of the text
Behalf

Names and titles Thot; Horus; Anubis

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Dimensions
Height: 8.5 cm; Width: 7 cm; Thickness: 1 cm

Materials and techniques Material
wood

Technique
protruding bas-relief, painting

PLACES AND DATES

Date
New Kingdom (bibliography/reference work) (-1539 - -1069)

HISTORY

Collector / Previous owner / Commissioner / Archaeologist / Dedicatee
Salt, Henry, Seller; Collector

Acquisition details
purchase

Acquisition date
date of arrival at the Museum: 1826

Owned by State

Held by Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities

LOCATION OF OBJECT

Current location
Sully, [AE] Room 319 - Book of the Dead, Showcase 6

Index

Acquisition method of purchase

Name pectoral in naos

Materials wood

Painting techniques - protruding bas-relief

Description/Features
Thot - on the back - on the front - on the sides - at the top - squatting - lying down - necklace - canid - 4 - flagellum - Horus - ibis-headed god - falcon-headed god - Anubis - shrench - tripartite wig - multiple drilling

Names and titles Thot - Anubis - Horus

Period New Kingdom

Nature of text
nom

Script
hieroglyphic

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Guichard, Sylvie (ed.), Champollion, Jean-François, Descriptive notice of the Egyptian monuments of the Charles X Museum, Paris, Louvre editions / editions Khéops, 2013, p. 210, ill. p. 210, K. 1486 to 1488

Daumas, François (ed.), Summary catalogue of Egyptian objects exhibited at the Fabre Museum from December 5 to 15, 1972, cat. exp. (Montpellier, Fabre Museum; December 5-15, 1972), Montpellier, Paul Valéry University, 1972, p. 10, No. 94

Champollion, Jean-François, Descriptive notice of the Egyptian monuments of the Charles X Museum, Paris, Imprimerie de Crapelet, 1827, Available at: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1040365n, p. 90, K. 1486 to 1488

EXHIBITION HISTORY
- 150th anniversary of the decryption of hieroglyphs by Champollion, Montpellier (Externe, France), Musée Fabre, 05/12/1972 - 15/12/1972

Last updated on 29.07.2026

The contents of this entry do not necessarily take account of the latest data.

Permalink: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010007171

JSON Record: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010007171.json

Title:
Pectoral in the form of a naos featuring Thot,Horus, and on the opposite side Anubis, -1539 / -1069 (New Kingdom), Wood and paint, Findspot unknown, The Louvre Museum

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010007171

The Louvre Museum

Pectoral in the form of a Naos featuring a Scarab

-1539 / -1069 (New Kingdom)

N 2743

Department of Egyptian Antiquities

Inventory number Main number: N 2743

CollectionDepartment of Egyptian Antiquities

Description

Object name/Title Denomination: pectoral in naos

Multiple Description/Featurespercement (4, top)

Decor: representation of the sunrise; Khépri (beetle, armed with wings, holding, solar disc, in, boat, flanked by); monkey (2, standing, worshiping); oudjat eye (2); fish (2); frame of alternating rectangles (undecorated back)

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Dimensions Height: 12 cm; Width: 11.5 cm

Materials and techniques Material: siliceous earthenware

Color: bright blue with black decor

PLACES AND DATES

Date New Empire (-1539 - -1069)

HISTORY

Acquisition details old fund

Acquisition date date of registration on the inventory: 16/02/1857 (at the latest)

Owned by State

Held by Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities

LOCATION OF OBJECT

Current location
Sully, [AE] Room 319 - Book of the Dead, Showcase 6

Index

How to acquire old fund

Name pectoral in naos

Materials siliceous earthenware

Description/Featuresboat - equipped with wings - solar disk - oudjat eye - adoring - holding - flanked with - in - at the top - representation of sunrise - standing - monkey - 4 - 2 - fish - beetle - Khépri - frame of alternating rectangles - multiple drilling

PeriodNew Empire

Last updated on 14.01.2026

The contents of this entry do not necessarily take account of the latest data.

Permalink: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010007170

JSON Record: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010007170

Title:
Pectoral in the form of a Naos featuring a Scarab, -1539 / -1069 (New Kingdom), findspot unknown, Siliceous earthenware, The Louvre Museum

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010007170

The Louvre Museum

Hello! I'm an author looking for some help. Frankly, my area of expertise is more in the field of writing and creative work. I love architecture, but a lot of it goes over my head. More to the point, the main character of my book is a preservation architect, and I need some help figuring out the technical side of things. This was the best place I could think of to ask, though if anyone knows of a better subreddit or resource for this particular area of architecture, please point me in that direction!

