Egyptian Cartouches



What is a cartouche you may ask, it is an 'oval rope' that surrounds the pharaohs name in Hieroglyphics, to protect him from evil. The egyptian word for cartouche is 'shenu' which means simply 'encircle' The original word cartouche came from the french word fro cartridge. This was because the shape of the cartouche made Napoleons Bonaparte's soilders of their gun cartridges. The cartouches surround the pharoahs two names, his throne name "user-ma'at-re" and his birth name