The pectorals of
ancient Egypt were a form of jewelry, often in the form of a
brooch. They are often also
amulets, and may be so described. They were mostly worn by richer people and the
pharaoh.
One type is attached with a nah necklace, suspended from the neck and lying on the breast. Statuary from the
Old Kingdom onwards shows this form.
A later form was attached as a brooch, with the thematic,
iconographic function and statement outweighing its actual use as a piece of
jewellery for adornment. The thematic statements were typically about the
pharaoh or statements of
ancient Egyptian mythology and culture. They are usually of gold with
cloisonnéinlays of
gemstones.
Ancient Egyptian definition of pectoral
The many
determinatives for pectoral are not portrayed in the
Gardiner's Sign List. However, one of the 10 words[1] for 'pectoral', or 'collar' uses the
Usekh collar determinative, S11, the "collar necklace"
. However a similar hieroglyph for the verb "to collar", "to net" shows the relationship between the two Gardiner-listed hieroglyphs
.
The basic definition of a brooch is as a wide piece of jewellery. Therefore, one form of the 'pectoral' word listings uses the word for "breadth, broad", "to be wide or spacious", the
Egyptian word usekh. (Cf.
Usekh collar.)
Pectoral determinatives
Though Gardiner lists only the "broad collar", S11, the following listing of words for "pectoral" shows the other types of pectoral jewellery forms that have a Gardiner-unlisted type of pectoral hieroglyph sign:[2]
babaa-{Gard-unl. 13) ('necklace of beads', pectoral)
beb-{Gard-unl. 13) (a metal pectoral or breastplate, collar) (uraeus headdress (?))
menqebit-(none) (collar or pectoral to which the serpent amulet was attached)
hebner-{Gard-unl. 2 (similar to collar S11)) (collar, pectoral, neckband)
heter-t-(none) (a pectoral, a pectoral amulet)
hkakerit-(Gard. Aa30-used horizontally)
(ornaments, collar, pectoral, head-attire)
sheb-{Gard-unl. 15) (collar, necklace, pectoral)
'None' may have an alternate determinative used to define the word. From the above definitions, it can be seen that the collar, neckband, pectoral, beads, etc., can also include
amulets inclusive into the pectoral's
iconography. The above listed words are refenced in
E. A. Wallis Budge's "dictionary" to 200 works: steles, papyri, Egyptian literature, personal literature, etc.,[4] or the approximate 120 authors referenced.[5]
Statuary with pectorals
Standing statues, or others were sometimes represented with various forms of jewellery, including pectorals; some are enigmatic in what is being portrayed, whether to gods, or what the symbolism represents.
Famous pectorals; hieroglyph statements
Statements in
Egyptian languagehieroglyphs were often the theme of famous pectorals, regardless of their actual use for adornment.
Kamrin's modern hieroglyph primer for Egyptian artifacts uses Amenemhat III's pectoral for Exercise 22, Object 3. The discussion explains that the extended wings of the Vulture Goddess relate to "Lord of the Sky"-(pt), the Vulture Goddess, (but also implying the pharaoh is Lord of the
Sky). Her translation: "Lord (Lady) of the
sky Nimaatre (Amenemhat III), the good god, lord of the
Two Lands and of all foreign Lands." (nb pt n-m3't-r' nthr nfr nb t3wy h3swt nb(w)t)[8]