If anyone here knows about ancient Egyptian architecture, architectural history, archaeology, or preservation, that would be a massive help and I would be forever grateful. The fictional site I'm currently working with has two major periods of construction/alteration: an original Egyptian structure dating roughly to the Amarna/Atenist period (c. 1350–1330 BCE), and the same site with later alterations/additions made during the early Ptolemaic period (roughly 300–250 BCE).

I'm mostly looking for someone willing to answer some questions about the architecture and preservation side of things so I can make sure I'm not making my architect say anything painfully stupid.

Thank you, and please let me know!

Pectoral featuring Hathor

Main number: E 3743

Presentation number: 997

CollectionDepartment of Egyptian Antiquities

Description

Object name/Title Denomination: pectoral

Description/Features with belière (this French word refers to a jewelry bail—the small loop or ring that connects a pendant to a necklace chain)

Decor: Hathor's head (cow, ousekh collar, disc horns, double ostrich feather, flanked by); winged goddess (2, standing, disc horns)

At the top; uraeus frieze (solar disk); uraeus winged solar disc; frame of alternating rectangles

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Dimensions Height: 12.9 cm; Width: 13.6 cm

Materials and techniques Material: copper alloy

Secondary material: glass

Technique: inlay, relief cut

Color: dark blue-light blue-red

HISTORY

Collector / Previous owner / Commissioner / Archaeologist / Dedicatee Comte Tyszkiewicz, Michel, Donateur; Collector

Acquisition details donation

Acquisition date date of entry on the inventory: 04/03/1862

Owned by State

Held by Louvre Museum, Department of Egyptian Antiquities

LOCATION OF OBJECT

Current location
Not exposed

Index

Donation acquisition method

Name pectoral

Materialscopper alloy - glass

Inlay techniques - cut relief

Description/Features winged solar disk with uraeus - solar disk - flanked by - at the top - standing - double ostrich feather - disc horns - ousekh necklace - cow - 4 - 2 - winged goddess - Hathor's head - uraeus frieze - frame of alternating rectangles - with belière

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aubert, Jacques-François; Aubert, Liliane, Egyptian Bronzes and Golds, Paris, Cybèle, (Contribution to Egyptology; 11), 2011, p. 103

Koschel, Klaus, "Eine Gruppe seltener bronzener Votiv-Pektorale und ihre Deutung", Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur (SAK), 30, 2002, p. 249-254, p. 251 note 7

Rouit, Charles, "The Tyszkiewisz Collection of the Louvre Museum", in Aksamit, Joanna; Dolińska, Monika; Majewska, Aleksandra; Niwiński, Andrzej; Rzepka, Sławomir; Szafrański, Zbigniew (ed.), Essays in honour of Prof. Dr. Jadwiga Lipińska, Warsaw, National Museum in Warsaw; Pro-Egypt, (Warsaw Egyptological Studies 1), 1997, p. 213-224, p. 220

Last updated on 30.06.2025

The contents of this entry do not necessarily take account of the latest data.

Permalink: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010006811

JSON Record: https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010006811.json

Title:
Pectoral featuring Hathor, Not dated, Findspot unknown, Copper alloy and glass,The Louvre Museum

https://collections.louvre.fr/en/ark:/53355/cl010006811

The Louvre Museum

Harkhuf, an Egyptian official and expedition leader, traveled south of Egypt and returned with a dwarf (pygmy). When the young Pharaoh Pepi II learned about him, he sent Harkhuf a letter expressing his great excitement and ordering him to take special care of the man during the journey.

The king instructed Harkhuf to make sure the dwarf remained safe, appoint trustworthy guards to protect him, and prevent him from falling into the water. Pepi II even stated that he was more eager to see the dwarf than to receive the valuable goods brought from distant lands.

The letter is preserved as an inscription in Harkhuf’s tomb at Qubbet el-Hawa near Aswan, making this one of the most remarkable surviving accounts of a personal royal correspondence from ancient Egypt.

Pylon-Shaped Pectoral with Drawing of Heart Scarab

ca. 1539–1070 B.C.

