Ahatmose Wrote:
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> Thank you very much. I asked because it was of the
> form found on The Aztec Sun Stone and seemed to be
> two 36 degree angles within each other.
>
>
>
> In that hieroglyph it is I think read right to
> left so would it start out as "life, give to" or
> "give life" to the pharaoh mentioned in the
> cartouche ?
>
> Thanks for the response.
>
> Any comment on the stencil idea ?
>
> regards
> Don


Yes, it would be in the context of giving life to the king as that sign by itself means nothing.

I've not come across any evidence for stenciling in Egypt, even in repetitive patterns as they are not cookie cutouts, even if they look like it. I think their use of the grid as a template mitigates against also using stenciling, as does their mistakes that needed rectifying. I think their artistic skills were good enough, and their hands steady enough, not to need stencils.

Scans of KV62 looking at the paint, not for hidden chambers, show the original brush strokes onto the plaster without the gaps needing to be painted in that you get with stenciling, and in areas of repetition, the twelve baboons for instance, it can be seen that they are individually painted, likewise all the hieroglyphs. It's only one tomb of course, but very instructive as to technique, and it also has both the 18 and 20 square grid systems. They would also have marked out areas to be painted or inscribed on columns and obelisks, but the design drawn on as a guide for the painter or stonemason.