The Full Picture
Looking at the front of the pectoral, we can see how all of the details fit together perfectly. We see the two falcons and the snakes on either side of the cartouche. Below the cartouche is Heh, with the palm ribs and the tadpole. We have also seen the hieroglyph for ‘life’, and the one for ‘encircled’.
If we look at all of those details together, the entire pectoral has a message that reads: ‘The god of the rising sun grants life and dominion over all that the sun encircles for one million one hundred thousand years to King Khakheperre’. So, in this pectoral, the king’s life and existence in time are described as part of a universe that was created and sustained by the sun god.
The message of the pectoral really fits with the tradition of Sithathoryunet’s time. During the Middle Kingdom, royal women wore jewelry that was symbolic of the concepts and myths surrounding Egyptian royalty. Jewelry was believed to give royal women a kind of superhuman power which enabled them to support the king as the one who guarantees divine order on earth, and it was the king who benefited from the magical powers that were present in the jewelry worn by his female family members.
We have come to the end of our tour. We hope that you now know more about this very interesting piece of jewelry and all the symbolism and hidden meanings it contains.