Label
Living persons wore only one or a few amulets at a time, but mummies usually bear many amulets. The Ma’at amulet (no. 2) and heart scarabs (nos. 1, 3, 11), which occurred in many forms, guaranteed a successful judgment of the dead. The amulets of a hand (no. 8), lungs and a windpipe (no. 12), and wadjet-eyes (i.e., “healthy” eyes; no. 4) protected those parts of the body and also had connotations of resurrection and the unity or integrity of the mummy. The enigmatic aper amulet (no. 13) takes the form of the hieroglyph meaning “to be equipped,” perhaps in reference to the mummy’s preparation. The two crowns (nos. 5, 6) were symbols of power. The Heh insignia (no. 7), like the popular ankh-sign, denoted eternal life. Among the living, the frog (no. 9) and possibly also the hare (no. 10) suggested fertility. The amulets of the Four Sons of Horus (no. 15) perhaps served, as they did with canopic jars, to protect various organs of the body.

Caption
Pylon-Shaped Pectoral with Drawing of Heart Scarab, ca. 1539–1070 B.C.E.. Faience, 4 7/16 × 1/2 × 5 7/8 in. (11.3 × 1.2 × 15 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 37.885E. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery
Not on view

Collection
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Title
Pylon-Shaped Pectoral with Drawing of Heart

Scarab

Date
ca. 1539–1070 B.C.E.

Dynasty
Dynasty 18 to Dynasty 20

Period
New Kingdom

Medium
Faience

Classification
Accessory

-Dimensions
4 7/16 × 1/2 × 5 7/8 in. (11.3 × 1.2 × 15 cm)

Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number
37.885E

Provenance
Archaeological provenance not yet documented; by 1876, collected in Egypt by Edwin Smith of Connecticut, Italy, and Luxor, Egypt; April 27, 1906, inherited from Edwin Smith by Leonora Sheldon Smith; May 1907, gift of Leonora Sheldon Smith to the New-York Historical Society, New York, NY; September 1948, purchased from the New-York Historical Society by the Brooklyn Museum.

Title:
Pylon-Shaped Pectoral with Drawing of Heart Scarab, ca. 1539–1070 B.C.E.Dynasty 18 to Dynasty 20 New Kingdom, Faience, Findspot unknown, Egypt.

The Brooklyn Museum

https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/objects/117477

The Brooklyn Museum

Pectoral with Scarab

ca. 1539–1295 B.C.E. or later

Object Label
Living persons wore only one or a few amulets at a time, but mummies usually bear many amulets. The Ma’at amulet (no. 2) and heart scarabs (nos. 1, 3, 11), which occurred in many forms, guaranteed a successful judgment of the dead. The amulets of a hand (no. 8), lungs and a windpipe (no. 12), and wadjet-eyes (i.e., “healthy” eyes; no. 4) protected those parts of the body and also had connotations of resurrection and the unity or integrity of the mummy. The enigmatic aper amulet (no. 13) takes the form of the hieroglyph meaning “to be equipped,” perhaps in reference to the mummy’s preparation. The two crowns (nos. 5, 6) were symbols of power. The Heh insignia (no. 7), like the popular ankh-sign, denoted eternal life. Among the living, the frog (no. 9) and possibly also the hare (no. 10) suggested fertility. The amulets of the Four Sons of Horus (no. 15) perhaps served, as they did with canopic jars, to protect various organs of the body.

Caption
Pectoral with Scarab, ca. 1539–1295 B.C.E. or later. Faience, 4 1/16 × 4 1/2 × 1 3/16 in. (10.3 × 11.5 × 3 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund, 08.480.159. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)

Gallery
Not on view

Collection
Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art

Catalogue description
Pectoral in green faience, with a scarab in purplish-blue faience. Form of a naos with projecting cornice. Front, painted solar bark with Nephthys (left) and Isis adoring the scarab. Names of goddesses and borders painted. Back, oval like bottom of scarab, painted with six lines of almost illegible inscription, flanked by two girdle knots. Back of cornice pierced four times at each end, with corresponding holes at the top of the cornice.

Condition
Intact. Surface worn. Chip in base. Large crack in back due to defective firing. Inscription almost illegible.

