Hatshepsut Project - Time to learn about the artifacts

Although i am on a break from regular posting (back very soon), i have been looking at a few things which may help me interpret the findings of the Hatshepsut Database.

A book on Scarab Beetles, one on Statues and general articles about seals, cylinder seals, amulets and menats have been providing me with some information on the items listed so far, to give me a "crash course".
As i am learning myself, i thought it prudent to have at least one eye on the Hatshepsut Project. The other one is being rested. 

Whilst i will not update this form of work, i want you to know that i am still working hard- even without my laptop.

The above literature will give me a "beginners" guide on why we have these artifacts. Senenmut is a name never too far from my thoughts, too. Bizarrely, i couldn't sleep last night until i had looked up the "Year 11 stela" which features Senenmut, Neferure and Hathor. Why this was on my mind is anyone's guess. I will include the stela in a post soon, as its a lovely piece of history, out in the Sinai Desert.

Life, Prosperity and Health to you all,

Stuart

Hatshepsut Museum Database - MMA to be added

This weekend i will start adding the Metropolitan Museum of Arts collection of Hatshepsut artifacts. Fortunately there are many items within the collection, so the database will be hugely complemented by the data.

As i visit their collections quite often online, i am very familiar with a number of the statues and especially their Osiride head collection, so this will give me the opportunity to familiarise myself with the smaller artifacts within their collection.

Not only Hatshepsut, but Hatnofer and Ramose (Senenmut's parents), Neferure and Senenmut himself. Looking at the time it took to record the Petrie Museum and British Museum, i will have my work cut out, so it may even take longer than the time i have allocated. Nevertheless, it will be the last of the very large museum collections to be included in the database - depending on the size of the Berlin Egyptian Museum's collection.

Should any important news or discoveries come to light over the weekend (as they did a week ago today), i will look into these first. I haven't had a response from the Bonn University Egyptian Museum, but i have not forgotten about the importance of obtaining the requested information on the Hatshepsut Lotion.

Rehards,
Stuart

Statues of Senenut by Dr. Karl Leser

I recently posted about a Senenmut Statue which is located in a Luxor Storage Magazine. Unable to provide a photo at the time, it has been brought to my attention by Dr. Karl Leser that this item, plus others which i have yet to identify have been listed on one page on his website.

Whilst i will report on the individual locations separately, it is great to have the statuary of Senenmut all in one place and makes further research that much easier.

Please visit Maat-Ka-Ra Hatschepsut, go to Site Map and then Statues of Senenmut. Even the more fragmented statues have been included by Dr. Leser.

With thanks to Dr Leser for pointing this page out to me. This will prove to be a valuable resource to all of us interested in Senenmut's statuary.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut Museum Database - Early Stats.

To date there are 441 separate entries on the database. Some single entries are describing multiple items (such as foundation deposits).

So far, as a sample of entries, we have:

• 95 Scarabs
• 75 entries labelled "Foundation Deposits"
• 29 Vases
• 8 Kneeling Statues
• 6 Finger rings, and
• 1 Obelisk

With the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Berlin Egyptian Museum and a number of blank pages to go, the number should rise significantly over the following months.

Regards,
Stuart

Senenmut - Egyptian Department of Antiquities Magazine, Luxor

(This item is not exhibitied publicly).

No links and no pictures available for this statue, but i will describe it with the information i have to hand. Before doing so, the quick point that there are many storage facilities throughout Egypt. How to find out about them is a mystery to me, but i am sure information is available. 

Object: Statue
Type: Kneeling with Hathor Emblem
Material: Grey Granite or Grandiorite
Discovery: 1963, Thutmose III Mortuary Temple ("Djeser Akhet")
Period: Joint Reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III

This item will not be added to the Hatshepsut Database, at least not for now. All entries are strictly related to museums for now.

For further details and the reason i am aware of this site, read:

"Hatshepsut, From Queen to Pharaoh", The Statuary of Senenmut by Cathleen A.Keller pgs 126-128.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshspsut Lotion...Update

Whereas i assumed yesterday i might have a reason to conclude the hunt for the required details on the Hatshepsut lotion (or correctly- the vessel that contains the lotion), that will not be the case.

