Temple of Wadjmose - West Bank, Luxor

Goodness knows how this managed to escape me, but i got there in the end!

Wadjmose and Amunmose, brothers and their half sister was Hatsheput. Both may have had a ligitimate claim to the throne, but neither survived long enough for that. Wadjmose, Amenmose and Hatshepsut shared a father, Thutmose I.

I have located a number of items/ artifacts relating to Amenmose for the Hatshepsut Museum Database, but Wadjmose is a little harder to locate.

A single monument which is today labelled as the Temple of Wadjmose lies on the Theban (Luxor) West Bank.

I will look into obtaining further details ob this monument. Until then, thanks to Amelia Blandford Edwards for the tip off. What had me confused was Amelia's rendering of the name i know as Wadjmose. It appeared as something like Uatsmes - so i ignored it multiple times, before the penny dropped.

**Amended 27/11/11

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut at Highclere - an update

After spending a good amount of time on the Hatshepsut Museum Database recently - it has become clear to me why i have been unable to locate any item in their collection relating to Hatshepsut.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses a number of items purchased from Lady Carnarvon, after the death of Lord Carnarvon. Perhaps to pay for the upkeep of Highclere- i am not sure.

The main thing for me is to know that there were items at Highclere relating to Hatshepsut, but today these items are no longer there.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut Museum Database breaks the 1,000 mark

After adding a number of items to the database, i can now confirm there are exactly 1,007 items listed. A further 8 museums have been added to the Database which i have yet to post about. They will follow soon.

It has been a very positive week.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshpsut Project - the year is nearly over

Goodness knows what happened to 2011- it is quickly drawing to a close. As far as the Hatshepsut Project is concerned it has been a year of expansion. Now that we are on Blogger, Twitter and Facebook- the project is exactly where i want it to be.

When starting out- i simply didn't know what i was getting myself into. For any of you who are not bloggers- its a very good way of communicating information and meeting others with a common interest. Facebook has been an eye-opener for me. I do not own a mobile phone and never used Facebook until my wife set up the Hatshepsut Project Group. Since then- i am there more often than i would like to admit. With 205 members on Facebook (to date) - we are fortunate to have a great mix of people who are all helping my research.

From the input on Facebook- i have a good idea of the projects that will follow in the next 6 months or so. I am fully aware that i have a number of projects on the go at once, but different lines of enquiry have started to open up for me - and i will not ignore them.

We are not quite there with the museums. I believe we are up to 35, with approx. 5 more which i haven't yet reported about. I will post these and any others which come to light. The actual data input is really hard work at present. Rather than being a simple "copy and paste" exercise - there has been a great deal of independent research needed which has been both rewarding and exhausting. No more than 1,000 items have been added so far- with a number still waiting to be added.

Recent discussions on Facebook has given me more information on Private Collections of items relating directly or indirectly to Hatshepsut. I will soon start posting the findings. Then, as more collections make themselves known - updates will follow. I am considering how to log these items. The current idea would be to add them to the database under Museum "Private Collections". Due to the fact we are looking at the types of items which are today housed in museums- it would be a great shame if they were left out. They are still, after all, related to Hatshepsut.


Also i am trying to build a photographic archive, which will be made freely available. As with many of my current ideas- i will update once i have more to add.

The Hatshepsut Project will continue to grow. If i start to lose track of things i will be sure to ask for help. So far, having Rita Murray alongside me on Facebook has been a blessing. Rita takes off some of the pressure i was under previously and i am most grateful.

There is a good chance that the Hatshepsut Project may simply get too much for one person. As i try to devise more ways of expanding- i will keep one eye on diversity. I don't want to look at any one area for too long as time is an issue. If there is anyone out there looking for a project either for College/ University and you feel you may be able help out (whilst also aiding your studies)- please let me know. There is much i cannot do and many times i have reached the limits of my own capabilities.

I thank you all for your help over the last 18 months. We currently have around 1,000 visits to the the blog alone each month. You have kept me motivated and very well informed. Every email, comment, link, photo has been most useful to me. I am not sure where i will end up with this research, but i can assure you all we have many years of study to go.

Thank you, I am eternally grateful to you all.

Stuart

Hatshepsut - Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

The Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria have a small collection of items that in some way relate to Hatshepsut.