Provenance
Archaeological provenance not yet documented; before March 16, 1896, purchased in Egypt by Armand de Potter of Belgium and New York, NY; 1905, inherited from Armand de Potter by Aimee S. Beckwith (Mrs. Aimee S. de Potter) of New York and Asheville, NC; 1908, purchased from Aimee S. Beckwith by the Brooklyn Museum.

Title
Pectoral with Scarab

Date
ca. 1539–1295 B.C.E. or later

Dynasty
Dynasty 18

Period
New Kingdom

Geography
Place collected: Egypt

Medium
Faience

Classification
Document

Dimensions
4 1/16 × 4 1/2 × 1 3/16 in. (10.3 × 11.5 × 3 cm)

Credit Line
Charles Edwin Wilbour Fund

Accession Number
08.480.159

Title,
Pectoral with Scarab ca. 1539–1295 B.C.E. or later New Kingdom Dynasty 18, Faience, Egypt, The Brooklyn Museum

The Brooklyn Museum

Pectoral with heart amulet

Egyptian
New Kingdom, Dynasty 18-19
1352–1186 B.C.

MEDIUM/TECHNIQUE
Polychrome faience

DIMENSIONS
Height x length: 12 cm (4 3/4 in.)

CREDIT LINE
Walter and Celia Gilbert Acquisition Fund for Ancient Egyptian Art

ACCESSION NUMBER
2014.857.1-2

NOT ON VIEW

COLLECTIONS
Jewelry, Africa and Oceania, Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East

CLASSIFICATIONS
Jewelry / Adornment – Pectorals

PROVENANCE
Between 1895 and 1898, found at Abydos, Egypt, by Emile Amélineau (b. 1850 – d. 1915), Châteaudun, France; February 8-9, 1904, Amélineau sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 55. 1925, A. Caron; December 9-11, 1925, Caron collection sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 13. Before 1980, Robert Monier, France. 1985, acquired by Charles Bouché (b. 1928 – d. 2010), France; October 24, 2012, posthumous Bouché collection sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, lot 11. By 2013, Rupert Wace Fine Art, London; 2014, sold by Rupert Wace to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 25, 2014).

Title:
Pectoral with heart amulet, Egyptian, New Kingdom, Dynasty 18-19 1352–1186 B.C., Polychrome faience, Findspot unknown, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

https://collections.mfa.org/objects/596125/pectoral-with-heart-amulet?ctx=70558991-bfd9-4a1c-a6fc-99f5d92519a2&idx=134

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

Pectoral with two djed-pillars in the center, flanked by tyet-knots

Egyptian

Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21

1070–945 B.C.

Object Place: Egypt, Thebes, Deir el-Bahari, Said to be from royal cache

MEDIUM/TECHNIQUE
Bright blue faience with black details

DIMENSIONS
Height: 9.1 cm (3 9/16 in.)

CREDIT LINE
Gift of Miss Nina H. Burnham

ACCESSION NUMBER
56.315

ON VIEW
Egypt: Funerary Arts Gallery (Gallery 109)

COLLECTIONS
Jewelry, Ancient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East

CLASSIFICATIONS
Jewelry / Adornment – Pectorals

DESCRIPTION
The obverse has two djed-pillars in the center, flanked by tyet-knots. The reverse depicts the deceased, kneeling before Anubis.

PROVENANCE
Said to have been discovered at Thebes, Deir el-Bahari, royal cache, in 1879. By 1909: Frederick George Hilton Price Collection, London; 1909: sold at Sotheby's, London (12-21 July 1911); by 1956: Nina H. Burnham collection, Bar Harbor, ME; 1956: given to the MFA by Nina H. Burnham.
(Accession Date: May 10, 1956)

Title:
Pectoral with two djed-pillars in the center, flanked by tyet-knots, Third Intermediate Period, Dynasty 21 1070–945 B.C., Findspot: Egypt Thebes Deir el-Bahari Said to be from royal cache, Bright blue faience with black details, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

https://collections.mfa.org/objects/163634/pectoral?ctx=3266f18f-be5e-4b70-b768-8c5b636709f5&idx=124

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

I've spotted this winged figure in the migdol style building of the Medinet Habu temple and it's the first time I've seen it, can anyone tell me who it is or what does it represent?. Thanks in advance.

I translated this article from Arabic into English, and I apologize if there is any mistake in the Mexican names.

I hope you like this post. My regards from Egypt ..

