Ancient Egypt
Elements of its Cultural History

  by Sjef Willockx

  
 


Lotus, papyrus, and the heraldic plants of Upper and Lower Egypt

- A Visual Story -

 

The photographs in this section are approx. 10-25 kB. You can click on most of them, to download a more detailed version of about 100 -150 kB.

All photographs and drawings by Sjef Willockx, except when indicated otherwise.

 

Introduction

As most textbooks about ancient Egypt will tell you, lotus and papyrus were the heraldic, or emblem plants of Upper and Lower Egypt, respectively. In symbolic pictorial groups, a lotus stood for Upper Egypt, while Lower Egypt was represented by a papyrus plant.

Now although the connection of papyrus with Lower Egypt is undisputed, matters are less clear-cut for the lotus and Upper Egypt. Upper Egypt is undeniably quite often represented, in art and architecture, by a lotus, but not always so. And in the script, matters are very different. In other words: the dichotomy of lotus and papyrus on the one hand, and that of the heraldic plants of Upper and Lower Egypt on the other hand, does not entirely correspond.

That is why we will in this Visual Story take a look at lotus, papyrus, and the heraldic plants of Upper and Lower Egypt - and we will do so from three different angles.

Firstly, by focusing on the actual plants themselves. What do they look like - in the wild, in the script, and cut in stone? Where do we encounter them, in art and architecture, and with what meaning attached?

Then by examining the concept of the Two Lands: Upper and Lower Egypt. What are the roots for this notion of two parts that together made one nation? What other symbols pertain to it, and how do these symbols relate to Egypt’s earliest history?

And lastly by studying the use of the heraldic plants. In what contexts, and in what formats, does this use occur? Are there perhaps any developments to be observed over time? And finally: can we actually untie the knot around the lotus on the one hand, and the heraldic plant of Upper Egypt on the other hand?
 

Table of contents 


 I. Lotus and Papyrus

  1. The lotus: introduction
         The botanic specifics: orders, families and species.

  2. The white lotus
         The softly rounded one, that blossoms in the night. With wonderful pictures from Clair Ossian.

  3. The blue lotus
         The one with the pointed petals: crisp - and with a heady fragrance. Again with pictures from Clair Ossian.

  4. The pink lotus
         A newcomer from the east.

  5. Papyrus: introduction
         Facts and figures.

  6. The papyrus plant
         Pictures from all over the world: Uganda, Cambridge, Hawaii - but not from Egypt...

  7. Lotus and papyrus as hieroglyphs
         Do they refer to Upper and Lower Egypt respectively? Not entirely. Includes an unexpected encounter with a brand new species: the sedge.

  8. The sedge
     A genuine UFO: an Unidentified Floral Object. Is it a sedge, is it a reed, or is it a bulrush?

  9. The names of lotus and papyrus in hieroglyphs
         There were several: we will take a look at five of each.

  10. Lotus and papyrus in art and architecture
         In temples and tombs, on furniture and household implements. In all applications, excluding the use as heraldic plants of Upper and Lower Egypt (we'll come to that later.)

  11. Lotus and papyrus in art and architecture: the symbolism involved
         About resurrection, vegetative powers, and the landscape of creation.
     

II. Upper and Lower Egypt

  1. Upper and Lower Egypt: what's what? And why?
         Why oh why do we call the Delta "Lower Egypt", and the Valley "Upper Egypt"?

  2. The word "Tawy"
     This word, meaning “the Two Lands”, has the grammatical form of a “dual”. As we will see, this elevates the word well above the level of a simple description.

  3. A host of symbols
    A     very rich array, indeed...

  4. The Two Kingdoms
         About a fiction, more real than others - and false promises about the origin of the Egyptian state.

  5. The Two Lands: their symbols, and their names
    About an unmistakable reality, recognized as early as the 1st dynasty.
     

III. The heraldic plants

  1. The heraldic plants' allocation to either Land
    This is mostly about papyrus and Lower Egypt. Includes a discussion of the "rebus" on the Narmer Palette.

  2. The heraldic plants in the script
     Pointing to either region (in mundane contexts), or to both (in more lofty contexts). 

  3. The heraldic plants in monumental applications
         A short introduction to the various uses.  

  4. The heraldic plants in the Sma Tawy vignette
     Sma Tawy means: uniting the Two Lands.

  5. The Sma Tawy vignette: a historic overview
     From the 1st till the 19th dynasty: a period of 1,800 years. Because the heraldic plants of Upper and Lower Egypt are always part of this vignette, the evolution of their appearance can here be followed too.

  6. The significance of the Sma Tawy vignette
    Why every new king of Egypt re-enacted the accession of the first king.

  7. The heraldic plants identifying the "Nile gods"
    Derived from the personifications of the Two Lands, but with an emphasis on the plants' natural habitat: water.

  8. Other monumental uses of the heraldic plants
    The hallmark of this type of use is, that both plants will always appear together.

  9. The names of the heraldic plants in hieroglyphs
         Before we try to identify the heraldic plants, let's ask the Egyptians themselves what names they gave to them.

  10. Identifying the heraldic plants
    The main issue.
     

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