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Pectoral (Ancient Egypt)
Encyclopedia
The Pectorals of ancient Egypt
were a form of jewellery, often represented as a brooch
. This was mostly worn by richer people.
One type, was the pectoral with a necklace, as a form of attachment, to be suspended from the neck, but to lay upon the breast. Statuary from the Old Kingdom
onwards show this form.
A later form was the pectoral as a brooch, with the thematic, iconographic
function and statement outweighing its actual use as a piece of jewellery
for adornment. The thematic statements were typically about the pharaoh
or statements of ancient Egypt
ian mythology and culture. They are usually of gold with cloisonné
inlay
s of gemstone
s.
word usekh. (confer with Usekh collar
)
The list of Gardiner-unlisted determinative
s for pectoral:
'None' may have an alternate determinative used to define the word. From the above definitions, it can be seen that the collar, neckband, pectoral, beads, etc., can also include amulet
s inclusive into the pectoral's iconography
. The above listed words are refenced in E. A. Wallis Budge
's "dictionary", to 200 works: steles, papyri, Egyptian literature, personal literature, etc., or the approximate 120 authors referenced.
Standing statues, or others were sometimes represented with various forms of jewellery, including the pectorals; some are enigmatic in what is being portrayed, whether to gods, or what the symbolism represents.
Statements in Egyptian language
hieroglyhs
were often the theme of famous pectorals, regardless of their actual use for adornment.
One famous complex pectoral for Amenemhat III
has a statement of his rulership. The Pectoral of Amenemhat III states the following:
Kamrin's modern hieroglyph primer for Egyptian artifacts uses Amenemhat III's pectoral for Exercise 22, Object 3. The discussion explains that the extended wings of the Vulture Goddess relate to "Lord of the Sky"-(pt), the Vulture Goddess, (but also implying the pharaoh is Lord of the Sky
). Her translation: "Lord (Lady) of the sky
Nimaatre (Amenemhat III), the good god, lord of the Two Lands
and of all foreign Lands." (nb pt n-m3't-r' nthr nfr nb t3wy h3swt nb(w)t)
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
were a form of jewellery, often represented as a brooch
Brooch
A brooch ; also known in ancient times as a fibula; is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold but sometimes bronze or some other material...
. This was mostly worn by richer people.
One type, was the pectoral with a necklace, as a form of attachment, to be suspended from the neck, but to lay upon the breast. Statuary from the Old Kingdom
Old Kingdom
Old Kingdom is the name given to the period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization in complexity and achievement – the first of three so-called "Kingdom" periods, which mark the high points of civilization in the lower Nile Valley .The term itself was...
onwards show this form.
A later form was the pectoral as a brooch, with the thematic, iconographic
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
function and statement outweighing its actual use as a piece of jewellery
Jewellery
Jewellery or jewelry is a form of personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, and bracelets.With some exceptions, such as medical alert bracelets or military dog tags, jewellery normally differs from other items of personal adornment in that it has no other purpose than to...
for adornment. The thematic statements were typically about the pharaoh
Pharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
or statements of ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
ian mythology and culture. They are usually of gold with cloisonné
Cloisonné
Cloisonné is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects, in recent centuries using vitreous enamel, and in older periods also inlays of cut gemstones, glass, and other materials. The resulting objects can also be called cloisonné...
inlay
Inlay
Inlay is a decorative technique of inserting pieces of contrasting, often coloured materials into depressions in a base object to form patterns or pictures that normally are flush with the matrix. In a wood matrix, inlays commonly use wood veneers, but other materials like shells, mother-of-pearl,...
s of gemstone
Gemstone
A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
s.
Ancient Egyptian definition of pectoral
The basic definition of a brooch is as a wide piece of jewellery. Therefore one form of the 'pectoral' word listings uses the word for "breadth, broad", "to be wide or spacious", the Egyptian languageEgyptian language
Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...
word usekh. (confer with Usekh collar
Usekh collar
The Usekh is a personal ornament, a type of collar or necklace, familiar to many because of its presence in widely-disseminated depictions of ancient Egyptian nobility, such as Tutankhamun, where an example can be seen on the famous gold mask....
)
Pectoral determinatives
Though only the "broad collar", Gardiner listed S11 is available in Gardiner's sign list, the following listing of words for "pectoral" shows the other types of pectoral jewellery forms that have a Gardiner-unlisted type of pectoral hieroglyph sign:The list of Gardiner-unlisted determinative
Determinative
A determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they may derive historically from glyphs for real words, and...
s for pectoral:
- ari aui-(none)(bracelets, armlets)
- usekh-(Gard-unl. 1 to 7)(8 is the S11 collar)
- utcha-(Gard-unl. 9 to 12)(12 has beads)
- babaa-{Gard-unl. 13)('necklace of beads', pectoral)
- beb-{Gard-unl. 13)(a metal pectoral or breastplate, collar)(uraeus headdress (?))