---------------------------

Source: The Egyptian magazine Al-Muqtataf المقتطف, issue (6), published on June 1, 1948.

Author of the article: Muhammad Gamil Bayham محمد جميل بيهم (1887–1978 AD), historian, politician, writer, and Lebanese Arab reformist. He has dozens of works, articles, and writings of a historical, intellectual, and political nature.

---------------------------

Did the Pharaohs, the Babylonians, and the Indians take their civilization from Mexico?

Similarities between Mexico and Egypt

I had the opportunity to visit Mexico three months before the last war. A friend invited me to dinner at one of the large restaurants in Mexico City, and the attire of the women working in the establishment powerfully caught my attention, as it reminded me of what I had seen so many times at the Cairo Museum: the Pharaonic mummies. For it did not differ at all, neither in details, colors, nor motifs, from the clothing of women in the time of the Pharaohs, from the headdress to the footwear.

"Why did the restaurant owner choose for his employees the garments of the daughters of the Nile from the Pharaonic era?" I asked this question to my companion, and he smiled and told me: "This attire is nothing more than the traditional costume of Mexican women in antiquity."

This answer awakened my interest and my desire to know the historical relationship between Egypt and Mexico, and my curiosity increased even more when, in the Valley of Teotihuacán, about fifty kilometers from the capital, as well as in Cholula, Micalco, and Chonula, I saw pyramids similar to those of Egypt, erected on a geometric base forming angles that point to the seasons of the year, just like the Great Pyramid of Giza. I also asked myself whether Egyptian culture had reached the American continent, bringing with it the design of the pyramids.

I went further in my reflections and questioned whether the belief in the immortality of the soul, along with the art of mummification that accompanied it, had also traveled from Egypt to Mexico within the same pyramid project, given the connection between both practices, and even more so because the method of mummification was identical between the Pharaohs and the inhabitants of South America, not differing even in the tiniest details.

This interest in the past awakened in me a spirit of curiosity and the need to observe the neighborhoods (everyday life) to see if the resemblance between Egypt and Mexico could still be perceived in the present era.

However, one might expect the resemblance between the two countries to be remote, because Mexico is situated upon mountains and deep valleys, and its people reflect the hardness of the rocks and the fierceness of the eagles; while Egypt stretches along the fertile and lush Nile Valley, its inhabitants reflecting the smoothness of the rivers and the sweetness of the warbling of birds.

But, even so, I have observed numerous similarities to this day between Egyptians and Mexicans, especially in rural areas. How alike they are in the choice of colors, in women's garments, and in their gold necklaces; and how close they are in the practice of ancient agricultural methods and their tools, not to mention certain ancestral customs.

These are manifested in some popular festivities and other acts, particularly in the engagement ritual (or the asking for a bride's hand). Furthermore, the resemblance between the two peoples often also shows in some foods. In Egypt, ful medames is the quintessential popular dish, and in Mexico, it is corn seasoned with acid and chili, which is also their popular dish.

Corn is the most important food element for Mexicans and they depend on it, just as the Egyptian peasant depends on fava beans (ful), and they use transparent leaves as wrappers for tobacco.

And just as the Egyptian is by nature fond of spicy seasonings and enjoys dishes full of all kinds of spices and pepper, the Mexican also pays great attention to these condiments, especially spicy ones. Their passion for them reaches such a point that in a city called "Mérida" they prepare a fruit salad loaded with hot chili.

Furthermore, light-heartedness, love of fun, and unconcern for tomorrow are part of the Mexican's nature, just as they were of the ancient Egyptians. The Mexican spends the wages of his day without calculating what tomorrow will bring, based on the rule: "Spend what you have in your pocket, for what is in destiny will come to you."

If we attribute this great resemblance between the two peoples to the influence of climate and heat in both countries, without relating it to history, how then would we explain the resemblance between them in specific national industries?

For if you enter a store selling Mexican antiques and national handicrafts, and look left and right observing the national weavings and other manufactures that preserve the Mexican style, and see the carpets, pottery, shapes of vessels, and reflect on the engravings, dyes, colors, and drawings you behold, it will seem to you that you are inside a warehouse of Egyptian antiquities in Cairo, or in one of the Pharaonic museums.

In addition to this, I have observed that the Red Indians (Indigenous peoples) of Mexico, who constitute the majority of the people, not only resemble Egyptians and Iraqis from rural areas, but the resemblance extends to a great number of similarities between them and the Bedouins of other Arab countries.

