I am writing some content including a definition of the Shen ring - associated with pharaonic iconography from the 3rd dynasty at least, and seen in elongated form as the cartouche border.

What exactly does it mean?

I had a discussion here long ago, and suggestions were eternity (Wikipedia has this), protection, enclosure, etc etc.

It is seen variously in the artwork associated with resurrection, the god Heh, in the claws of Horus above the Pharaoh, and in the claws of Mut (or is it Nekhbet or both?) the vulture god of upper Egypt again above the pharaoh.

What is the best official line on this if there is one?

Someone pointed out last time that:

"Another thought on what the rope circle around the cartouche might represent was presented by John Baines at a lecture I attended last year. He suggested that the rope loop around the royal name appears at just about the same historical time that a necklace which closely resembles the device disappears from the necks of numerous statues of non-royal OK people. Since the statues with this style of necklace are assumed to come from religious contexts, the possibility is that the necklace was taken by the royals for the cartouche purpose and therefore were no longer used on non-royal depictions. Baines did not present this as a theory or"fact", he was simply pointing out what is perhaps simply a rather interesting coincidence"

Dave Light.





Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 12/29/2007 11:28AM by Dave L.