he Metropolitan Museum of Art on Fifth Avenue has on view the Seated Statue of the Steward Sehetepibreankh (accession number 24.1.45) within their Egyptian Art collection. The private statue was excavated in 1923-1924 in the Memphite Region of Egypt. It has been determined that the piece was created in ca. 1919 to 1885 B.C., better known as the Middle Kingdom, during the reign of Amenemhat II with limestone material and painted with colors that have faded over time. The statue has been credited as a common example of human representation from the Middle Kingdom. The Seated Statue of the Steward Sehetepibreankh has been acclaimed to be the most common type of human representation made during the Middle Kingdom and prime example of private sculpture based on its’ detailed features. Although Steward Sehetepibreankh was not a king and instead was a high official, his statue was still modeled in a similar manner that king statues from the time period and prior looked like. Sehetepibreankh is depicted sitting on a chair with his right hand holding a fist gesture as a sign of power and his left hand laying on his leg towards his knee while wearing a typical king’s kilt. In all …show more content…
The statue’s grandness may be due to the notion that statues of private persons often tended to imitate the royal style and its predetermined location within his burial tomb. Twelfth dynasty royal statues were known to reflect realism and not fictional godlike features which is why they had large dimensions thus people who could afford similar scale sculptures wanted the same for their own portraits. Sehetepibreankh may have also chosen to have a large sculpture since his tomb was going to have a space for his family and friends to say prayers and bring offerings. Similar to other high officials of his time period and prior, his tomb was located near the king he served so he may be affiliated with royal family and have a good
The main purpose of this paper is to describe the visual analysis of the artwork. This paper examines an Egyptian half nude portrait art which is taken from Metropolitan Museum of Art (Fig.1). The statue characterized both male and female seated figure with a Braid hair. In this essay, I will present a complete visual description of this artwork (its preservation, costume and iconography), and then I will compare it to another artwork which is chosen from Textbook that is Akhenaten and his Family (Fig. 2).
In the sculpture, Yuny and His Wife, Renenutet, the artist conveys a strong, affectionate marriage between two important social figures in New Kingdom Egypt. This relationship is visually conveyed by multiple factors in the visual properties of this sculpture. To provide a quick description of the piece which is dated to ca. 1294–1279 B.C.E., Yuny, a chief royal scribe, is portrayed sitting next to his wife, Renenutet, a temple-ritual singer for the god Amun-Re on a bench. The sculpture was made out of limestone and originally painted. It’s 33 1/4” in height and 21 7/16” in width. Yuny and Renenutet are both depicted in elegant clothing with equally elegant wigs. Renenutet is shown wearing a long, tight-fitting dress that comes down to her ankles ending just where her bare feet start. A large, elaborate necklace takes up the majority of her chest. Her left hand sits in her lap as she holds a menat that drapes down in front of her legs and her right hand is wrapped around the lower back of Yuny. Yuny is shown wearing a long pleated skirt with hieroglyphs down the center of it. He also wears a sophisticated top going up to his neckline with the sleeves stopping at his elbows where it flares out with elaborate pleating. Unlike Renenutet, Yuny wears sandals and his forearms and hands are broken off but it’s suggested that they originally laid by his sides.
The reliefs of Ankh-neb-ef are limestone panels with paint that originated from the Old Kingdom of Egypt in 2150 BC during the reign of Pharaoh Pepy II. The delicate carving of the panels in the sunken relief presents a magnificent image. They portray Ankh-neb-ef, an ancient Egyptian priest whose name translates to “may his lord live.” In the reliefs, Ankh-neb-ef holds a Kherep-sceptor and a walking stick, which were symbols of authority in ancient Egypt. Egyptian civilization was extremely religious and most ancient Egyptian artworks involved the portrayal of gods, goddesses, and Pharaoh, as well. Moreover, the Egyptian reverence for order and conservative ideals led to the institution of intricate rules that governed how artists represented both humans and gods (Saylor.org 4). For instance, the apparel worn by Ankh-neb-ef in the painting is not a simple fashion statement. The priest is wearing a prestigious sarong and ornamentation, bracelets, and a wide collar. The jewelry kept their owner safe in a dangerous passage to the afterlife. This formula for representing the human figure in a painting remained popular over several centuries (Robins 24).
