The Utilization of the Bivalve Shells as Palettes in Ancient Egypt

Abstract

In ancient Egypt, natural bivalve shells were utilized as ready-made palettes by the scribes. This utilization was depicted on the walls of the Old Kingdom's tombs and sculpted in the scribes' statues.These statues appeared in the Middle Kingdom, spread in the New Kingdom,especially the region of Amenemhat III, but they were rare inthe Late Period. Some deities were represented with the bivalve shell palettes in theNew Kingdom, such as Thoth and Seshat. This paper concentrates on the natural bivalve shells' function as palettes and the bivalve shells' species used as palettesthrough the hieroglyph texts, the tombs' scenes, and the scribes' statues.