![]() We as writers keep the records of the actions of others, whether they be good, bad or neutral.Īnother thing that really impacted me was the fact that this role was more than a job: it was an inheritance. It’s true, in a sense, that the “scribes” of today – journalists, novelists, memoirists, and the like – function much the same. In the spiritual realm, it was believed that all information about whether a person would live in peace or eternal torment was captured by the scribe. What’s significant about this piece to me is the power held by a scribe. ![]() Thoth himself was a scribe within Egyptian mythology, recording the judgments of human souls who had entered the afterlife. It also touches on the significance of Thoth, the patron deity of scribes. ![]() The museum notes that being a scribe was often a hereditary role, with fathers preparing their sons for positions as bureaucrats for future pharoahs. I loved, too, the plaque posted next to the Statue of Seated Scribe. The piece is sculpted from alabaster, and still features the original text at the base, no doubt describing who he is and his role in the kingdom. He appears to know a lot but, instead of it filling him with arrogance and an unapproachable energy, his face seems to invite you to ask questions that he will gladly answer. The scribe looks toward the horizon, with a soft smile on his face and hands resting comfortably on his thighs as he holds a roll of papyrus. Statue of Seated Scribe, Sema-tawy-tefnakht is more than 2500 years old, and appears just as wise and intuitive today as it probably did when it was first sculpted. On this particular visit, I focused more of my time on the Egyptian collection. I always try to spend a little more time in the permanent collection, so that I can be really familiar with the contents of the museum. Scribes were high in the social order of the Ancient Egyptian Society - they were one of the very few who were literate and served in numerous roles - from tax collectors, to pyramid building coordinators, to religious and political functions, to name a few.I’ve started this post multiple times (and even accidentally posted it once or twice) but I struggled with putting this into words.Ī couple of years ago, I went to Virginia Museum of Fine Art (VMFA), my favorite local museum. His body is soft, he isn't muscular, which shows that he doesn't do hard physical labor and he eats fairly well - and shows off his high status in society. His gaze is very concentrated and attentive - it's almost as though he is observing your every move and waiting for you to speak. His eyes are made out of two rock crystals, his nipples - out of two wooden stubs. His sitting position may have meant that he was a member of the royal family (the pharaoh's son or grandson, for example) but since all the excavation journals and documents, the base of the sculpture have been lost, we just do not know for sure. He almost reminds me of some weird Egyptian meditating buddhist (Buddhism will come only a couple thousand years later, so it couldn't have been true). ![]() The seated scribe has a very calm expression on his face, his back is straight and he is sitting cross-legged.
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