- menqebit-(none)(collar or pectoral to which the serpent amulet was attached)
- hebner-{Gard-unl. 2(similar to collar S11))(collar, pectoral, neckband)
- heter-t-(none)(a pectoral, a pectoral amulet)
- sheb-{Gard-unl. 15)(collar, necklace, pectoral)
'None' may have an alternate determinative used to define the word. From the above definitions, it can be seen that the collar, neckband, pectoral, beads, etc., can also include amulet
Amulet
An amulet, similar to a talisman , is any object intended to bring good luck or protection to its owner.Potential amulets include gems, especially engraved gems, statues, coins, drawings, pendants, rings, plants and animals; even words said in certain occasions—for example: vade retro satana—, to...
s inclusive into the pectoral's iconography
Iconography
Iconography is the branch of art history which studies the identification, description, and the interpretation of the content of images. The word iconography literally means "image writing", and comes from the Greek "image" and "to write". A secondary meaning is the painting of icons in the...
. The above listed words are refenced in E. A. Wallis Budge
E. A. Wallis Budge
Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge was an English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist who worked for the British Museum and published numerous works on the ancient Near East.-Earlier life:...
's "dictionary", to 200 works: steles, papyri, Egyptian literature, personal literature, etc., or the approximate 120 authors referenced.
Statuary with pectorals
Famous pectorals; hieroglyph statements
Egyptian language
Egyptian is the oldest known indigenous language of Egypt and a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. Written records of the Egyptian language have been dated from about 3400 BC, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the late 17th century AD in the...
hieroglyhs
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. Egyptians used cursive hieroglyphs for religious literature on papyrus and wood...
were often the theme of famous pectorals, regardless of their actual use for adornment.
One famous complex pectoral for Amenemhat III
Amenemhat III
Amenemhat III, also spelled Amenemhet III was a pharaoh of the Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt. He ruled from c.1860 BC to c.1814 BC, the latest known date being found in a papyrus dated to Regnal Year 46, I Akhet 22 of his rule. He is regarded as the greatest monarch of the Middle Kingdom...
has a statement of his rulership. The Pectoral of Amenemhat III states the following:
- Lord (of) Heaven, God-Good, Lord of the Two LandsUpper and Lower EgyptAncient Egypt was divided into two regions, namely Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. To the north was Lower Egypt where the Nile stretched out with its several branches to form the Nile Delta. To the south was Upper Egypt, stretching to Syene. The two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt were united c....
, 'Ny-MaatMaatMaat is a naval rank of the German navy equivalent to the army rank of Unteroffizier. A Maat is considered the equivalent of a junior Petty Officer in the navies of many other nations....
-Ra', Lord (of all) Lands. - ptSky (hieroglyph)The ancient Egyptian Sky hieroglyph, , is Gardiner sign listed no. N1, within the Gardiner signs for sky, earth, and water....
-nb, ntr-nft, nb-tawy, n-maat-a-t-Ra, nb-hastw. ('Ny-MaatMaatMaat is a naval rank of the German navy equivalent to the army rank of Unteroffizier. A Maat is considered the equivalent of a junior Petty Officer in the navies of many other nations....
-Ra' is Amenemhat III's prenomen name.)
Kamrin's modern hieroglyph primer for Egyptian artifacts uses Amenemhat III's pectoral for Exercise 22, Object 3. The discussion explains that the extended wings of the Vulture Goddess relate to "Lord of the Sky"-(pt), the Vulture Goddess, (but also implying the pharaoh is Lord of the Sky
Sky (hieroglyph)
The ancient Egyptian Sky hieroglyph, , is Gardiner sign listed no. N1, within the Gardiner signs for sky, earth, and water....
). Her translation: "Lord (Lady) of the sky
Sky (hieroglyph)
The ancient Egyptian Sky hieroglyph, , is Gardiner sign listed no. N1, within the Gardiner signs for sky, earth, and water....
Nimaatre (Amenemhat III), the good god, lord of the Two Lands
Upper and Lower Egypt
Ancient Egypt was divided into two regions, namely Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. To the north was Lower Egypt where the Nile stretched out with its several branches to form the Nile Delta. To the south was Upper Egypt, stretching to Syene. The two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt were united c....
and of all foreign Lands." (nb pt n-m3't-r' nthr nfr nb t3wy h3swt nb(w)t)
See also
- Gardiner's Sign List#S. Crowns, Dress, Staves, etc.
- Gardiner's Sign ListGardiner's Sign ListGardiner's Sign List is a list of common Egyptian hieroglyphs compiled by Sir Alan Gardiner. It is considered a standard reference in the study of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs....
- List of ancient Egyptian statuary with amulet necklaces, (section Pectoral Necklace)