Head of a woman (sculptor's model)

 

This nearly square, flat piece of white limestone has been carved in raised relief, showing a woman's head facing left. The lady is represented with a large wig, of which the tresses and braids have been rendered with great precision and regularity. Upon her forehead is a decorated band and on top of her head is a lotus in full bloom. The edge of the wig is marked by a braid, and an earring shaped as a disk appears from underneath it. The delicate profile shows a nose with a slight curve and a slightly protruding lower lip. The eye and brow are marked by raised lines of eye-paint in the Egyptian fashion. The incised line between the eye and the brow is a remarkable feature. Below the eye is a series of vertical lines which have been flatly incised in an irregular manner. Presumably, this playful addition was added at a later date inspired by the hieroglyph of the tearing eye. The front of the neck is marked by three stylized parallel horizontal folds. The upper right corner has the remains of a border in the form of a small raised edge.

Present location	KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM [09/001] VIENNA
Inventory number	73
Dating	SETHOS I/MENMAATRE ?
Archaeological Site	UNKNOWN
Category	SCULPTOR'S MODEL
Material	LIMESTONE
Technique	HEWN
Height	22.6 cm
Width	25.6 cm
Depth	4.4 cm

Bibliography

• Verzeichnis der antiken Sculpturenwerke, Inschriften und Mosaiken des K.k. Münz- und Antikencabinets im unteren K.k. Belvedere (1826) 23, Nr. 2.
• Übersicht der ägyptischen Alterthümer des k.k. Münz- und Antiken-Cabinetes (7. verm. Aufl. 1872) 24/Nr. 54.
• Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM). Führer durch die Sammlungen. Wien. 1988.
• Satzinger, H., Das Kunsthistorische Museum in Wien. Die Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung. Zaberns Bildbände zur Archäologie 14. Mainz. 1994.

 http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/detail.aspx?id=5370

 

Statue of a baboon with a royal figure

Statue of a baboon with a royal figure

The baboon standing on its hind legs gives the impression of a massive figure thanks to its crude modelling. This is because of the unwieldy nature of the granite of which it is made. The front paws of the animal are raised in the Egyptian gesture of adoration. A smaller human figure in royal costume has been added in front of this mighty animal, measuring only about three-fifths of the height of the baboon. The head is covered with the royal headcloth (nemes), and the king is wearing the characteristic kilt with the triangular apron. The upper body is bare. With his hands placed flat on the apron, the king is assuming the ritual posture known as "praising the god four times". The baboon has many meanings in religious iconography. The animal is principally known as a manifestation of Thoth, the god of Hermopolis, scribe of the gods, the patron of scholarship and administration. In addition, the animal's most important role is that which links it to the sun god. With its arms raised, the baboon refers to the adoration of the sun at its rising. The origins of this traditionally lie in an observation of nature. When baboons leave their nocturnal resting place in the morning, the troop makes agitated gestures and a lot of noise. The Egyptian sense of metaphor turned this into a greeting for the rising sun.

The sun is the archetypal image of generation and regeneration, neither of which is conceivable without the other. This concept is enriched by the image of the nocturnal course of the sun though the Netherworld, which equates sunset on earth with sunrise in the Netherworld. The sun traverses the Netherworld at night until it rises again on earth. Sunrise and sunset are critical points within the sun's course; they lead from one world into the other, just like death, which at the same time is a new birth. At these liminal points the sun god needs the full support and loyalty of his divine crew and of the king. Indeed, assisting the god in this situation is an important role performed by the pharaoh, who joins the "solar baboons" at these critical moments. This sums up the purpose and the meaning of this sculpture.

The origin of the piece is unknown. Its content suggests an origin within a solar shrine, several of which were attached to temples of the New Kingdom. Statues of "solar baboons" are also known from the bases of obelisks, such as those at the entrance to the Luxor temple, because the obelisk is also part of solar imagery. Originally there may have been two or, more likely, four baboons in such groups. A statue group similar to the Viennese one is now in the Berlin museum, but there the baboon's head has been restored in modern times. The Berlin statue certainly dates to the New Kingdom, and it may perhaps belong to the same series as the Viennese piece. The latter bears a royal name on the chest of the king but this is illegible and may also be a secondary addition. Judging by the style, posture, and costume of the royal figure, a date in the reign of Amenhotep III is likely.

Present location KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM [09/001] VIENNA

Inventory number 5782

Dating 18TH DYNASTY (not before); AMENHOTEP III/AMENOPHIS III/NEBMAATRE ?; 18TH DYNASTY (not after)

Archaeological Site UNKNOWN

Category STATUE

Material GRANITE

Technique HEWN

Height 130 cm

Width 42 cm

Depth 61.5 cm

Bibliography

Jaros-Deckert, B., Statuen des Mittleren Reichs und der 18. Dynastie. Corpus Antiquitatum Aegyptiacarum (CAA) Wien 1 (1987) 132-138.

Reinisch, S., Die aegyptischen Denkmaeler in Miramar (Wien 1865) 243; Nr. 59.

Übersicht der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen II.

Katalog: "5000 Jahre Ägyptische Kunst", Zürich, Essen, Stockholm, Wien (1961), Nr. 167, Nr. 112, Nr. 96, Nr. 116.

Seipel, W. (ed.), Gott Mensch Pharao (1992).

Seipel, W. (ed.), Götter Menschen Pharaonen, Speyer (1993) = Dioses, Hombres, Faraones, Ciudad de México (1993) = Das Vermächtnis der Pharaonen, Zürich (1994).

Kunsthistorisches Museum (KHM). Führer durch die Sammlungen. Wien. 1988.

Satzinger, H., Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien (museum), Braunschweig (Verlag Westermann), 1987.

Satzinger, H., Das Kunsthistorische Museum in Wien. Die Ägyptisch-Orientalische Sammlung. Zaberns Bildbände zur Archäologie 14. Mainz. 1994.

http://www.globalegyptianmuseum.org/detail.aspx?id=5117

 

 

Fragmento de la G7510

Fragmento de la G7510

Mastaba de Ankh-haf

Imagen del pdf

http://www.gizapyramids.org/.../flentye_fs_oconnor.pdf

 

Estela de falsa puerta de Neferseshemptah.

Estela de falsa puerta de Neferseshemptah.

De la dinatía VI.

Saqqara