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“It is not precise to call Hatshepsut a queen, despite the English understanding of the word; once she took the throne, Hatshepsut could only be called a king. In the ancient Egyptian language, the word queen only existed in relation to a man, as the “king’s woman.” Once crowned, Hatshepsut served no man.”
We’ve got a brand-new essay on the kick-ass, cross-dressing Egyptian ruler Hatshepsut. Just don’t call her a queen.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the dung beetle, the Scarabaeus sacer, was one of the manifestations of the sun god. Representations of these beetles were used as amulets, and for ritual or administrative purposes. This small, red carnelian scarab has a vertically arranged bottom inscription, which consists of three lines of right reading text with a cartouche in the center. An oval line frames the inscription. The text contains the name and title of crown princess Neferure, daughter of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut, and a formula wishing her life. The highest point of the back is the pronotum (dorsal plate of the prothorax). Pronotum and elytron (wing cases) have fine single borderlines and double separation lines. The lines flow is almost regular, only the partition lines between pronotum and elytron overlap slightly. The trapezoidal head is flanked by quarter-ovoid eyes. The trapezoidal side plates have curved outer edges, and the clypeus (front plate), which is very large in comparison to the head, has four frontal serrations and a central base notch. The extremities show natural form and vertical hatch lines for the tibial teeth and pilosity (hair), the background between the legs is deeply hollowed out. The oval base is symmetrical. The scarab is longitudinally pierced, and was originally mounted or threaded. It functions as a name seal and user-individualized amulet of crown princess Neferure. The scarab should secure the individual’s existence (wish formula: “who may live"), divine relation (title: “divine consort"), and royal status (cartouche) of the crown princess, and the red color her magic protection. The material, carnelian, was especially used for protective amulets and the Egyptians believed that it would intensify the magical potency. The scarab could have been a personal amulet of the princess, but it is also possible that it was given to a private person to guarantee the crown princess’ patronage. Scarabs made of dark red carnelian were popular for the female members of the court in early 18th Dynasty.
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
[Translation] Name of the crown princess Neferure in a cartouche, combined with the princess’ title and a wish formula: Divine consort: / Neferu-Re, / who may live.
Acquired by Henry Walters
via Scarab of Neferu-Re · The Walters Art Museum · Works of Art
A lovely detail of a false door from the tomb of Useramun (also known simply as User). His titles included Southern Vizier, Prophet of Maat, Judge, Noble, Prince, Scribe in the Treasury of Amon, and Head of the Secrets of the Palace during Hatshepsut and Thothmes III’s reign.
The false door was re-used by the Romans - please also vide: Maat-Ka-Ra.de - Useramun
The procession of Amun-Re’s divine bark [barque]. Relief from the Red Chapel of Hatshepsut.
… Sacred Barks and Divine Rest Stations
Central to these festivals were magnificent processions in which priests transported the golden, bejeweled cult statues of the gods within a type of portable shrine. Taking the form of miniature boats called sacred barks, these model vessels were covered in gold foil and encrusted with precious gemstone inlays of lapis lazuli, turquoise, and carnelian. Each deity had his or her own sacred bark which priests transported over land on platforms with several long carrying poles. Two impressive figureheads at the prow and stern of each bark identified its owner. Amun’s bark had ram’s head figureheads since that animal was sacred to him, that of Mut had a woman’s head fore and aft, each wearing the Double Crown, and Khonsu’s had falcon’s heads with lunar crescents and disks. …
via Hypostyle Project :: Meaning and Function :: University of Memphis
Depiction of a wayside bark [barque] shrine built by Hatshepsut. Relief from her Red Chapel.
… Festival processions departed from the inner sanctum of Karnak and advanced along sacred avenues towards Luxor Temple or to waiting river barges that conveyed them further upriver to Luxor or across the Nile to the royal memorial temples on the West Bank of Thebes. Occasionally, the gods—not to mention the priests supporting them—needed to rest from the heat and dust of their tiring journeys. Many pharaohs, therefore, kindly provided them with convenient resting shrines along the way. Never missing a chance for self-promotion, the king would name the wayside shelters after himself and would remind the gods of his piety in temple inscriptions and representations describing them. For example, scenes on the “Red Chapel" of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut (ruled ca. 1473-1358 BCE) at Karnak depict several wayside shrines that she erected between the temple complexes of Karnak and Luxor. …
via Hypostyle Project :: Meaning and Function :: University of Memphis
Egyptian expedition to Punt during the reign of Hatshepsut; on the right is a myrrh tree - relief from her Deir el-Bahri temple
via wikimedja commons
This is a fine relief of members of Hatshepsut’s trading expedition to the mysterious ‘Land of Punt’ from this pharaoh’s elegant mortuary temple at Deir El-Bahri. In this scene, Egyptian soldiers bear tree branches and axes.
via wikimedja commons
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