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ArticleOpen Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jla.2026.12.003

The Lady of the Body A Rare Group of Hieroglyphs from Museo Archeologico “Giovio” in Como

Primavera Fisogni

Rekh Magazine, Como 22100, Italy.

*Corresponding author: Primavera Fisogni

Published: July 22, 2026

Abstract

This study examines a rare hieroglyphic inscription preserved on the cartonnage of the Theban priestess ʾst wr.t (Isiuret), a high-ranking religious official of the Twenty-second Dynasty who bore the titles of sistrum player of Amun-Ra, chantress in the choir of Mut the Great, Mistress of Isheru (Asheru), and ḫnm.t ḫnsw-pꜣ-ẖrd ("Nurse of Khonsu the Child"). Her richly decorated anthropoid car-tonnage, dating to the Third Intermediate Period and now preserved in the Museo Archeologico "Paolo Giovio" in Como, Italy, entered the museum's collection through the bequest of Alfonso Garovaglio in 1905. The article focuses on an unusual orthographic and lexical form associated with the goddess Nephthys, namely the expression nb.t ẖt ("Lady of the Body"), which appears in place of the conventional nb.t-ḥwt. This previously unexamined epithet is analysed through philological, palaeographic, and iconographic methods. Particular atten-tion is given to the rare use of the sign nbj ("to swim") as a graphic substitute for nb ("lord/lady"), a phenomenon previously noted by Brugsch (1864) but rarely discussed in relation to Nephthys. Although Isiuret's cartonnage has been the subject of earlier studies by Ballerini (1910), Guidotti (1990), and Guidotti and Leospo (1994), the inscription discussed here has never received a comprehensive philological analysis. This study proposes a new translation and interpretation of the text, arguing that nb.t ẖt should be understood not as an alternative spelling of the name nb.t-ḥwt, but as a deliberate epithet emphasising Nephthys's protective relationship with the body of the deceased. This interpretation not only provides a more coherent explanation of the parallel inscriptions dedicated to Isis and Nephthys on the cartonnage but also offers new evidence for understanding Nephthys's funerary role. More broadly, it lends further support to Altenmüller's (1999) hypothesis connecting the goddess with the embalming ritual, while sug-gesting that the designation "Lady of the Body" more accurately reflects her the-ological function than the traditional and much-debated interpretation "Lady of the House."

Keyword

Cartonnage; Nephthys; Isis; Third Intermediate Period; Twenty-second Dynasty; funerary religion; epithets; hieroglyphic palaeography

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How to cite this paper

The Lady of the Body  A Rare Group of Hieroglyphs from Museo Archeologico “Giovio” in Como

How to cite this paper: Primavera Fisogni. (2026). The Lady of the Body  A Rare Group of Hieroglyphs from Museo Archeologico “Giovio” in Como. Journal of Literature Advances3(2), 116-125.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jla.2026.12.003