When conducting experiments on the contents of the vessel, Dr Wiedenfeld was not provided with all the information i have requested. Enquiries are now being made with the Bonn University Egyptian Museum directly.

Thank you to Dr. Helmut Wiedenfeld for your recent correspondence.You pointed out something that many of us noticed- there are many questions about this story. None of them are due to doubts about the story which was reported last week, all of them to provide further information which will allow a more complete picture of the significance of the findings.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut Lotion, Part 2 (of 3)

I hope to conclude the research into the Hatshepsut lotion within the next 48hrs. I am in contact with Dr. Helmut Wiedenfeld who we know from the various articles on the subject. He has offered information which may end any further queries into the discovery location and subsequent history. I have asked for clarification on a number of points, which i feel necessary before posting the conclusion. If the response comes sooner, then i will share the information immediately.

To clarify one point- i do not doubt the findings, I welcome them. My only fear was that some of the pieces of the jigsaw were not included in the subsequent articles. A point i wished to address immediately. Also a point which will lend a lot more clarity for those of us who feel it necessary. Please feel free to add any points you feel have been missed? Perhaps you may feel that i am "flogging a dead horse". Either way, your opinions are welcomed.

Thank you for following,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - Osiride Heads at the MMA

Metropolitan Museum  of Art, New York

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has the largest collection of Hatshepsut Osiride Heads found so far. Click the above link to see their collections more complete Heads. Further fragments are not included here, but will be included in the conclusion of the Osiride Head Project. Click on each one to view their details. I will use this information to see how many can be placed (virtually) back in their original locations at Deir el Bahri.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut Lotion

Emails have been popping up like crazy regarding this article.

Whilst its late here in he UK, I appreciate those of you who will be waking up to this article, so rather than go to sleep on this I want to share a few things

To sum it up for those new to the article, The University of Bonn have spent two years studying the contents of a metal container, which is inscribed with the throne name of Hatshepsut. The results are in the article. It may have led to the poisoning of at least one person, perhaps more.

Whilst the findings make fantastic news the attachment to Hatshepsut is down to the inscriptions on the container only. I have yet to find details from Bonn University regarding the discovery of the container. Before jumping to conclusions it would wise to see what is known of its discovery and subsequent history. If you can help, please contact me.

We may be looking at a vessel which originally belonged to Hatshepsut but was used by someone after Hatshepsut's death. In this case, Hatshepsut may indeed have used the vessel, but not with the contents which the article discusses. This way the contents had no ill effect on Hatshepsut. She may have never seen this vessel in her lifetime,who knows for sure?

I emailed the University and await their response. Any further information will be good to hear.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - Interesting new article

Hatshepsut Poisened?

I will say more when i have time, but for now its a discussion point worth looking into (pinch of salt????)

Regards,
Stuart

Neferure - McManus Museum, Dundee

Relief fragment featuring Neferure, from the mortuary temple of Hatshepsut.

McManus Museum, Dundee, Scotland

Museum Number: 1977-534

Acquired in 1914 (Donated by Sir James Key Caird)

All other details can be found, along with a photograph of the relief fragment by clicking on the above link.

Regards,

Stuart

Hatshepsut - Liverpool Museum

Liverpool Museum houses an interesting artifact relating to Hatshepsut, an inscribed pebble. An item which may have originally come from the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II in the form of a foundation deposit. For clarity, the mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II of the Middle Kingdom is located at Deir el Bahri and can be viewed here (Wikipedia).

Liverpool Museum pebble on the Global Egyptian Museum site.

It would seem that Hatshepsut had ordered the carrying out of repairs to the temple of Mentuhotep II.

This is currently the only artifact known by me in the Liverpool Museum relating to Hatshepsut. The museum, site and the pebble have all been added to the Hatshepsut Database.

