Cartouche Jewellery - Egyptian Art of Nomen
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Cartouche is one of the most popular Egyptian jewellery items. Now being available to anyone who fancies Egyptian art, cartouche was a privilege only available to Pharaohs in the times of Ancient Egypt. Egyptian cartouche is an enclosed space in the shape of ellipsoid finished with a horizontal line at the bottom containing a royal name in the centre. They were usually completed in gold or inscribed into walls of temples. Faience was also a common material for making small cartouches. They were used primarily as jewellery. Cartouches came into use at the beginning of the Fourth Dynasty and it was Pharaoh Sneferu who first had his name written on a cartouche. The word cartouche was first applied by French soldiers who found that these symbols look like gun cartridges they used. In fact, the Ancient Egyptians called this symbol shenu. Each Pharaoh had two cartouches – one borne the Pharaoh's prenomen (throne name, he received with coming to the reign), the other had his nomen, or birth name inscribed. Nowadays everyone can obtain a cartouche jewellery to see how it feels to wear a royal attribute. Several designs of Egyptian cartouches are available in our online store. |
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