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Description
You're currently viewing an auction for an antique Egyptian silver Pendant/Necklace Chain. This antique piece is from EGYPT & made entirely of STERLING SILVER.
Dimensions: 4cm Length & 1.5cm Wide....(1.6" x 0.6" Inches).....This Piece of Art is made entirely of SILVER (Polished, Oxidize)....It has a silver stamp for authenticity purposes....In excellent vintage condition, with original patina....Weight is close to [4 grams] without the Chain.
Necklace length : 40 / 45 / 50 cm....Plz indicate the length of your necklace (50 cm is the default length if there is no request).
Necklace length : 40 / 45 / 50 cm....Plz indicate the length of your necklace (50 cm is the default length if there is no request).
The photos will say everything
Historical Outline of Ancient Egyptian Cartouche
In ancient Egypt, kings, and sometimes others, encircled their name hieroglyphs with a design that we now call a cartouche. While we may find it rarely used to enclose the name of non-kings, for the most part, the cartouche's presence identifies the name it encloses as the king of Egypt. A cartouche is an oval ring that is a hieroglyph representation of a length of rope folded and tied at one end. It symbolized everything that the sun encircled and is thus an indication of the king's rule of the cosmos. Later, in the demotic script, the cartouche was reduced to a pair of parentheses and a vertical line.
The term, "cartouche" is a relatively modern one coined by the soldiers of Napoleon's expedition in Egypt, who saw in the sign the likeness of the cartridges, or "cartouche" used in their own guns. The cartouche, known in ancient Egypt as the shenu, is derived from the Egyptian verb, Sheni, which means to encircle. It is very similar to the shen sign, a more circular form, and in fact the earliest use of the cartouche in which the king's name was written were circular and identical with that sign. So in order to understand the cartouche we must know something of the shen sign.
The circular shen sign, or ring evokes the concept of eternity through its form, having no beginning or end, and its solar aspect is symbolized by the sun disk often depicted in the center of the circle. It was also a symbol of protection, and as a hieroglyphic symbol in Egyptian art, it can have the meanings of both "eternity" and "protection". As a sign of "eternity", the shen is frequently associated with representations of Heh, the god of eternity, and often forms the base of the notched palm-branches symbolizing "years," which is held by this deity. It is also mirrored in the shape of the ouroboros, the serpent which bites its own tail.
However, the sign is perhaps most commonly associated with the avian forms of the falcon god Horus and the various vulture goddesses. These divine birds are frequently depicted holding the shen in their claws, hovering above the king and guarding him beneath their outstretched wings. The shen signs represented with these avian deities may be regarded as symbols of eternity, and therefore life, but it is possible that the signs also carry the connotation of protection, and this double significance would certainly seem to be present in many of the small decorative items and amulets, and indeed the larger royal objects, which are adorned with this sign.
While the earliest use of a cartouche seems to have been identical in form to the shen sign, early in Egyptian history, the form of the shen ring was lengthened in order to hold the increased number of hieroglyphs resulting from longer royal names and fuller orthography. In this way, the shen continued to be used as a sign with its own meaning while the cartouche, or shenu, became the standard holder of the royal name. Occasionally, one may find the name of a god or goddess in a cartouche. This was especially the case for Osiris-Onnophris and Isis in the temple inscriptions of the Greco-Roman Period.
Though Huni, the last king of the 3rd Dynasty, was the first to enclose his throne name in a true cartouche, by the 5th Dynasty, both the king's prenomen, or throne name (Egyptian nesu-bit), and his nomen, or birth name (Egyptian sa-re), were written within cartouches. These two names were without doubt the most important titles in the development of royal titulary, and the two cartouche names frequently appear with emblematic use in works of art as well as in formal inscriptions. However, it should be noted that these were typically the only two of the the king's full five-part titulary written within cartouches. For example, the king's so called Horus name was always written within a serekh.
While one of the connotations of the cartouche seems to have related to solar symbolism, an apotropaic (a symbol to ward off evil or bad luck) function related to the protection of the king's name was also extremely important. This protective function may be alluded to in the design of cartouche-shaped royal sarcophagi from the 18th Dynasty onward. Certainly, it would seem fitting to place the deceased king within a chest signifying his name and person, but the sense that protective imagery is involved is heightened by the inscriptions an representations which were also added to many sarcophagi. Note also that in the tomb of Tuthmosis III, in the Valley of the Kings, the entire burial chamber, as well as the sarcophagus, was constructed in the form of a cartouche.
