Upload
archaeologist
View
234
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 1/61
Dorothea rnold
THE METROPOLITANMUSEUMOF ART
n
Egyptianestiary
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 2/61
:
4w-6
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 3/61
In the most amousiterary ork
of ancientEgypt,Sinuhe,
nobleman,earinghewrath
f
anewpharaoh,leesEgypt
nd
crosseshe eastern esertntoAsia.
Yearsater, s an old man,he
returns
anddescribesis perilousourneys:
"An
ttack f thirstovertookme,"
he writes boutadventuresuring is
desert rossing. Iwasparched,
my
throat urned. said, This s the
taste
of
death."' o theancientEgyptians
thevastarid ands lankingheir er-
tile
valley ould ndeed arryhethreat
of
death. f theyventured eyond he
valleymargins,heymight uffer s
didSinuhe, allvictim o
predators,
orencounter trange ndforeign
people. t musthave eemed
itting
that hedesertwasa "land f
death,"
wherehe Egyptiansuried heir
dead.
However,he desertwasalso
he
bountiful ealm hatprovided
tone
forEgypt'smagnificentuildingsnd
statuary,oldandsemiprecious
ems
for
ewelry,metals ndmineralsor
luxury
oodsandweapons, ndclay
for OtS. Most mportantly,n ancient
times heEgyptian
esertwas eeming
withwildlife.
During heprehistoriceriod nd
the Old Kingdom,heareas order-
ing theNile valley
n the eastand
westwere teppe atherhanbarren
wasteland,upportingatches f grass,
shrubs, ndeven
occasionalrees.
Minorwatercourses
ndsporadicains
nourishedheplants, nd hevegeta-
tion n turn ustained richvariety f
animals. orhumansiving n the
Nile valley,wild
steppe ame onsti-
tutedan importantource f food n
these arly imesandserved s offer-
ings o thegods
hrough llperiods f
Egyptian istory.Hunting teppe ni-
mals n thewideopen ands ave
kingsandnobles
mple pportunities
to prove heir alor
nd eel hem-
selves o be mastersf the universe.
In Egyptian eligionhe existence f
abundantnimalife
n the "land f
death" ecame potent ymbol f life
after eath. nnumerableepresenta-
tionsof desert nd
steppe nimalsn
tombs ndroyal unerary onument
aswell
asthe useof suchanimals s
amuletic bjects, reevidence f this.
During hewholepharaonic
eriod
wildherdanimalsuchasantelope
and bexandpredatorsuchas
ions
and eopardsoamedhesteppewhile
it
turned raduallyntodesert.Many
other
reatures-frominy erboas,
whose onghind egsenabled
hem
to
perform crobaticeaps, ohedge-
hogsandwildcats-made heir
home
in the hillysteppe egion. herewere
stillelephantsndgiraffesn this
area
in
fourthmillennium gypt,butthey
graduallyiminishedscultivation,
raisingivestock, ndclearing
ood-
land,alongwith climatic hanges,
caused teppe egetationo recede.
Today, lthoughhe Egyptian
esert
still
upportsome egetationndwild
life,manhasbroughtmany
Egyptian
desertpecieso thebrink f
extinction
and he desert ndsteppe nviron-
ments
hat he ancientEgyptians
knew anbe foundonly n
present-
day
Sudan r fartherouth.
7
h e
Egyptian
Desert
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 4/61
I. Comb
Predynastic,
a. 200 B.C.
Ivory;. 2X4
in.
(S.7
m).Theodore
M.Davis
Collection,
BequestfTheodore
M.
Davis,9Ii
(30.8.224)
The
animals
minutely
arvedn
relief
on thissmall omb its eethnow
missing) ave
been dentified
ith
more
or ess
certainty.
noneside
(from
hetop)are
a row
of elephants
standing
n giant
cobras,
henone
of a stork,
which
hasa snake
under ts
beak indicating
itherts food
or the
wetland
nvironment
t
inhabits),
leading
giraffe,
hree
more torks,
and
a heron
rcrane.
henext hree
rows nclude
dog
attacking
he
hindmost f threearge elines, line
of antelope
possibly
ne
gazelle
nd
three ryx),
nd
a lineof what
might
be dogs
or pigs,
endingn a
star r
flower.
On thecomb's
ther
ide
he
top
two rows
arerepeated,
ut below
them
arecanids
jackals?)
n a row,
followed y
cattleor
wildbulls,
and
again
lineof dogs
or pigs.
The ani-
malsalternate
irections
romrow
o
r
row.Thls
createsn
lmpresslon
r
continuityndperpetuity,hile he
fact
hat he entire
pace
s filled
with
animals
peaks
f anoverwhelming
abundance
f animal
ife.
The elephants
re
more chemati-
callypresented
han
heother
animals,
and heir
position
top he
serpents
seems
o be
symbolic.
he
mythology
of many
African
eoples
ssociates
le-
phants
ndserpents
ith
thecreation
8
2. The
Hunt in
the Steppe
Saqqara,
ynasty
probably
a. 23S0
.C.
Limestone;
. 23X4
n. (60.3
cm).
