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The Development of the Sign of the Ancient Egyptian Goddess Seshat Down to the End of the Old Kingdom: Analysis and Interpretation*

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The Development of the Sign of the Ancient Egyptian Goddess Seshat Down to the End of the Old Kingdom: Analysis and Interpretation* ASIAN AND AFRICAN STUDIES, 15, 2006, 1, 55-72 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SIGN OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN GODDESS SESHAT DOWN TO THE END OF THE OLD KINGDOM: ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION* - Part Three - Dušan M agdolen Institute of Oriental Studies, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Klemensova 19, 813 64 Bratislava, Slovakia e-mail: [email protected] Die Identifizierung dieses Attributs bzw. Symbols der Seschat, mit dem auch ihr Name geschrieben wird, ist bis heute nicht gelungen. (Dagmar Budde, Die Göttin Seschat, 2000) Two parts of this study published in the previous volumes of this journal contain a corpus of the signs of the goddess Seshat consisting of the basic description and characteristics of this sign. More than eighty references were found in the iconographic and epigraphic records dated to the Archaic and Old Kingdom Periods. Part Three published in this volume encloses this study, and presents the results of the investigation including an attempt to interpret the sign of the goddess Seshat. Key words: iconography, Seshat’s emblem, analysis, symmetry, lotus. 1 This investigation of the sign of Seshat is based on the published records. The whole corpus of references consists of eighty one signs1 dated to the third millen­ nium B.C. They are divided into two categories: first, the signs attested in the relief scenes of the royal monuments, and second, the signs found in the hiero­ * The study about the sign of Seshat was supported by the Robert Anderson Research Charitable Trust. I would like to express my cordial thanks to Dr. Robert Anderson for his kind help and support during the whole period of preparation of this study. 1 The documents published in two previous volumes of the AAS journal will be cited in this part of the study according to their numbers. 55 35 f 25 20 C 3CO O" 15 10 03 i— 03 cn C N CO 03 O £ site Figure 1. The provenance of the sign. glyphic inscriptions. The former (iconographic) category is represented by the signs depicted as the headdress of the goddess Seshat in seven cases,2 and in two references3 the sign occurs in the form of a divine standard. The latter (epigraphic) category is formed by the signs found in royal and non-royal inscriptions of vari­ ous contents, such as the name of the goddess Seshat herself and her male coun­ terpart Seshau, further the name of Seshat in theomorphic names of the officials and in the priest titles.4 The statistical evaluation of the provenance and occur­ rence of the sign at the archaeological sites and on the various monuments respec­ tively are expressed in figures one and two. In general, the study of the sign of Seshat comprises several approaches in­ cluding various methods applied during the research in the past. In this study, the detailed descriptive analysis of the sign presented in the first two parts of this study provides important data about its basic characteristics. The results of this approach can be further complemented and extended by a comparative method to identify the changes, similarities and differences between the signs. They can be useful for establishing a more detailed typology of the sign for the period. In the interpretation part, the role and function of the goddess Seshat from the religious 2 Nos. 1.1., 1.2, 1.3., 1.4., 1.5., 1.6., 1.8. 3 Nos. 1.7.1., 1.7.2. 4 Majority of the signs in this category comes from the non-royal inscriptions. 56 25 —— ;------— 20 - c 3cs O' 10 ABDE H I monument Figure 2. The occurrence of the sign on the monuments. A = tomb inscriptions, temple reliefs; B = offering niches, false doors, tables; C = seal impressions; D = stone vessels; E = stelae; F = wooden tablet; G = Palermo Stone; H = statues; I = obelisk viewpoint as we know her on the basis of the religious texts and scenes are taken into consideration in order to discuss the form and meaning of her symbol. This study in context of the examination of the sign is focused primarily on its iconography and palaeography preserved in the Archaic and Old Kingdom records. Although the whole material of this study is dated to the first six dynasties, in certain cases some examples of signs and other records from later periods will be cited as well. The later evolutionary forms of the sign will be mentioned to clarify and better understand some partial problems connected with the interpretation of the sign. Admittedly, in spite of the