Griffith Institute w&d 150 | Pintail duck hieroglyph

Griffith Institute w&d 150 © Griffith Institute Watercolours & Drawings Project

Djehutihotep seated in a covered kiosk overseeing four registers showing the annual stocktake of cattle. This Pintail duck hieroglyph may be read as sȝ (pronounced sa) and its most common usage in inscriptions is for the word 'son' (or 'daughter' if the hieroglyph t is also present: sȝt). This example, most likely from the scene of Djehutihotep overseeing the annual stocktake of cattle, may have been copied from the column of text directly in front of Djehutihotep's kiosk. This particular sȝ forms part of the name of Sitkheperka, who was the mother of Djehutihotep.

The male Northern Pintail duck (Anas acuta) has a blue-grey beak, body, legs and feet, as illustrated here by the ancient artist who has painted the head and wing tips russet-brown and the tail feathers a light brown edged with black, which emphasises the duck's long tail; a distinctive feature which also gives this bird its modern name.