Friday 1 October 2010

Friday Evening Review

Review as in the last week-whoosh! So quick, so busy, so exhausting. But today was good in that Aliamin, my little violent one, lasted the whole hour and a half that he stays without hitting anyone, without absolutely constant supervision, and managing playing in a lovely way on his own and with a couple of others. I was so happy to see it. He has had a pretty good week, and I can see a massive improvement since he started.

Tonight I downloaded Kim Klassen's photoshop recipe book, which I naughtily purchased last week. I love the way she uses the textures she creates, and it is fun to play around with them too.
Below is a photo from last week at the British Museum. This is what my current banner is-the blurred photo of these shabtis which I took on my phone before taking this one.

'O shabti, if (the deceased) be summoned to do any work which has to be done in the realm of the dead, to make arable the fields, to irrigate the land, or to convey the sand from east to west, 'Here I am', you shall say, 'I shall do it'.

These beautiful objects were buried with the dead in ancient Egypt, to do the work in the afterlife. In a totally superficial way, I just love all the colours, especially the turquoise ones. In a less superficial way I find the purpose of them most interesting and also quite practical.

As part of the day, we were allowed to handle an artefact, in order to generate questions about it. This is the object. Oh how tempting to slip it into my bag, though it would have been hard to get away with it in a lecture theatre filled with eagle eyed teachers! I think I will add the more clear picture of it, before I fiddled with it in photoshop, as you can see the writing more clearly.
We had to guess what the purpose of the object might have been, looking at clues in the object itself. We guessed it had some spiritual significance because of the use of the scarab, and obviously held some kind of message.
'My heart of my Mother, my heart of my Mother, my heart of my form. Do not stand against me in witness. Do not turn me back at the council. Do not make your rebellion against me in the presence of the keeper of the balance. You are my ka in my body which (rules and strengthens my limbs-this part is unclear-not on the scarab but in my scrawled notes-so may not be right!) You have come forth to the beautiful place. Do not make my name to stink to the nobles of the court. Do not speak lies against me at the side of my God.'
This is a heart stone, and was buried with the mummified corpse, placed over the heart. I saw one of these on a displayed Mummy. In the books of the dead, it shows the dead Egyptian appearing before Anubis. There are scales, and the heart of the deceased is weighed against the feather of truth. If the deceased has done many bad deeds in their life then their heart will have grown heavy, and so will weigh more than the feather. This did not bode well for you in the after life. So, the purpose of the stone was a kind of shield against being condemned by the feather of truth. It is amazing to hold something so old and with such a story. The museum man made the point that we were all now part of the story of the stone, so this blog post is also part of its story.

Random dolls house shot, manipulated in photoshop.
I came home tonight and did all the work I intend to do this weekend, so have two full days clear. Not sure what to do tomorrow, either the garden or go out somewhere-will see what the weather does. Autumn has arrived with the first of the month! Wind, rain and chilliness!

13 comments:

Lynne said...

How wonderful to have two clear days free. Maybe you will also mange some time for painting and drawing that you have missed with being so busy?
Have a great weekend whatever you do.

Unknown said...

OMG Im so in love with world history. I would have been like you tempted to take. I also would not have let anyone else hold been in too much awe...Oh cooler days thank goodness. Im ready, hot coffee, chocolate, cider, sweaters and cool evenings outside to watch the stars...Ok got lost there for a second..lol

Have a fun, creative, and happy weekend...if ya o anywhere camera in hand lol.

xoxox

Linda Sue said...

WOW this post is loaded! I love all of it and will be revisiting once I get my bearings. Curious stone...I wonder if spiritual art will go by the way side now that Stephen Hawkings has declared super natural beings null and void, unscientific, unprovable nonsense...I want a stone placed over my heart ,,,just in case.Almitra has been enjoying the sunshine today- giddy, she!

Janine said...

Wonderful photos Sarah!

Dimple said...

So interesting! I like all your photo manipulations, but the ones of the cat are my favorites.

Leenie said...

Couldn't you just spend hours and hours and hours playing with Photoshop? (maybe if I did, I'd remember where a few of those menus are hiding). Love the special effects on kitty. And with those tools even skuzzy photos can be salvaged. Enjoy your free days and congrats on the success with your little rebel.

Rattling On said...

Love your special effects, and the photos from the museum. Egyptian things have a great potency don't they?

jabblog said...

The shabtis are really beautiful. Like you, the turquoise appeals to me. I like the philosophy of the heart stone but how did the people expect to fool Anubis?
Your feline photos are lovely - I really MUST get to grips with photo editing . . .
I laughed at your description of Tiger resting on your laptop even when you're not there. She wants to blog too!

BonnyBadger said...

i love your kitty pics. I am sitting at home with a dreadful cold watching Blithe Spirit!

Paula said...

What an interesting post, Sarah. The Egyptian artifact completely amazes me. I love that you got to hold it and run your finger of the inscriptions. Incredible!
Love your kitty pictures. Photoshop is such a fun tool!
Happy Fall~

Yiota said...

all the work done? two clear days? I can never do it!
Sounds like a very interesting visit at the museum and I'm glad the little boy has started fitting in.
Have a great rest of the weekend!

Relyn Lawson said...

I LOVE the bill top image. SO much! So? Have I visited yet and told you how thrilled I am that you are playing along with me in the swap? Well, I am. I'll be sending an email in an hour or so. Yay! Thanks so much for participating. Blessings to you, my friend. ~ Relyn

Chubby Chieque said...

Very educational... what a great reading... daughter, son & GH check your blog now & starts reading. All are very interested in history.

TY for sharing Sara?

Happy SS & enjoy your Sunday soonest...

x0x0,
/chubzC