The ORIGINAL Headpiece of the Staff of Ra.

[agent5]

PyramidBlaster over at Club Obi Wan posted this amazing pic which was more than obviously the inspiration for the Headpiece in Raiders of the Lost Ark. It is part of the amazing treasure trove found by Howard Carter in King Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922. They are a pair of earrings. Considering the period in which these were made, the amount of detail is staggering. Fit for a king for sure!

The resemblance is amazing. LFL researcher Deborah Fine, along with production designer Norman Reynolds and his staff really did their homework on this film. Even the lettering on the side of the headpiece in the film can be translated. All of the glyphs in the Well of Souls and the Map Room were taken from that ancient Egyptian era as well. I don't think many people realize just how much work and effort went into making Raiders as realistic as possible.

I was able to briefly speak to Norman Reynolds a couple of years ago and he credited Raiders as his favorite work of all the films he's done. I can see why. I bet it was quite a bit of fun to study all of this material at the various libraries and museums he and his team visited, then to have the opportunity to build the sets that undoubtedly gives Raiders some of it's magic. Reynolds told me that he had little time to research, design and impliment the construction and painting of the sets and that he was told by Spielberg to make it look good. Then when Spielberg saw the sets for the first time he was blown away at how serious Reynolds and crew took their work. It shows up on the screen.

 

[Darth Brass]

That's amazing - what a beautiful piece!

 

[yodakiller1138]

WOW!:eek Amazing detail. The production team really did their research. Anybody ever translate the writing on the headpiece? What language is it?

 

[Westies14]

Thanks for sharing that! Beautiful artifact, and as you said, certainly the inspiration for the headpiece... What a job they did on that flick!

- D

 

[falcon dude]

Hey that looks a lot like the Raven bar Headpiece. Might be great reference since we dont have pictures of the raven bar version.

 

[Indy Magnoli]

WOW!:eek Amazing detail. The production team really did their research. Anybody ever translate the writing on the headpiece? What language is it?

Yes, the inscription is in Hebrew. The transliteration of the first side of the headpiece reads:

Kabed Yahweh ve ha Meeshkan.
Amah Akhat me Al Kadam

Which translates: "Honor God and the tabernacle (Ark). One Amah above (on top of) the Kadam." NB: "ME AL" could also easily mean "take back" a Kadam. It still sounds more like the addition of a Kadam, which would match the height of the staff shown in the Map Room scene.

The back reads:

Teetamah Qamato.

Meaning: "You should fear its existence." I suppose this is the warning not to disturb the Ark.

There is no mention of the height of the staff as being "six kadam high". Imam, of course, says "this is the old way". So perhaps the "six kadam" is implied within the warning.

Kind regards,
Magnoli

 

[Jedifyfe]

That's a cool find!!!


Brad

 

[jheilman]

WOW, outstanding!!

 

[Chingon]

And here I always thought it came from this

 

[PHArchivist]

That's the coolest thing I've seen here in a LONG time...

 

[Ramiel]

And if you'll do a little research on Egyptian goldsmith's art, you'll find other incredibly, stunning, beautiful pieces... Way beyond their time
Such an amazing culture...

(sorry for the hijack with this comment, but I did a huge research some years ago for a personal comic, so, I was literally captured by the art and culure of ancient Egypt... I mean, look at those things, they are earrings! Think at their size and the amount of detail! And they lasted till now!)

 

[GCLAMBERT89]

neat. So the inspiration for the head piece came from a pair of earrings. pretty cool.

 

[Ttaskmaster]

There is no mention of the height of the staff as being "six kadam high". Imam, of course, says "this is the old way". So perhaps the "six kadam" is implied within the warning.

Here's something...

Sallah says that's about 72 inches, ie 6 feet.
The Imam then says take back one kadam, suggesting a five foot staff.
"Belloch's staff is too long... They're digging in the wrong place!! Ha ha ha hah... I am the monarch of the sea.. etc"

So why does Indy later have a staff with the headpiece on that looks waaaaaaaaay longer than five or even six feet?



Interesting find, Agent5!!
Have you seen some of the pieces made by Anglo-Saxons smiths, too? They were another culture skilled in detailed craft artefacts.

 

[Apollo]

Very cool.

I tell you if any of Tuts pieces go out on tour to Museums they are must see.

I went many times back in the 70's when they toured the states.

The craftmanship and beauty of those pieces MUST be seen in person.

 

[MooCriket]

That is a great find!

 

[Too Much Garlic]

Here's something...

Sallah says that's about 72 inches, ie 6 feet.
The Imam then says take back one kadam, suggesting a five foot staff.
"Belloch's staff is too long... They're digging in the wrong place!! Ha ha ha hah... I am the monarch of the sea.. etc"

So why does Indy later have a staff with the headpiece on that looks waaaaaaaaay longer than five or even six feet?

May not be a mistake. Inches haven't always been a set amount depending on what country's inches, afaik. I know for instance that the Danish measure of thumbs, which is equivalent of the English inches was a different length up until when it was decided that it shouldn't go by the length of the current sitting king's thumb length, but be a fixed length from then on.

 

[Ttaskmaster]

May not be a mistake. Inches haven't always been a set amount depending on what country's inches, afaik. I know for instance that the Danish measure of thumbs, which is equivalent of the English inches was a different length up until when it was decided that it shouldn't go by the length of the current sitting king's thumb length, but be a fixed length from then on.

Yes, but the logic is still flawed.
If seventeen 'Blah-blahs' equals X and you take back two Blah-blahs, it will equal X minus Y.

The issue is that Indy's staff is X plus some, rather than minus and that I can tell it's too short because I have a point of reference for X.

It's an über-geeky thing, but it's bothered me since I was old enough to know what 72" looked like.

 

[Contec]

So why does Indy later have a staff with the headpiece on that looks waaaaaaaaay longer than five or even six feet?

Because he is Indiana midget....

 

[Jedifyfe]

Because he is Indiana midget....

Ehem..."Little Person" :angel

 

[GKvfx]

Well, it's not an original Headpiece..........

......but it is an original Richard Edlund.... :rolleyes.

Gene

PS - Original Toht's skull too. He was our special surprise guest at a "Raiders" screening here in L.A.