Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

The bezoar ibex (Capra aegagrus aegagrus), with its impressive horns, is a striking animal that is found in West Asia, including in Iran. It is therefore not surprising that craftspeople would use ibexes such as these as ornamentation in jewelry, bronze objects or, as in this case, a pin. On this bone pin the ibex's head, complete with horns is preserved. The location of the ibex's head on the end of the pin means that if it was used as a hair pin or a pin for clothing, the head of the animal would always have bee visible and the focus of the piece.

A25212, bone,Iran, Iron Age (800–650 BCE)

https://isac.uchicago.edu/bestiarynubia

This tablet, written in Akkadian from the ISAC excavations at the Tell Asmar, is a memo about a gold ornament. It does not specify the design and we have gold ornaments from Iraq, in the ISAC Museum from excavations in the Diyala, which are in a variety of shapes, such as this gold foil leaf from Khafajeh. Animal-shaped ornaments, such as this amulet of a horned animal, also from Khafajeh also survive, but this example is in silver, rather than gold.

A7665A, A9215, A21321, baked clay, gold, silver, Isin-Larsa period (c. 2025–1763 BCE), Early Dynastic IIIa (c. 2600–2500 BCE), Akkadian period (ca. 2334–2154 BCE)

https://isac.uchicago.edu/bestiarynubia

There is also evidence for how these types of metal ornaments were manufactured. This is a stone mold that was excavated from the site of Fustat in Egypt and dates to the medieval Islamic period. It shows a bird in profile and the burning along the side of the mold suggests that it was actually used at least once. There were likely other objects that were made in this mold but these have broken away, leaving the bird as the only surviving object that we can reconstruct. It is likely that the bird was made of metal, possibly copper or lead, and could have been used to decorate a metal object such as a lamp or possibly decoration on a piece of furniture or a small box.

E25536, stone, Egypt, medieval Islamic period (11-13th century CE)

https://isac.uchicago.edu/bestiarynubia

It's ! Statues of animals clearly needed ornamentation, as outlined in this brief tablet. This Akkadian period tablet from Nippur states that a certain Iplusi-ilum has received 11.7 ounces of gold for the mouths of two ushumgal (dragon or lion-dragon) beasts. Presumably these are statues that would have been decorated with various materials. This Akkadian period statue from Tell Asmar, now in the Baghdad Museum shows how a statue of such a dragon might have appeared.

A32323, baked clay, Iraq, Akkadian period (ca. 2334–2154 BCE)

https://isac.uchicago.edu/bestiarynubia

This week, we continue to look at animals in the ancient world as part of the final weeks of "A Bestiary of Ancient Nubia." This week we are looking at animals used in decorative elements. In the exhibition, an entire section was devoted to "Wild and Dangerous" animals. The piece here, a standard finial from Luristan in Iran depicts a so-called "Master of Animals," showing a human figure grasping two felines. The identity of the central figure is uncertain, but in these depictions, both men and women are shown demonstrating a mastery of two animals. These may be deities or have some sort of protective function, but this remains as uncertain as the identity of the central human figure.

A24181, bronze, Iran, Iron Age (ca. 800–650 BCE)

https://isac.uchicago.edu/bestiarynubia

When depicting animals that have were no longer living in places such as Egypt or Sudan, it becomes evident that the artist is unfamiliar with the actual animal. Here, in the tribute scene of Huy (Theban Tomb 40) dating from the reign of Tutankhamun, we see here Nubians delivering tribute, including cattle and at a giraffe. While the giraffe is correctly drawn with a long neck, the artist was unaware that the giraffe would have been spotted and therefore drew it a solid brown. Solid brown spotless giraffes are extremely rare, such as Kipekee at the Brights Zoo in Limestone, TN, making it unlikely that if a giraffe was actually presented as a gift by the Nubians, that the Egyptian artist drew an actual giraffe they saw.

https://isac.uchicago.edu/bestiarynubia

Robert Ritner's contribution to the study of ancient Egyptian magic did not stop with his book and many articles on the subject. He is also responsible for the magic case in the Egyptian gallery at the ISAC Museum. He selected the objects that were to go on display (those of you who know his book may see some familiar friends here) and wrote all the detailed labels. While he is not named in this case, it reflects his understanding of ancient Egyptian magic and allows him to reach thousands of museum visitors every year and share that knowledge with them.

Ancient Egyptians imagined the manifestation of a person's being after their death as their "ba," which is often translate as the "soul" of the deceased. The ancient Egyptians imagined this manifestation as a human-headed bird, as we see here in the papyrus of Padiamon. In the time of Pinedjem II, who was High Priest of Amun in Dynasty 21, Padiamon held, among other titles, that of God’s servant of Amun, Overseer of the Secrets, Chief lector priest of Amun. This photograph comes from the Thomas George Allen papers in the ISAC archives. The text above and behind the ba bird says: "Osiris, Prophet of Amon Padiamon, the justified one. May they grant (his) coming forth as a living soul to see the disk when it rises."

https://isac.uchicago.edu/bestiarynubia

Robert Ritner made a considerable contribution to the field of Egyptology, not least because of his 1993 book, "The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice" published by ISAC as part of the Studies in Ancient Oriental Civilization series. Although the term "ground-breaking" is often applied to various studies, in this case the description was accurate. Based on his PhD dissertation (you can see him in his cap and gown in this photograph with the late George Hughes and Janet Johnson), the book entirely changed the way people understood and studied ancient Egyptian magic. Today it remains a towering achievement and has gone through an impressive four printings.

https://bit.ly/ISACRitnerMechanicsAncientEgyptianMagicalPractice