Priest Seto's headpiece looks similar to the Khepresh, known as the "war crown" that pharaohs would wear during military operations. However, it became the default crown during Akenaten's reign (Tutankhamun's father).
Even the earlier design in the Tablet of Lost Memories resembles the artistic depictions of the crown in the Amarna period (Akhenaten's time), just with additional decorations.
Takahashi based Atem's backstory on the life of Tutankhamun, yet his priest is the one wearing the royal crown characteristic of the ruler of his time. Atem's father wears something closer to the Khat:
In the first flashback Kaiba has of his past life in chapter 229 of the first edition, the design also resembles the attire Akhenaten chose to be depicted with (guy was remarkable for altering the whole aesthetics of royal depictions in his time):
This creative choice certainly foreshadows priest Seto's eventual ascend to pharaoh after Atem seals himself and Zorc in the puzzle, but if Seto is the one wearing the pharaoh crown, then what do we make out of Atem's own crown that's different from that of his father?
At first I assumed it was related to the winged sun disk, a symbol directly related to the god Horus and his victory over Set, except the sun disk is replaced with an eye (also alluring to the eye of Horus symbol) and without the cobras representing the wadjet:
But it also has a striking resemblance to the Vulture Crown, worn by women and especially by queens (female pharaohs wear the proper pharaoh crowns), specifically in the first flashback Kaiba and Yamiyu have during their battle city duel in chapter 257 where Atem's crown design sports a bird (falcon?) head on top of the eye, just that the wings are turned upwards instead:
So Prideship have matching king and queen crowns? haha
But wait, there's more!
Following symbolism in ancient Egyptian art, three things stand out: dimension, position, and gesture.
Two opposite figures together, such as two character with complete opposite philosophies of life like Atem's ideals of unity and Kaiba's individualistic values who wear king and queen crowns:
The phenomenon of duality pervades Egyptian culture and is at the heart of the essential differences between two parts of a given pair, Egyptian thought may stress their complementary nature as way of expressing the essential unity of existence through the alignment and harmonization of opposites.
Thus, while duality can symbolize opposite forces or conditions, it may just as well suggest the exact opposite in stressing different aspects of a single, united whole.
The two figures depicted each with a foot forward and a raised arm with an open palm:
A foot forward is reserved as a symbol of authority and power, so when a figure with a "lower rank" is represented before a god or the pharaoh, only the powerful figure will have the foot forward (even in depictions of king and queen together, only the king has his foot forward). In the Tablet of Lost Memories however, both figures have their foot forward, symbolizing perhaps that their power is shared?
On the other hand (lol), there is a wide variety of hand gestures coded into ancient Egyptian art, each with their own meaning depending on context and figures depicted. While this specific hand gesture in the Tablet of Lost Memories could even be interpreted as a hostile gesture, it is also gesture for worship, devotion or protection:
The basic attitude of praise or supplication which is frequently seen in representation of Egyptians before their king or before the gods involves the holding up of one or both arms to about shoulder level with the palm facing toward the object of praise and the thumb shown below the hand.
And lastly, the equal size of the two figures. Priest Seto (and subsequently, Kaiba) is taller than Atem for quite a lot, yet the figures in the tablet are roughly the same height:
While the relative size of objects is rarely of symbolic significance in modern works of art using visual perspective, in ancient Egyptian art the opposite is true. In Egyptian sculpture and two-dimensional works, differences of scale rarely reflect visual reality. As in many other ancient cultures, the size of objects and figures is more often a result of the principle of relative importance, and hierarchic scaling - showing gods and kings depicted larger than lesser beings - was used from the earliest dynastic period.
Through this, we can infer the two figures are depicted as complementary sides of a greater whole, equal in power and devoted to each other ♡
Also let's just take a moment to appreciate how natural the tablet looks next to other depictions of king and queen facing each other:
In the depiction of Amenhotep I and his queen Ahmose-Nefertari the two are represented the same size, while in the depiction of Tutankhamun and his queen Ankhesenamun, Tutankhamun is represented with the same hand gesture Seto and Atem are making to each other (he's even holding a staff like Seto!).