The Colossal Statue of King Aspelta appears to be especially influenced by the statue design of Old Kingdom Egypt, despite being a Kushite work from the Nubian region produced between the years of 593 and 568 BC. Due to the larger than life size of Aspelta, the eye is initially drawn to the pectoral and abdominal region of the body. This portion of the statue is especially idealized as the pectorals are toned and the abdomen is similarly muscular. Furthermore, there is no indication of any weakness or fat, which would be typical of the average human being. Even in the absence of the work's title, this makes it evident that subject was in a position of power and wish to be seen as an ideal and powerful portion.The arms are large, yet not well
Its purpose was to represent the chamber for the tomb of Meketre. It was meant to show the boat rowing downstream towards the north. This artifact show that the society greatly valued their pharaohs. Commonly, the Egyptians believed in the afterlife so this is a representation of the funeral to prepare for the afterlife. This artifact shows how the funeral would have been like to have a captain and a person guarding the tomb chamber. This was probably made to remember the death of Meketre since he is sitting on the boat. The society highly valued art to reflect past
The sculptor of the goddess Sekhmet was produced in the 18th Dynasty in the New Kingdom during the reign of Amenhotep 111 in the years 1390-1352BC . The statue captures the image of the goddess Sekhmet who is a powerful woman with the head of a lion. The sculpture has a mesh of the mane and hair that have been carved together beneath the uraeus- Cobra and the solar disk. There is a carved inscription that reads “Amenophis 111, beloved of the goddess”. The source of the sculpture is Thebes, Karnak from Upper Egypt. The medium used by the artist is granodiorite. The dimensions of the image are 20cm with a base of a width dimension of 47.5cm and diameter of 95.5cm . The image is carved from a single monolithic block that presents quite high artisanship. The detail of the head and the decoration of the seat are also
Envision a world where the single purpose in life was to obey the gods who indirectly controlled people through your king. Rituals, duties, and praising were all part of a manifest to pass the tests of the Underworld to achieve eternal life after death. While this may seem like a radical lifestyle to us, this was how the real world was for the civilians during the Ancient Egyptian times. To truly express their fondness and devotion to the gods, people constructed works of art to represent this; remembrances of their collective significant figures in their locality were highly practiced in order to please them. In particular, the State of Khafre was created to honor their deceased king who held significant power in their society as a part of their funeral liturgy. It epitomized the repercussion he held over his nation and the respect he had acquired. The Statue of Khafre did not just illustrate a polytheistic community, but it also prompted the civilians to be respectful towards their god whom were expressed with kings through their practice of rituals, and additionally exhibited how their religion was ultimately integrated as an essential part of life.
The first thing that strikes an observer of these two statues is the excellent condition they are in. The paint on the two figures, Rahotep and Nefert, is extremely well preserved and there is only a miniscule amount of perceptible damage. Rahotep, who is seated on the left, retains the air of nobility and grandeur that a king’s son and high priest would have undoubtedly enjoyed during his lifetime. His wife, Nefert, sits adorned with an intricate wig and headband that match her bright jewelry and indicate her elevated social status. Together, the figures complement each other perfectly and provide a valuable glimpse into the world of non-royal funerary art of Ancient
The first object that I have picked while I was at the museum is the Kneeling Statue of Senenmut, Chief Steward of Queen Hatshepsut. It is said that it was created in the early 18th century between the years 1473-1458 B.C. The instant I walked in into the Ancient Egyptian collection I couldn’t take my eye off of that sculpture, due to that being it was probably the the darkest object there. The kneeling Statue of Senenmut was engraved from a grayish green stone, I like this object because, all the achievement and work that Senenmut have done in his life was carved all over this object. One of my dislikes is
In the late 19th century, the Seated Statue of Ramesses II was uncovered in the Temple of Harsaphes, Heracleopolis, by Sir William Flinders Petrie (Horne 1985, 22). Currently, it rests in the Mummies Gallery in the Egyptian section of the Penn Museum. The king sits heroically with his hands resting on his lap and wears the nemes headdress on his head. Made of quartzite sandstone, the statue sits at an impressive height of 226 cm, with a width of 74 cm and length of 149 cm. On his arms, there are faint traces of red and the nemes headdress has touches of blue and yellow. When it was originally crafted, the statue’s colors would have been more prominent than they currently are; there also would have been a false beard inset that has been lost to history.
The two sculptures presented for this assignment are the Statue of Gudea, which dates back to 2090 B.C. (“Statue of Gudea,” 2000) and The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu, which dates back to 2575–2465 B.C. (“The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu,” 2000). Both statues represent people; however, they depict different types of people from completely different time periods and cultural backgrounds. The Statue of Gudea shows the ruler of southern Mesopotamian, Gudea, whose reign was from 2144-2124 B.C. (“The votive statue of Gudea: A formal analysis,” 2011) sitting in a praying position with his hands locked and his eyes forward. He is dressed in what appears to be a lavish robe with an inscription that clearly depicts what Gudea thought of himself and his successes during his time as ruler. The Royal Acquaintances Memi and Sabu represent what is thought to be a married ancient Egyptian couple who are lovingly embracing each other. Aside from looking at
The statue of King Sahure and a Nome god is an interesting piece of Ancient Egyptian art ( c. 2500 BC ) that shows signs of Ancient Egyptian culture and beliefs. The statue is a small relief sculpture, meaning the sculptural elements are attached to the solid background of the sculpture and appears to be emerging from the material. The piece clearly depicts two figures side by side, one standing on the left and one sitting on the right (facing foreward). The purpose of this piece was probably to depict a certain symbolic interaction between the two characters.
The Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut is from the Eighteenth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, located in Deir el-Bahri, and is dated around 1473-1478 BCE. This statue is 8’ 6’’ tall and is completely made of red granite. The statue shows Hatshepsut kneeling on both knees with each hand holding a sphere. However, Hatshepsut is known as a female ruler, but this statue and including other statues, she is represented as a male ruler. Upon closer inspection, her shoulders are broad, she is wearing a linen headdress, and a fake beard which is typical for a male ruler to wear. Also, the inscription, or hieroglyph, use a feminine form to identify her as a female ruler because there’s was no word for king. Adapting to the visual forms of kingship, the Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut can demonstrate the cultural, religious, and political environment of Ancient Egypt.
What makes the sculpture different from others of this time period are two things; the subject matter, in that it depicts no god, nor Pharaoh only a mortal human writing in a mostly illiterate society. Secondly it demonstrates age shown in sagging muscles and rotund belly. Due to this relaxed style we can gather that the subject is not a Pharaoh as it was dishonourable to insinuate that they aged as they were supposed to be gods on earth.
During early dynasty Egypt period, Egypt’s kings were reverted as gods in human form. So, Egyptian sculptor created statues of their kings and queens. After creating the statue