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zXAw-nswt
King's Scribe
The sesh (scribes) received their education mostly in schools which were housed in temple complexes. Their duties were important to the daily lives in the temple. They were responsible for composing and copying literary texts and record keeping.
There were two patron deities of the Egyptian Scribe. One was the God of Wisdom, Thoth. He is usually depicted as a baboon or ibis and was said in earlier times to be the consort of the other Patron of Scribes, Seshat. She is often shown (in Old and Middle Kingdom) as recording the numbers of foreign captives and booty taken after battles and raids. In later times (New Kingdom) reliefs depict her during the sed-festival, holding the notched palm rib that symbolizes the passing of time. Also, in this period, Seshat is sometimes shown writing the names of the king on the ished tree's leaves.
Tools of the sesh changed throughout Egyptian history. Earlier, scribes wrote (from right to left) with a fine brush made from the stem of the Juncus maritimus rush. They would cut the end at a slant, then split the fibres. Later, the reed pen was introduced by the Greeks (end of 3rd century). Used in this instrument was the stem of the Phragmites aegyptiaca reed. This plant was cut at a point and then the end was split in two like a quill. As writing material, the scribe had two different inks on his palette. One was red, made of finely ground ochre and the other black, made from carbon which was often taken from cooking pots. These two pigments were mixed with a solution of gum and applied with water. The sesh would then put pen to papyrus and record his histories.
*Sources:
"Ancient Egypt" by Lorna Oakes and Lucia Gahlin, pg. 334-335 © Anness Publishing Ltd 2002, 2006
Egyptian words from Ancient Expressions
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All images © 2007 Seshat Taharqa. All rights reserved.
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