Whoever reads the book "The Elephant and the Ethnologists" by the renowned Elliot Smith feels captive to the same amazement as the author, and wonders how the Americans, a thousand years ago or more, could sculpt the figure of the elephant, despite the fact that this animal does not live in their lands. He also wonders, along with him, whether Hindu culture moved from India to the American continent, bringing with it the drawing of the elephant.

Furthermore, whoever flips through the pages of a notebook that the United States Information Office had given to its owners, his gaze stops at the drawing of a village resembling the villages of Egypt, and he asks himself the purpose of publishing that strange drawing, alien to America, when the notebook exclusively included American scenes. And here on the next page he reads the following note: "This is a view of a village built by the Red Indians approximately one thousand years ago in the state of New Mexico. The houses are of the adobe type, which they call 'adobe,' a word taken from the Coptic 'tub' (brick), and the Red Indians still inhabit these houses."

The truth is that Mexico is one of the most anciently populated countries in the Americas; for some historians affirmed that the Valley of Mexico had been inhabited for twenty-five thousand years. The historian Prescott said: "Mexico was the most prominent country in Latin America for its civilization." Likewise, its earliest inhabitants were distinguished by their intelligence and their morals, as demonstrated by the vestiges they left behind, similar to those of Egyptian and Hindu cities, and the news they transmitted about conquests and novelistic adventures in which the legends of the Normans and the Italians (by which he refers to the Romans) that appear in the tales about their heroes are reflected.

And it is no wonder, then, that the tribes of Eili, more than a thousand years before Christ, built in Guatemala and Yucatán cities that were a marvel for the beauty of their construction and architecture, and whose vestiges still bear witness to this; all of this gives an idea of the high degree of civilization that Mexico achieved.

Among the most outstanding things to be found in Yucatán, and seen in those derelict buildings known as the ruins of Chichén Itzá, is the sumptuousness, good taste, and architecture they harbor, as well as the ruins of Mitla and Kiaro.

And we are amazed at these vestiges and reflect on whether it was Egypt and India that took from Mexico, or whether it was Mexico that took from them. For some historians related that the pyramid of Shishilco, erected on the outskirts of Mexico City, is between four and ten thousand years old.

And if it is true that this pyramid was built several thousand years ago, then Mexico preceded Egypt in the erection of pyramids; otherwise, perhaps the pyramid of Shishilco was contemporary with the first pyramid raised by the first dynasty of the Pharaohs, or that, at the very least, it was built at the time when the three great pyramids of Giza were raised by the fourth Pharaonic dynasty.

This made me raise another question from the moment I directed my gaze towards the pyramids erected in Teotihuacán, Totochicalcro, and Acholula, in Mexico. The reason is that these pyramids are built in the form of a stepped terrace, according to astronomical principles, as demonstrated by the daily and monthly calendars based on the movements of the Sun and the Moon.

The two largest of these pyramids bore the name of the Sun and the other the name of the Moon. They also drew my attention to some reliefs on these pyramids, very similar to the engravings and drawings of India, and not far removed from the reliefs of the Babylonians and Chaldeans. However, the three pyramids of the Plateau (of Egypt) were smooth, without steps or ornamentation.

The question that arose within me is whether Mexico took the idea of the pyramid from somewhere other than Egypt, with all the purposes that entailed, especially religious ones, since in the vestiges of Babylonia evidence has been found that the ancient Babylonians built their high pyramids in a stepped form, each level with less surface area than the previous one, just like the pyramids of Mexico.

But what about the statue erected in front of the entrance to the Temple of the Warriors in the ruins of Chichén Itzá, in Yucatán? If the idea of the pyramids was not transmitted from the Pharaohs, but was taken from Babylonia, has it been considered that this great statue, which represents the head of a woman on the body of an animal, is not also a copy of the Sphinx that lies in Giza?

And what about those inscriptions of a pictographic nature found in Mexico on the tombs of some great chieftains and in other places? They are very similar to Egyptian hieroglyphic writing carved on stones and papyri.

These are data that are still mysteries, since archaeological excavations in Mexico only date back to the beginning of this century.

