Monday walk…like an Egyptian

Walk into the Penn Museum and you’re face to face with a sphinx, the largest in the western hemisphere.

“In October 1913 a colossal granite sphinx arrived in Philadelphia to great excitement. Weighing close to 15 tons, the sphinx was the second largest ancient Egyptian monument ever to come to America (after New York’s Central Park obelisk that had arrived in 1881). The sphinx, over 3,000 years old, has inscriptions of the famous pharaoh Ramses II (Ramses the Great) who reigned ca. 1200 BCE.” Penn Museum website

As you can see, the head is badly damaged while the body and cartouches are in excellent shape. At some point, the body, up to the shoulders, was buried in sand, preserving it. Eventually, the entire sphinx was buried before being discovered.

Let’s head over to the Egyptian gallery. There’s so much to see! On this head, the cobra and the royal headdress seem to indicate a Pharaoh. Looks like he’s meditating. 🙂

This bit of temple relief shows Ramses II killing a warrior. Have you ever thought about the time and effort it took to record things in stone?? Makes writing things down look positively speedy!

Sekhmet, depicted with a lioness head, was the protector of pharaohs and the Eygptian goddess of war as well as healing. I guess that combination of war and healing is the perfect way to make sure you’re never out of job.

These jars of wine for a woman’s tomb are beautifully decorated. When our girls were younger, we took lots of home school field trips to the outstanding Cleveland Museum of Art. The Egyptian exhibit was always a favorite part of those trips.

I hope you enjoyed what Penn Museum has to offer. What say you to some coffee or tea?

Here’s our friend Ramses II again, this time with a bit more color.

for Jo’s Monday Walk