#[cairo]

[animentality]

[gorskivijenac]

Cairo, Egypt, 1983. via flickr

[iloveabortions]

Anubis & Horus spotted having tea in Cairo, Egypt (2006)

[zegalba]

Anubis & Horus spotted having tea in Cairo (2006)

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

Child's Writing Exercises and Doodles, from Egypt, c. 1000-1200 CE: this was made by a child who was practicing Hebrew, creating doodles and scribbles on the page as they worked

This writing fragment is nearly 1,000 years old, and it was made by a child who lived in Egypt during the Middle Ages. Several letters of the Hebrew alphabet are written on the page, probably as part of a writing exercise, but the child apparently got a little bored/distracted, as they also left a drawing of a camel (or possibly a person), a doodle that resembles a menorah, and an assortment of other scribbles on the page.

This is the work of a Jewish child from Fustat (Old Cairo), and it was preserved in the collection known as the Cairo Genizah Manuscripts. As the University of Cambridge Library explains:

For a thousand years, the Jewish community of Fustat placed their worn-out books and other writings in a storeroom (genizah) of the Ben Ezra Synagogue ... According to rabbinic law, once a holy book can no longer be used (because it is too old, or because its text is no longer relevant) it cannot be destroyed or casually discarded: texts containing the name of God should be buried or, if burial is not possible, placed in a genizah.

At least from the early 11th century, the Jews of Fustat ... reverently placed their old texts in the Genizah. Remarkably, however, they placed not only the expected religious works, such as Bibles, prayer books and compendia of Jewish law, but also what we would regard as secular works and everyday documents: shopping lists, marriage contracts, divorce deeds, pages from Arabic fables, works of Sufi and Shi'ite philosophy, medical books, magical amulets, business letters and accounts, and hundreds of letters: examples of practically every kind of written text produced by the Jewish communities of the Near East can now be found in the Genizah Collection, and it presents an unparalleled insight into the medieval Jewish world.

Sources & More Info:

Cambridge Digital Library: Writing Exercises with Child's Drawings

Cambridge Digital Library: More About the Cairo Genizah Manuscripts

[elgrajaz]

Pound

[thatshowthingstarted]

Scarab Bracelet of Tutankhamun,

New Kingdom, late 18th Dynasty, reign of Tutankhamun, ca. 1332-1323 BC. 

The scarab bracelet of Tutankhamun is considered a masterpiece of ancient Egyptian jewelry. The rigid gold bracelet is composed of two semicircles joined together by a hinge on one side and a clasp on the other. The central plaque bears a cloisonné scarab inlaid with lapis lazuli.

The scarab, symbol of the morning sun, rebirth and protection in ancient Egyptian culture, was the most popular motif used in jewelry. The small circumference of this bracelet suggests that it was made for King Tutankhamun when he was a child.

The bracelet itself is also inlaid with carnelian, lapis lazuli, and colored glass. It was found in the cartouche shaped box that contained several other objects, including the fine pair of earrings which also seem to have been personal possessions.

In ancient Egypt, scarab bracelets were a popular form of jewelry. The scarab beetle held great significance in Egyptian culture, symbolizing rebirth and protection.

These bracelets were often made of precious materials such as gold or semi-precious stones, and they featured a scarab beetle motif. The scarab beetle was believed to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits.

Scarab bracelets were worn by both men and women and were considered a fashionable accessory as well as a symbol of religious and spiritual beliefs.

The Egyptians adopted the scarab (Ateuchus sacer) as a symbol of the sun god, because they were familiar with the sight of the beetle rolling a ball of dung on the ground and this action suggested to them that the invisible power that rolled the sun daily across the sky could be represented pictorially as a scarab.

From the Tomb of Tutankhamun (KV62), Valley of the Kings, West Thebes. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 62360