Regards,
Stuart

Semna and Kumma on Scribd

Semna and Kumma on Scribd:

Lost Nubia A CENTENNIAL EXHIBIT OF PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE 1905–1907EGYPTIAN EXPEDITION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO, John A. Larson

Origination:

Library of Congress Control Number 2005939018ISBN: 1-885923-45-7©2006 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.Published 2006. Printed in the United States of America.

The Oriental Institute, Chicago

Oriental Institute Museum Publications No. 24

I have yet to dive in, but the contents page suggests that i will find what i am looking for in here. I will create an update post once Ive had a chance to take in the information. It seems that  Kumma Temple is classed as "Semna East" and in either in part or whole dedicated to the worship of the god, Knum.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut Database Update - Cairo Museum "tba"

The dreaded "tba":

Museum

Item Number

Object

Type

Cairo	tba	Tomb Text	Amduat Blocks (15)
Cairo	tba	Statue (Minhotep)	Block
Cairo	tba	Ointment Jar	Foundation Deposit
Cairo	tba	Ointment Jar	Foundation Deposit
Cairo	tba	Statue	Sphinx C (head)
Cairo	tba	Mummy Cloth	Cartouche of Hatshepsut
Cairo	tba	Mummy Cloth	Cartouche of Hatshepsut

Firstly, the Cairo Museum is not the only museum giving me the "tba" answers. This is a tiny snapshot of only one of the museums being recorded. A surprising amount of museums have no online (complete) collection.

This particular area has been supplemented by the resources shared on the Hatshepsut Project blog, but in some areas i am running out of data at an alarming rate. That said, the right enquiries will help to fill in the gaps, but will take time.

I will start sharing further museums i have been able to track down and will also add data to the Semna, Kumma Temples question posed here

As far as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MMA)- they will be added to the database shortly. From then on it will be smaller collections, then Berlin. The Berlin Museum is so far one of the least researched by me to date, although some of their larger items have been noted, just without full data.

Further details will follow. 

Regards,
Stuart   

Cairo Museum Hatshepsut Sphinx

Cairo Museum 008
Originally uploaded by random field notes

In a similar way to the Hatshepsut statue at Karnak which i posted recently- this sphinx tells us all we need to know (of its origination) by the damage we see.

Again the beard and nose have been attacked, as has the uraeus on its forehead. Hatshepsut originally commissioned this sphinx and it was re-used/ inscribed by Thutmose III.

As this piece is located at the front of the Egyptian Museum, this photograph does not fall under the same rules as the indoor artifacts (photography ban).

One of three sphinxes in Cairo (actually these are the only three "intact" sphinxes I've located- there is also a sphinx head). These will provisionally be noted in the Hatshepsut Database as Sphinx A,B,C and D.

Other Hatshepsut Sphinxes can been seen today in Berlin, Metropolitan Museum (MMA)  and at Deir el Bahri.

Regards,

Stuart

Statue of Hatshepsut at Karnak Temple

Statue @ Karnak Temple
Originally uploaded by JuanJ
For those of you who are familiar with Dylan Bickerstaffe's article on the burial of Hatshepsut, posted here, will be familiar with this statue.

I often find that many of my best "Hatshepsut leads" have been found by accident. The statue in question has been in my possession for some time (Flickr favourites, not my own photographs). I have a number of different shots of this statue from as many different angles as i could locate. The reason being is the clear Thutmoside face and the inscriptions on the walls behind and around the statue.

Firstly the two visible cartouches, showing the Prenomen on Thutmose III. These can be seen to the right of the statues knees, the other the the left of the (missing) left arm of the statue.

Secondly the condition of the hieroglyphics to the left of the statue. This struck me as a familiar site for me when seeing Thutmose III erasing and re-carving Hatsheput's inscriptions.

Thirdly and the most significant is the fate of the statues beard and nose. Rather than simply breaking at a time when the statue had fallen- by accident or not, this has been carefully and deliberately, leaving most of the rest of the statue in good condition.

I could not see and inscriptions on the statue from the limited photographs to hand, but i would expect to see much the same- erasure and re-carving.

I don't know the history of this statue. At some stage it has been unearthed at Karnak (perhaps where it sits today?) and survives in its current state somewhere within the area of Thutmose III.