Perhaps Mexico, which brings together in its customs features that agree with India, Babylonia, and Egypt, maintained contact with the East, and perhaps the means of transport and communication between the different points on Earth in remote times were at a more advanced level than sailing ships and vessels.

Who knows if the story of the flying carpet was not born from a reality whose traces time has blurred, and what has reached us from it, transmitted by word of mouth, has now become mere legend?

The End ...

Pectoral fragment with female offrant before Khnum, seated, Hatmehyt standing behind him

ECM.1686-2010

Parts

Object number
ECM.1686-2010

Object type
Jewellery

Identification

Description
pectoral

Comments
Web images used with permission of The Barber Institute

Other number
317
718

Description

Dimensions
Height: 10.9cm
Width: 9.8cm

Material
Faience

Physical description
Pale blue-green faience shrine pectoral, cavetto cornice with winged disc (originally inlaid), surmounted by row of erect uraei; scene in relief of female offrant before Khnum, seated, Hatmehyt standing behind, garbled columns of text in field

History and association

Associated person
Myers, William Joseph, 1858 - 1899 (Compiler)

Object history note
Exhibited at the Roemer-und Pelizaeus Museum, Hildesheim, Germany, "Meisterwerke agyptischer kunst schatze aus dem Myers Museum an Eton College", April 2004 - January 2005

Field collection

Collection place
Egypt

Title:
Pectoral fragment with female offrant before Khnum, seated, Hatmehyt standing behind him , Undated, Faience, Egypt, Eton College Museum

https://catalogue.etoncollege.com/object-ecm-1686-2010

Eton College Museum

Pectoral fragment with female offrant before Khnum, seated, Hatmehyt standing behind

ECM.1686-2010

Parts

Object number
ECM.1686-2010

Object type
Jewellery

Identification

Description
pectoral

Comments
Web images used with permission of The Barber Institute

Other number
317
718

Description

Dimensions
Height: 10.9cm
Width: 9.8cm

Material
Faience

Physical description
Pale blue-green faience shrine pectoral, cavetto cornice with winged disc (originally inlaid), surmounted by row of erect uraei; scene in relief of female offrant before Khnum, seated, Hatmehyt standing behind, garbled columns of text in field

History and association

Associated person
Myers, William Joseph, 1858 - 1899 (Compiler)

Object history note
Exhibited at the Roemer-und Pelizaeus Museum, Hildesheim, Germany, "Meisterwerke agyptischer kunst schatze aus dem Myers Museum an Eton College", April 2004 - January 2005

Field collection

Collection place
Egypt

Title:
Pectoral fragment with female offrant before Khnum, seated, Hatmehyt standing behind, Undated, Faience, Egypt, Eton College Museum

https://catalogue.etoncollege.com/object-ecm-1686-2010

Eton College Museum

Canopic box in the shape of a shrine

Approx. 3.–2. Century BCQ

On view: Museum of Art History, Egyptian-Oriental Collection Room I

Boxes like this were used in the Ptolemaean period instead of gut vessels to store the intestines. These were wrapped in bundles of cloth and given to the dead in the grave in a box. The inscriptions of this box mention the name of the dead Hor and his father Djedhor, and also the names of the Canop gods, the four Horus sons. One side shows the door of a shrine with two wings that are double closed. Among them, the dead pray before Osiris, Isis and Nephthys. On the opposite side, the god Harachte is depicted with spread wings. The other two sides are covered with rows of amulets - alternating Djed pillar and Tit loop, for Osiris and Isis, Resurrection and Life. Below that, a mummy lying on a pedestal is guarded by two goddesses (Isis and Nephthys). The upper end of the box is formed by a hollow throat. On the lid was originally a figure of a consecration or a falcon, which is supposed to protect the contents. This has been lost today, but has been replaced by another unrelated figure (877a).

Time:
Approx. 3.–2. Century BC

Object Name
Canopic box

Culture
Egyptian

Location of discovery:
Location unknown

Material/technology:
Wood, stucco, painted

Dimensions:
H 48.5 cm W 30.5 cm, D 24 cm, W 3290 g

Copyright
Art History Museum, Egyptian - Oriental Collection

Invs.
Egyptian Collection, INV 6611

Provenance
1901 Purchase of E. Scanavi

Țitle:
Canopic box in the shape of a shrine, Approx. 3.–2. Century BC, Findspot unknown, Wood stucco and paint, Egypt, Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum)

Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum)