Incense burner: arm (hieroglyph)

Incense censer (horizontal, as ~arm) in hieroglyphs

The ancient Egyptian Incense burner: arm is a horizontal hieroglyph representing various types of horizontal tools used to offer, and burn incense. In tomb scenes, it is sometimes depicted with a little cup-shaped box attached for keeping incense on the top surface; the person making the offering is occasionally seen holding an incense grain-pellet with lines of incense, or linked grains-in-a-line, which are equivalent to drifting smoke.

Incense was used from the beginning dynasties of Ancient Egypt.

The horizontal incense burner is a determinative in Egyptian language k3p, for "incense, to make smoke". ^[1] The phonetic value of the hieroglyph is kp. ^[2]

Egyptian Third Intermediate Period bronze incense burner

Incense burner: pot

Common Incense Burner: Pot in hieroglyphs

The other common type of hieroglyph for the burning of incense, is a small pot, with a flame, flickering from the top surface, "Incense burner: pot with smoke". The censer pot has one major usage in front of the feet of the "Soul" bird, the Ibis, but is also replaced in rare instances with a meteor hieroglyph, ^[3] , (not Gardiner listed).

• 
  Medinet Habu
• 
  Amenirdis I
• 
  Censer arm artefact
• 
  Incense-smoke with "grains"-of-incense

See also

• Incense burner: pot (hieroglyph)
• Gardiner's Sign List#R. Temple Furniture and Sacred Emblems
• List of Egyptian hieroglyphs

References

1. Betrò, Hieroglyphics: The Writings of Ancient Egypt, "Incense burner", p. 215.
2. Betrò, p. 215.
3. Meteor hieroglyph, (Wikimedia Commons)

• Betrò, Maria Carmela. Hieroglyphics: The Writings of Ancient Egypt, c. 1995, 1996-(English), Abbeville Press Publishers, New York, London, Paris (hardcover, ISBN   0-7892-0232-8)