Kindly, they sent me a document, listing these items and giving a good background for each item. I am currently in discussions with them over using their photographs - so i will wait until that is concluded before posting too much.

An item which has been of high value to Egyptologists is described below:

Ostrakon: ostracon with ink inscription
New Kingdom period
Dated 18th Dynasty, a time of Hatshepsut, ca 1502-1482 BC
Location Western Thebes, Deir el-Bahari (probably)
Dimensions H 9.5 cm, W 13.8 cm, D 3.4 cm
Materials / Techniques limestone
classification Ostrakon
 

The hieroglyphic text on this little Ostrakon
contains a draft text of the statue of the Queen's nurse
Hatshepsut re-named Sit- Re (called In(et), which originally
Hathor temple of Hatshepsut's temple at Deir el-Bahri
was set up, and today, this statue is located in the Cairo Museum
(Cairo JE 56 264).The draft text of the statue consists of five vertical
Columns inscribed with the offering formula. In this.

 This draught of the text on the statue of Sit- Re (Hatshepsut's Wet- Nurse) was used to complete the text on the statue itself, which was in very many pieces and incomplete. 


For further reading on Sit- Re, this Ostracon and a picture of the statue of Sit- Re (Cairo Museum), please visit Maatkara Hatschepsut (Persons, Sit-Ra).


My thanks to Dr. Regina Hölzl for your assistance.


Regards,
Stuart

Neferure - Christies Auction House

Here is a limestone Stela which i have never seen before. This is a PAST auction and the costs and details involved in the sale are of little value to me. What is of value is the existence of a stela featuring Neferure, complete with a depiction of her as well as her cartouche.

Neferure, Christies

This may be a well known item, but my own limited research has drawn blanks in every direction available to me. I would therefore like to ask a few questions:

1. Who is the goddess to the left. she is a personification of fields, etc but the description does not name her. Perhaps this may give us the information which will allow us to see where this stela would have been erected (?)
2. Neferure is depicted as "the divine wife [of the god Amun]". Would this suggest a date during the sole reign of Hatshepsut? - where it seems (Deir el Bahri) Neferure's status was elevated from Kings Daughter to Gods Wife of Amun (please correct me if i am wrong here).
3. Provenance:
   

   Provenance

   Otto Wegener Collection, Munich, collected in the 1950s
   Edgar Wegener, Hamburg, 1983
   Thomas Wegener, 1995 

No mention here of an excavation. Collected in the 1950's means very little if we wish to bring the stela to life. No excavation reports, no photographs of this item in-situ. I'm also not sure how i include such items in the database.

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - Netery Menu photo update

Hatshepsut's latest monument being re-erected in the Open air Museum, Karnak (following the wonderful work done by CFEETK on the Red Chapel). Dr Leser has forwarded these photos of the latest in the developments. I am really pleased to see the progress of this monument.

 I extend my sincerest thanks to Dr. Karl Leser for these wonderful photos. Your continued support is a major asset to my research.

The first photo shows the front view of the Netery Menu, which is really taking shape.

The second photo is a side view, giving an idea of the extent of the monument once it's finished. Working from fragments, CFEETK have progressed well in the last year or so.

Situated in the entrance of Karnak's Open air Museum - a seperate ticket will need to be obtained in order to view this munument. The cost compared to British tourist sites of much lesser quality is very reasonable.

Once completed i will expect CFEETK to give a full report on the work undertaken. I will contact them at some stage in the future to check this. Any information will be passed on.

These photographs are copyright Dr. Karl Leser.

If anyone out there is not aware of Dr. Lesers work on Hatshepsut - please visit his website (German and English language). See below:


MaatKaRa Hatschepsut

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - The National Archaeological Museum, Florence

The National Archaeological Museum, Florence, Italy has a small collection of Hatshepsut items within their collection in their Egyptian Museum. The following items have been added to the database:

• 3 Calcite/ Alabaster Vases with Lids, Foundation Deposits from Deir el Bahri
•  Limestone Votive Stela (From an official of the court of Hatshepsut)

Regards,
Stuart

Hatshepsut - Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Thanks to Phil Stewart (Hatshepsut Project Group member) for sending me a link to items i was previously unaware of at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, UK. Not many photos are included, but the information supplied is very useful.

The database will be updated shortly:

Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Regards,
Stuart