Interpreting ancient Egyptian art isn't as straight-forward as matching a single meaning to an element in the piece, though, context and historical background matter and can change every small aspect of the final interpretation. For example, the meaning of the Tablet of Lost Memories was implied at first to be a depiction of Atem and Priest Seto's battle, a hostile interpretation that can be drawn using the same symbols I analyzed here. And yet, we already know the meaning of the tablet, because it was told to us directly in chapter 263:
The tablet contains a poem by the grief-stricken Priest Seto to his late historian will say they were friend, the pharaoh Atem:
We can also attribute this symbolism to random coincidences and the alteration of ancient Egyptian designs to (borderline orientalist - those pants 😭) mistakes instead of creative choices...
But should we? Even if a special illustrator was brought in for chapter 13 where the characters visit an ancient Egypt exposition, wouldn't mr Takahashi have become at least a bit familiar with ancient Egyptian art?
Up to you!
👉 Source of the quotes used in the analysis:
Symbol & Magic in Ancient Egyptian Art by Richard H. Wilkinson
As an extra:
The brazier with fire isn't something typically depicted in ancient Egyptian art (not with the fire, at least) but this is one of the many things we can attribute to Takahashi's creative choices.
A brazier like this can be interpreted as a ritual offering and the smoke of the offering would go up to the gods - who are depicted at the top above Blue Eyes and Dark Magician - but it also can have a double hostile meaning:
The formula of burning offerings was among the ritual of making offerings to a divine being deity, king, or blesses dead, its purpose was shown in two parts:
The first: offerings to the gods or to the deceased in order to provide them with symbolic food, and the offerings were not left until they were completely burned (...) And when these offerings are exposed to fire, thick smoke with a distinctive smell rises from them, and thus this rising smoke represents a symbol of the entire sacrifice
going to the gods or the deceased without burning the entire sacrifice. It also confirms the distance of the gods from humans, as the gods are far in the sky where smoke rises.
The second: a sacrifice that is burnt in order to complete the ritual of annihilation of enemies, which symbolizes these burnt sacrifices, as burning or annihilating them leads to the complete disposal of their evils, as the ancient Egyptian saw in the fire the ability to purify in a general way and expel evil spirits and drive away enemies, and many texts expressed the idea of torturing enemies and burning them in fire. Over time, the idea of revenge on the enemies by slaughtering them combined with the idea of offering the burnt offering as a symbol of the annihilation of these enemies completely, so the burnt sacrifices became a symbol of the enemies who are annihilated by slaughter or burning, which represents a complete victory.
We also find yet again the Horus-Set relation:
Finding the basin designated for burning and containing coal in some of the sacrificial chapels confirms the actual practice of the ritual, but there is no evidence of the actual steps that take place during the sacrifice and the rituals accompanying it. According to the aforementioned list, it requires to perform the ritual to bring geese and goat as symbols of the god Seth, and it was presented as an offering to the god Horus as a symbol of his victory over the god Seth. In the temples of the late period, the wȝḥʿḫwas referred to as a festival in which animals and offerings were burned in front of the deity, as they were symbols of the enemies.
Either mr Takahashi just thought a brazier with actual fire, nowhere depicted in ancient Egyptian art, would look cool as hell and this is just another incredible coincidence or, you know, we can allow ourselves to be delulu.
👉 Source of the quotes for the extras:
Brazier in Ancient Egypt by Naglaa Fathy Ahmed Shehab
Your art is absolutely gorgeous and adorable! Do you do prideshipping commissions? If not, I completely understand and apologize for asking!
Thank you so much! I'm really glad you enjoy my art🫶🫶✨
I don't currently have any plans to open prideshipping commissions, but it's definitely something I'd be interested in considering if people are looking for it.
If you have any ideas or suggestions, feel free to email me at [email protected] and we can discuss them!
neko suberi
Little cat lore: Male calico cats are very rare! In Japan, they're associated with good luck and are often considered special or prestigious cats. The three-color coat felt perfect for Atem, so that's why I chose to make him a calico.
Something about their relationship just hits all my favorite tropes!!💙❤️
I really love their “rivals but also allies” dynamic and the kind of healthy competition they have.
They both see each other as someone who pushes them to grow and improve. Even though they seem completely at odds on the surface, through each duel they come to understand each other more and more…it feels like they truly know and appreciate one another, and that’s something I really enjoy.
theartofmadeline
tangentwithtanner
blakekathryn
gummygunk