Further information will be added (when known), especially on whether or not there are any inscriptions on the statue.

Regards,
Stuart

Highclere Castle

Highclere Castle
Originally uploaded by styler78

The museum at the Highclere Estate has been removed from the Hatshepsut Database. I have been unable to locate any items which can be tied into the lifetime of Hatshepsut.

I will contact the Highclere Estate in due course, but for now i will concentrate on other museums.

Regards,
Stuart

The Burial of Hatshepsut - Dylan Bickerstaffe

Available to download on the Egyptologists Electronic Forum (EEF) is a great article from:

Heritage of Egypt, Issue 1, January 2008:

Dylan Bickerstaffe - The Burial of Hatshepsut

Many important points being raised. If Hatshepsut was found intact, wrapped up in her finery within her coffins, within her sarcophagus, in her tomb then we would have little reason for discussion on the subject of her burial. As it stands, we see many areas open for discussion and further research, so the story of Hatshepsut's identification is far from a closed case.


Further information on Dylan's work on Hatshepsut can be seen on his website, including an article which will act as a follow up to the one above. Go to "News" and scroll down.

Thanks to Dylan for sharing the above articles with us.

Regards,
Stuart

Kumma Temple, National Museum of Sudan

sudan - the black pharaohs
Originally uploaded by retlaw snellac
The text from the author of this photo gives about as much information as i have of this temple.

It appears that the temple may be dedicated to the god Knum, but i will add further information on this temple as i receive it.

Regards,
Stuart

The Temples of Kumma and Semna

I keep stumbling across different mentions of two temples, which have links to Hatshepsut- Kumma and Semna. These Nubian temples, like the Temple of Horus at Buhen were rescued from destruction when the Aswan High Dam was created. I believe both of the remains are at the National Museum of Sudan, Khartoum, although i would like to request information on these temples to those of you who can provide it. I believe one may have been erected by Thutmose II and Hatshepsut and the other Thutmose III and Hatshepsut.

Further information will follow. There are available photos on Flickr but i would like more information before posting further. Can you help?

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut Project Museum Database - update

After a much needed break from data input- i will be adding the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the database in the coming weeks. The MMA will be a great addition to the database. Their Osiride Heads, Statues and many other artifacts are all known to me, but i have never seen all objects on one page.

Soon i will hit a brick wall. This particular obstacle will be the museums without an online collection database. i have no idea how long they will take to research,but i will provide updates as i go.

I intend to provide further sample pages, once i am happy with how the database looks.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me get to this stage.

Regards,
Stuart

Deir el Bahri from above

ThebanHills
Originally uploaded by konde

This is an excellent view of the mortuary temples of Hatshepsut (Djeser Djeseru, left), Thutmose III (Djeser Akhet, middle) and Mentuhotep II (right) at Deir el Bahri.

Thanks to Konde for sharing this photo on Flickr,

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut Lecture Notes (2001)

Time is limited to one short post this afternoon, so let's make that post count.

Here are some excellent notes taken in 2001, during a lecture from such important names as Gay Robins, Peter Dorman and Gae Callender.

Notes from lecture: 11 August 2001 Australian Centre for Egyptology, Macquarie University

I hope you enjoy reading them as much as i have. Sadly i don't know who to thank for these notes, so i will mention both the Macquarie University and also Riverside Girls High School as both of these seem to have played their part in these notes being made public.

Regards,
Stuart

MMA Podcast - Hatshepsut

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will be one of the leading Museums in the Hatshepsut Project for their superb collection of Hatshepsut statues and artifacts. The acquisition of these artifacts was not by chance, of course. Working on behalf of the Metropolitan Museum of Art at Deir el Bahri would be teams led by one Mr Herbert Winlock.

The information uncovered by Winlock's excavations would increase our understanding of Hatshepsut and indeed Thutmose III, but for differing reasons. It would be the uncovering of thousands upon thousands of statue fragments which would be the main focal point. Here is where the podcast takes over:


http://www.metmuseum.org/rss/exhibitionpodcast.xml

Regards,
Stuart