Representing a male head wearing a wig, in profile, typically bearded. The style of the wig varies by time period; the earlier style, from the Old Kingdom, is longer. Sometimes there is no beard. The skin is conventionally colored red; the hair is black; in detailed examples, the sclera is white and the eye and other facial features are outlined in black.
The reading of this sign (and the word tp(âheadâ) and its derivatives) has recently been contested. Werning and others have suggested that the traditional reading of tp is wrong, with the New Kingdom reading more likely being dp, and the original reading conceivably either dp or ážp. However, other Egyptologists argue for the traditional reading, and indeed the bulk of the current evidence seems to point to the traditional value.[1][2][3][4][5]
Gardiner, Alan (1957) Egyptian Grammar: Being an Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphs, third edition, Oxford: Griffith Institute, âISBN, pages 449â450
Henry George Fischer (1988) Ancient Egyptian Calligraphy: A Beginnerâs Guide to Writing Hieroglyphs, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, âISBN
BetrĂČ, Maria Carmela (1995) Geroglifici: 580 Segni per Capire l'Antico Egitto, Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., âISBN
^ Werning, Daniel A. (2004) âThe Sound Values of the Signs Gardiner D1 (Head) and T8 (Dagger)â in Lingua Aegyptia, volume 12, pages 183â204
^ Peust, Carsten (2006) âNochmals zur Lesung der Kopf-Hieroglypheâ in Göttinger Miszellen, volume 208, pages 7â8
^ Schweitzer, Simon D. (2011) âZum Lautwert einiger Hieroglyphenâ in Zeitschrift fĂŒr Agyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde, volume 138, pages 132â149
^ Werning, Daniel A. (2015) EinfĂŒhrung in die hieroglyphisch-Ă€gyptische Schrift und Sprache, pages 34â35:
âDie EinwĂ€nde von (Schweitzer 2011) gegen die Lesung dp sind nicht stichhaltig (was an anderer Stelle zu zeigen ist). Neben den unzweifelhaften Schreibungen von âKopfâ als
im Amduat (Werning 2004: 196) ist noch folgender, kursivhieroglyphisch geschriebener Beleg hinzuzufĂŒgen:
âDer ein âsakralesâ Haupt hatâ (Papyrus BM 9971).â
^ Roberson, Joshua Aaron (2018) âTĂȘte-Ă -tĂȘte: Some Observations and Counter-Arguments Regarding a Contentious Phonological Value, dp or tpâ in Lingua Aegyptia, volume 26, pages 185â202