The cartouche hieroglyph also appears in many decorative contexts such as the finger rings and decorated cartouche-shaped boxes. Some of these rings and chests were based on the form of the twin cartouches which framed both the king's most important names, though in these examples the cartouches often encircle small representations of a solar-related deity or the king himself rather than his name. In many instances, solar disks with uraei and plumes surmounted cartouches, possibly alluding to the solar connotations of the device as well as the solar element in the names of kings, such as Tutankhamun (Nebkheperure) and Ramesses.
In ancient Egypt, kings, and sometimes others, encircled their name hieroglyphs with a design that we now call a cartouche. While we may find it rarely used to enclose the name of non-kings, for the most part, the cartouche's presence identifies the name it encloses as the king of Egypt. A cartouche is an oval ring that is a hieroglyph representation of a length of rope folded and tied at one end. It symbolized everything that the sun encircled and is thus an indication of the king's rule of the cosmos. Later, in the demotic script, the cartouche was reduced to a pair of parentheses and a vertical line.
The term, "cartouche" is a relatively modern one coined by the soldiers of Napoleon's expedition in Egypt, who saw in the sign the likeness of the cartridges, or "cartouche" used in their own guns. The cartouche, known in ancient Egypt as the shenu, is derived from the Egyptian verb, Sheni, which means to encircle. It is very similar to the shen sign, a more circular form, and in fact the earliest use of the cartouche in which the king's name was written were circular and identical with that sign. So in order to understand the cartouche we must know something of the shen sign.
The circular shen sign, or ring evokes the concept of eternity through its form, having no beginning or end, and its solar aspect is symbolized by the sun disk often depicted in the center of the circle. It was also a symbol of protection, and as a hieroglyphic symbol in Egyptian art, it can have the meanings of both "eternity" and "protection". As a sign of "eternity", the shen is frequently associated with representations of Heh, the god of eternity, and often forms the base of the notched palm-branches symbolizing "years," which is held by this deity. It is also mirrored in the shape of the ouroboros, the serpent which bites its own tail.
However, the sign is perhaps most commonly associated with the avian forms of the falcon god Horus and the various vulture goddesses. These divine birds are frequently depicted holding the shen in their claws, hovering above the king and guarding him beneath their outstretched wings. The shen signs represented with these avian deities may be regarded as symbols of eternity, and therefore life, but it is possible that the signs also carry the connotation of protection, and this double significance would certainly seem to be present in many of the small decorative items and amulets, and indeed the larger royal objects, which are adorned with this sign.
While the earliest use of a cartouche seems to have been identical in form to the shen sign, early in Egyptian history, the form of the shen ring was lengthened in order to hold the increased number of hieroglyphs resulting from longer royal names and fuller orthography. In this way, the shen continued to be used as a sign with its own meaning while the cartouche, or shenu, became the standard holder of the royal name. Occasionally, one may find the name of a god or goddess in a cartouche. This was especially the case for Osiris-Onnophris and Isis in the temple inscriptions of the Greco-Roman Period.
Though Huni, the last king of the 3rd Dynasty, was the first to enclose his throne name in a true cartouche, by the 5th Dynasty, both the king's prenomen, or throne name (Egyptian nesu-bit), and his nomen, or birth name (Egyptian sa-re), were written within cartouches. These two names were without doubt the most important titles in the development of royal titulary, and the two cartouche names frequently appear with emblematic use in works of art as well as in formal inscriptions. However, it should be noted that these were typically the only two of the the king's full five-part titulary written within cartouches. For example, the king's so called Horus name was always written within a serekh.
While one of the connotations of the cartouche seems to have related to solar symbolism, an apotropaic (a symbol to ward off evil or bad luck) function related to the protection of the king's name was also extremely important. This protective function may be alluded to in the design of cartouche-shaped royal sarcophagi from the 18th Dynasty onward. Certainly, it would seem fitting to place the deceased king within a chest signifying his name and person, but the sense that protective imagery is involved is heightened by the inscriptions an representations which were also added to many sarcophagi. Note also that in the tomb of Tuthmosis III, in the Valley of the Kings, the entire burial chamber, as well as the sarcophagus, was constructed in the form of a cartouche.
The cartouche hieroglyph also appears in many decorative contexts such as the finger rings and decorated cartouche-shaped boxes. Some of these rings and chests were based on the form of the twin cartouches which framed both the king's most important names, though in these examples the cartouches often encircle small representations of a solar-related deity or the king himself rather than his name. In many instances, solar disks with uraei and plumes surmounted cartouches, possibly alluding to the solar connotations of the device as well as the solar element in the names of kings, such as Tutankhamun (Nebkheperure) and Ramesses.
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