26. Pectoral of Sathathoriunet with the throne name of Senusret II. The picture shows the pectoral in the condition in which it was found. Detail from Petrie Museum archive, PMAN 1820.
27. Second pectoral of Sathathoriunet with the throne name of Amenemhat III. From Brunton 1920, pl. VIIC.
A second pectoral73 is an almost identical copy of the first one, but with the throne name of Amenemhat III: Nimaatre (Fig. 27). It is again made of gold, with inlays in carnelian, lapis lazuli, green faience, and amethyst. Although the craftsmanship of this piece is still high, it has been noted that one generation after the first pectoral a certain decline is detectable. Semiprecious stones are replaced by glazed materials, and the falcons look slightly clumsy in comparison to those on the first pectoral.74 Both pectorals were part of a necklace consisting of drop-shaped beads and simple ball-shaped ones, or at least these beads were found close to the pectorals.
28. Motto pendants. Petrie Museum archive, PMAN 1802.
These pectorals with their strings of beads are the only necklaces found in the treasure. All the other jewelry was for the arms, hands, fingers, and waist. Five motto clasps should be mentioned (Fig. 28). The function of the five mottoes is somewhat enigmatic. These are basically hieroglyphic signs making up short sayings (mottoes) executed as fine jewelry in gold with inlays in semiprecious stones. Two of them show a shen ring.75 A third is composed of the hieroglyphs aw and ib, meaning “joy.” The fourth shows two sa signs (“protection”), an ankh sign (“life”), and a neb sign (“all”), together reading “All life and protection.”76 The last one has the ib sign in the center (“heart”), two netjer signs (“god”), and the hetep sign (“satisfied”) at the base.77 This group reads: “The hearts of the two gods are satisfied.” These motto clasps are quite small, the largest being just 2 cm high. On the back of each are two tubes, evidently for holding the mottoes on a string. No beads that might have belonged with these mottoes were found, however; they might have been strung on some kind of organic material and perished in the damp burial environment. Two rings adorned with a scarab were also found. Rings are not so common in the Middle Kingdom and are most often just a piece of wire with a scarab. Proper rings appear only later. One of the rings found here is remarkable for the finely crafted scarab made of gold, lapis, and carnelian. The back shows a stripe pattern in blue and is in cloisonné work.78 One scarab was found without ring and is made of lapis lazuli. It bears the throne name of Amenmehat III.79
29. Armlets of Sathathoriunet with the throne name of Amenemhat III. From Winlock 1934, pl. X.
30. Lion amulets perhaps once used in armlets, modern reconstruction. Drawing by Paul Whelan.
The princess had two armlets and two anklets (Fig. 29). The armlets were made of beads with several bars holding them in place and a centerpiece serving as the clasp with the titles and the throne name of Amenemhat III: “The good god, lord of the two lands, Nimaatre, may he live forever.” The pieces are again composed of inlays set into a golden frame in cloisonné work.80 Most of the examples for this technique were found in the burials of high-status women discussed here. This indicates that the technique was perhaps restricted to a small number of workshops or was at least quite expensive, so that only people at the royal court were able to afford it.
31. Bird claw, most likely a pendant from an anklet. Detail from Petrie Museum archive, PMAN 1820.
32. Girdle with cowry shells of Sathathoriunet. From Winlock 1934, pl. VIII.
33. Elements of two girdles united for photographing. The photo was taken shortly after the excavation. Petrie Museum archive, PMAN 1801.
Almost identical armlets were found in the treasure of Mereret in Dahshur. The armlet itself consisted of thirty-seven rows of very small beads, with bars between them providing some stability. The two anklets of the princess were similar but without the richly adorned and inscribed clasps. Another armlet was adorned with two golden figures of lions.81 This reconstruction, however, is far from certain (Fig. 30).
Two other anklets are simpler in design and consist of plain amethyst and golden ball beads with golden bird claw pendants (Fig. 31).82 Winlock originally reconstructed them as one necklace,83 but there are depictions in tombs of the period indicating that claw pendants were worn around the ankles.84
The princess had two girdles. One of them consisted of eight golden cowry shells (Fig. 32).85 The other was a chain of seven double leopard heads, also made of gold, perhaps once connected by amethyst beads and further double, but smaller, leopard heads, most likely originally arranged between the larger ones (Fig. 33).86 The cowry shell girdle in particular is also known from other tombs of royal and high-status women of this time.
Next to the jewelry several cosmetic objects were found. The first of these was a partly gilded mirror with a golden Hathor head at the top of the handle (Fig. 34).87 Two razors were found with two whetstones for sharpening them (Fig. 35),88 and there were three cosmetic jars, all cylinder-shaped with a wider top part. These were made of obsidian with gilded rims; a fourth one is smaller but also with a gilded rim (Fig. 36).89 A small saucer made of silver has the shape of a shen ring.90 Two copper blades of two knives were also found.91
34. The mirror of Sathathoriunet. From Winlock, Lahun, pl. XV.
35. Razors of Sathathoriunet and whetstones. From Brunton 1920, pl. X.
In a separate box were found eight similar vessels made of Egyptian alabaster92 and not gilded.93 They are described as not highly polished. The contents, a pinkish substance, was still visible in a few of the vessels. These eight jars are typical of highstatus burials of the late Middle Kingdom. In other tombs the lids of the jars are inscribed with the names of the seven sacred oils (compare the description of the burial of Ita, below).