[Tidbits] What's the matter?

Jewelry Discussion
1

What’s the matter? You don’t read hieroglyphics? Okay okay. If I have
to teach you I have to teach you. How many of you remember: Heeere’s
Johnieee. Of course you all do. Each and every one. And how about
when he wore that feathered turban and that cape? And he was the
mystic from the East? He was Carnac-the-Magnificent. Remember? Hmmm?
So here’s the question. Where did he get the name Carnac?

I know I know. This has been puzzling you for years. The hours of
lost sleep are incalculable. Not to fret. Enlightenment is around the
metaphorical corner. Which brings us back to the hieroglyphs. It’s
the name of the King of the Gods and the God of the Wind. His help
here would be greatly appreciated.

So then. back to Amun. Some folks back then pronounced and wrote it
as Amen. which bring us all into a new era of enlightenment when
dealing with gods and etymology. truly two most wondrous studies.
Before I take another step it occurs to me that the impatient amongst
you might be wondering when is he going to get to jewelry. and Johnny
Carson too for that matter? May I retort? Patience is part of the
very mixture that creates the essence of life. I have no idea what
that means. But it sounds rather profound I think. no? So hang in
there. it will all soon become eminently apparent.

We’re in the 11th dynasty around 21st century BC. Amun has great
political sense. and he has wheedled his way to becoming a deity.
This is an enormous accomplishment which only a few have attained
throughout history. And his temple was called-oh are you ever going
to love this-his temple was called the Karnak temple. Yes it was.
Right there in the Middle East in a temple called Karnak a mystic
created himself. I wouldn’t be surprised if his secret name wasn’t
Karson and the temple was Carnac.

Wait wait. There’s more. Amun or Amen started off as a regular guy
… perhaps a bit more brainy than the average and blessed with a
touch of uber-ambition. He worked hard and became the god called
Amun. And then he worked harder. and needed more power. and so merged
himself with Ra, God of the Sun. And he became Amun-Ra. And he
married Mut. At this point I’m glad his name wasn’t Jeff. I mean …
Mut and Jeff would have been a bit much. And so one day. as often
happens when gods and women mate. they had a son. And his name.
yup… you guessed it. His name was at first Tutankhaten which-when
he became pharaoh-became Tutankhamun. aka the living image of Amun.
Take a second here and look at the last four letters of Tut’s name.
Ah. the joys of enlightenment. And now. as that great old American
sage used to say. you know the rest of the story.

All of which brings us. by way of excess-to-the-extreme. to a
statuette of Amun which is really quite beautiful and which is made
of gold and weighs just under two pounds. It’s a little over 6 inches
high and has a loop in the back which indicates that it might have
been worn as a pendant. heavy as it is. Which makes it jewelry which
rhymes with toolery which… You decide. It is flanked by two other
statuettes/pendants. one in stone and its mate in gold. Not sure of
source on these two. but as long as I’m presenting beauty… It’s a
triple play folks. Step right up… takes yer choice.

Okay. enough. You want to see? You know where. Home page.
http://www.tyler-adam.com. Scroll down. Left side. [Tidbits]. Click.
And you’ll see Tut’s pop in gold and in gold and in stone.

And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks.
Catch you all next week.
Benjamin Mark

2

Dear Benjamin,

You have presented a mystery. You say that the statue of Amun is
flanked by two other statuettes, one in stone, and its mate in gold.
If you look closely, you will notice that both statuettes are
cracked in a few places. The mystery is that the two statuettes are
cracked in exactly the same places. The mystery deepens when you
realize that the gold statuette does not have a metallic luster. Now
that my suspicions have been raised, it looks to me that the
hieroglyphics are not as finely done as I would expect on a royal
object, and even the symbols themselves may be a little too simple
to be bonafide Egyptian hieroglyphics. Now, I could be wrong on the
hieroglyphics, but I am certain that The statuettes will not
naturally crack in the same places and that neither of them are made
of gold. I say that one or both of them are not what they appear to
be. Either a mold was made of the original ancient object to cast
the other. Or the original was scanned anda duplicate printed or
milled by modern means. Perhaps, both are modern and were designed
by a contemporary artist.

So dear Benjamin, I believe that you have been deceived. What say
you?

3

Hi Benjamin,

Err. Tutankhamun’s father was Akhenaten. His name started out as
Tutankhaten because his father believed in a slightly different sun
god, the Aten disk, rather than Amun-Re. It got switched to
Tutanhkamun after the priests ‘convinced’ him to renounce his
father’s heretical belief in the Aten sun-god disk. (after they put
him on the throne following his father’s ‘untimely’ death.) (This is
a gloss. My Egyptology was a looooong time ago.) This was also 18th
Dynasty, roughly 1330 BC.

As far as what’s wrong with the statues? Couldn’t swear to it, but
both of them look like tourist fakes. The proportions aren’t like
anything I’ve ever seen. (In my admittedly cursory overview of
classical Egyptian art.) They’re too squat, and the line work isn’t
quite right. The eyes and ears bug me too. Just adds up to a feeling
of ‘not the real thing’.

So, what is wrong with them? (Other than at least one, if not
both of them are cast copies.)

Regards,
Brian

4

Calvin,

I say that one or both of them are not what they appear to be.
Either a mold was made of the original ancient object to cast the
other.

My guess is the rignt hand one, the stone one, could be original. As
to the detail of the symbols, keep in mind these are pretty small,
and carved in possibly harder stone, so I’m Ok with that. But I
agree, the cracks on the left hand one, and identical pattern of
symbols and everything else, only maybe with slightly less detail (?
look at the eyes…) suggests to me that the left hand one is made
from a mold of the right hand one. Maybe a resin copy of some sorts.
Doesn’t look like metal. Just yellow. And just my guess.

But as to Benjamin having been decieved? Are you daft? Our dear
Benhamin, fooled? Impossible, I say! (and he does indeed say he isn’t
sure of the source of those two smaller ones, and that they may even
be modern. So he’s just as sceptical as you. As to beauty of the
smaller ones, I might downgrade them slightly, at least the left hand
possible copy, to “cute”. But that’s quibbling.

My territory, never Benjamin’s, as he doesn’t stoop to mere
quibbling, of course

Keep on enlightening and entertaining us, Benjamin!

:slight_smile:

Peter

5

FWIW, to me the two figures on the sides look like chessmen from an
"Ancient Egypt" set.