Gold of honor
| Honor gold in hieroglyphics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
nebu-en-qenet nbw-n-qn.t gold of valor |
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| since the new empire |
nebu-en-hesut nbw-n-ḥsw.t gold of favor |
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The gold of honor is a special award given by the ancient Egyptian king to his subordinates. It was awarded for outstanding achievements both to officers and to non-military persons such as high officials , expedition leaders or members of the royal family. At the presentation were mainly around the neck collar ( Schebiu ), bracelets , fly - and lion pendant or jewelry hearts of silver and gold . The awards took place at large events to several people at the same time and in the New Kingdom are often depicted in Amarnic or Theban private graves . It is usually shown how the king leans out of his apparition window and throws the pieces or lets the honorable man knock down.
The oldest depictions of the presentation of jewelry to high officials can be found on the sun shrines of the Sahure and Niuserre . In tombs of the 5th and 6th dynasty also be Weber and weavers rewarded for handing over their goods with jewelry. The official Sabni received under Pepi II for the first time an award for leading an expedition to Nubia . In the New Kingdom the mentions increase sharply. Ahmose, son of Ibana , who fought against the Hyksos at the beginning of the 18th dynasty and later led the Egyptian navy, received the award seven times. The treasure of Queen Ahhotep I contained almost all components of the honor gold. Since Amenhotep II and more and more often in the Ramesside period , kings have been depicted wearing jewelry. The schebiu neck collars, which are multi-row pearl necklaces, are found next to them on images of gods and barques at this time .
literature
- Erika Feucht : Gold, award of the . In: Wolfgang Helck (Hrsg.): Lexikon der Ägyptologie (LÄ) . tape II . Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1977, ISBN 3-447-01876-3 , p. 731-733 .