number of the collected signs we must consider the fact that our corpus is far from being complete. On the other hand, more than eighty examples provides statistically sufficient amount for discussion of the prob­ lems examined in this study. More than 75% of all signs are those preserved com­ pletely or with irrelevant traces of damage from the viewpoint of the basic charac­ teristics and preservation of all important parts of the sign. The signs with a high degree of damage or the ones with relevant parts missing form the rest. As can be seen in figure one, a majority of the signs come from the royal cemeteries of the Memphite area with the strong concentration of non-royal tombs. A very small number of signs are attested from other localities in Egypt.5 The data presented in figure two complement those in previous diagram and show clearly that almost all 5 One sign (No. 2.11.) comes from the locality out of Egypt, i.e. Byblos. 57 sources belong to the funerary context. The attested evidences show that the sign of Seshat can be found imprinted on mud, further engraved on the surface of stone or wood in the form of the raised or sunken relief or painted on the same materials. The quality of the preserved sign is variable. Only one example provides a notion about the coloured decoration of the sign. It is the sign preserved on the well- known polychrome slab stela belonging to the official named Wepemnefret.6 This is the only sign of Seshat preserved with colours from the investigated period that we know of so far. The calligraphic forms of the sign with detailed decoration of some of its parts are rare, however, they are also attested.7 2 At this place it will be useful to present some theories focused on the interpre­ tation of the sign of the goddess Seshat published so far. It should be noticed that the opinions of the scholars mentioned here concern both the early and the later evolutionary forms of the sign known in two fundamental hieroglyphic forms y and y respectively. The most frequent and important theories are mentioned here according to the year of their appearance in the published form.8 1905. In her publication focused on the Saqqara mastabas, Margaret Murray9 turns her attention to the sign of the goddess Seshat. Her interpretation is pre­ sented in the context of the sign preserved on the limestone panels coming from the offering niche of the tomb of Khabausokar.10 Murray says that: “Seshat must therefore be the deity of hut-building, and this is, I think, shown by the hieroglyph of her name.” Further she continues: “The central pillar is of reeds firmly lashed together and ending in the well-known kheker-ornament. On this central pillar are laid three cross-beams, also made of lashed papyrus reeds, which span the hut from side to side; the combination of beams and pillar give the effect of an open flower owing to the peculiar method used by the Egyptian artist of representing a building partly in plan and partly in elevation. A domed roof of thatch rests on the ends of the beams and on the top of the central pillar. This is then the aspect of a hut before the lattice side-screens are put in position; it represents the essential parts of the building; the screens being non-essential. The ornament at the top may be the feathers of divinity, but are more probably the representation in highly stylized form of the bunches of straw with which the topmost layer of thatch is finished.” 1909. In this year the German Günther Roeder11 published an entry about Seshat in Roscher’s Lexikon. In his essay he writes about the headdress of Seshat: 6 No. 2.14. 7 Nos. 1.2., 2.12., 2.14. 8 Cf. D. Budde, Die Göttin Seschat, Leipzig 2000, 37-39. 9 M. A. Murray, Saqqara Mastabas, Volume 2, London 1905, 10-11. 10 Nos. 2.12.1., 2.12.2., 2.12.3., 2.12.4. 11 G. Roeder, Seschat, In: W. H. Roscher, Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie, Lieferung 59, Leipzig 1909, 714-724. 58 “Das Zeichen auf dem Kopf der S. [Seschat] verändert sich allmählich. Im mittleren Reich ist die Rosette auf eine längere Stange gesetzt, so daß sie hoch über dem Kopf der Göttin schwebt; so bleibt es durch allen späteren Zeiten hindurch. Gelegentlich ist die Gruppierung der Strahlen eine andere als sonst; zuweilen scheint die Rosette fünf statt sieben Strahlen zu haben, sowohl im Neuen Reich wie in ptolemäischer Zeit. Die beiden Aufsätze auf dem Halbkreisbogen sind in älterer Zeit noch ziemlich hoch, werden in der 19. Dynastie wesentlich niedriger und stehen sogar im spitzen Winkel zueinander. Der Bogen nähert sich im neuen Reich mehr und mehr der Form von abwärts gebogenen Rinderhömem, der sie in später Zeit ziemlich nahe kommen.” 1940. The paper published by Gerald A. Wainwright12 was primary focused on the relation between Seshat and the pharaoh.
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