Meresankh Beholds Set and Horus Ink pen and colored pencil on acid free paper, 17.8 x 25.3 cm (7 x 10 in.), rotated and sized here to 6x4.     (Initial trace of original piece, from which I drew) Spiral rings removed after the scan, but otherwise mostly unedited © Joan Ann Lansberry, July 2013 This crop from a photo by François Tonic Meresankh' name means 'She loves life', although it is written 'Loves She Life'. At the Osirisnet website, "She is identified as: 'The beholder of Horus and Seth, the great favourite, the companion of Horus, beloved of him, the follower of Horus, wife of the king, daughter of the king, Mersyankh'". This is because the pharaoh was believed to be the embodiment of Horus and Set, and by beholding her husband, she would see those divine forces acting within him. Meresankh's lintel inspired me, so for the inner section, I kept to the colors of the ancient piece. For the border, though, I chose colors spontaneously. I elected to go with a horizontal layout so I could have a larger image.

"She who sees Horus and Seth" (m33t-hrw-stsh) is a favorite title of Queens. See this list to see many examples. Queen Meresankh III, the grand-daughter of Khufu, is so titled in her mastaba. There is also a piece over the doorway that is "supposed to represent a rolled up curtain, which served to close the openings into the houses of the living. The text says: "The one who sees Horus and Seth, the great favourite, the royal wife, Meresankh"(Translation via Osirisnet) Pharaon magazine has a very good photo of this roll. Her name means "She loves life." Pharaon magazine has many beautiful photos of Meresankh's tomb, which are enlargeable with a click. The Osirisnet website also has photos of Meresankh's tomb. At that page, "She is identified as: 'The beholder of Horus and Seth, the great favourite, the companion of Horus, beloved of him, the follower of Horus, wife of the king, daughter of the king, Mersyankh'". This is because the pharaoh was believed to be the embodiment of Horus and Set, and by beholding her husband, she would see those divine forces acting within him.