Rogers
Fund, 908
(08.20I.Ig)
The bow
andarrow
was he
most m-
.
*
*
.
portant
untlng
weaponn anclent
Egypt,butduringheOldandearly
Middle
Kingdoms
razing
nimals
were
oftenhunted
with assos
fter
the
herd
hadbeen
drivennto
a stock
ade. t was
mportant
o catch
he
animalslive
o that hey
could
befat-
tened
n
captivity
eforehey
were
slaughtered.
ne
detail top)
hows
n
ibex,
Caprabex
ubiana,eing
roped
in
thehilly andscape
f thesteppe.
Thepen
s notrepresented
n
this
relief, s t is in manyotherhunting
scenes.
Dogs
accompany
he hunts-
men; n
theotherdetail
bottom)
onehoundcatches
Dorcas
azelle,
Gazella
orcas,y the
leg,while
another
ttacks hyena.
A hare
anda
gazelle
rouch
ehindrees
ndbushe
to
escapehe
hunters.
Hieroglyphic
inscriptions
ive he animals'
ames
and
describe
he assohunt.
Inaddition
o the
well-known
completeombof Perneb,heMuseum
owns
hefunerary
hapel
fPrince
Ra-m-kaj.
he
details ere
are aken
from
a relief
n itssouth
wall.The
prince ndheir
o the
throne
must
have
diedprematurely,
ecause
tomboriginally
arvedora judge
named
Neferiretnes
as
adaptedor
. i
.
1S lnterment.
of
theuniverse.
he uppermost
ow
ofeach
elief
may husrepresent
cre-
ativedeity o whom herestof the
animals
we
heir xistence.
o
human
being
s depicted
n the
comb,
butthe
presence
f the
attacking
og
shown
asdomesticated
y
itsupward-curling
tail
hintsat
the existence
f
man,
thehunter.
Comparison
ithphara-
onicrepresentations,
uch
as the
drawing
n
number
2, may
even ug-
gest
hat his
dogbelongs
oa
ruling
chieftain
r king.
While vorynpharaonicimes
wasvery
often
ofhippo ooth,
his
comb
s made
of elephant
vory,
n
indication
hat
elephants
may till
have
beenroaming
he desert-steppes
atthe end
of the fourth
millennium
B.C. By
thebeginning
f dynastic
is-
tory,
lephants
nd
giraffes ere
gone
from
Egypt,
nd oday
ions
no
longerive
here.
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 5/61
6
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 6/61
01
V \
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 7/61
3. Gazelle
Dynasty
8,
ca. 400 B.C. Tinted
vory,
wood, nd
blue-pigmentnlay; .
4/2
in.
(II.5 cm).Purchase,
dward. Harkness
Gift,926 (26.7.I292)
A lovepoemof theNew Kingdom
likens he
passion f the lover o the
intensityf a gazelle s
t flees he
hunter:
O thatyoucame o your
ister lover]
swiftly,
Likea
bounding azellen thewild;
Its eetreel, ts imbsare
weary,
Terror asenteredts body.
A hunter ursuest with
hishounds.
Thiselegantvory azelle eems
poised or
ustsucha flight, ts slen-
der egs et
daintily n theuneven
ground f the steppe. t
stands mong
desert lantshatare ncised
ntothe
woodenbaseand illed
withbluepig-
ment.Theplump ittle
body s
smooth nd
ustrous,heheadheld
alertly n a swanlike eck,
and he
circularyes inteda velvety
rown.
Purple oloring
n theforeheadnd
muzzle, swellas asymmetrically
applied urple-brown
ineson the
backand
ail,may ndicate iffer-
ences n theshading f
thefur.The
hooves redark rown.The animal's
ears rebroken ff,and hehorns,
originally adeof another
material,
. .
aremlsslng.
The gazelletatuette
asmost
probablyartof a rich
burial quip-
ment. nthiscontext he
animal
served sa symbol or hepowers f
renewalhatEgyptians
ttributedo
alldesert ndsteppe nimals. he
Museumlsopossesses
he mummy
of a realgazellehatwas
buriedwith
the coffinof a Thebanadyof
Dynasgr6 (664-525 .C.).
4. Weight f ThreeDeben
n the
Shape f a Gazelle
Dynasty8, reignof Amenhotep
II,
ca. 390-I353
B.C. Bronze; . 2X8 in.
(5.4cm). Purchase, ilaAcheson
Wallace
Gift, 968 (68.I39.I)
The artistwho shaped his
bronze
gazellewasa master f
carefullyb-
served etails.
he neck tretches
from ts humped ase n
a natural,
anatomicallyorrectmanner.
he
muscles f
thehindquartersre ensed
reflectingheweight esting n the eg
joints.Heavy,
roopingidshalfcover
theeyes, nd heanimal's
ostrils re
flared s fscentinghe
air.The artist
hascaptured
he qualitiesf thehard
knobby orns
nd he soft urry ars.
Threencisions n the
backof the
animalndicatehat he figurewas
supposed
o weigh hree
deben273
grams), hich s slightly
more han ts
actualweightof
26I.8
grams,
differ-
encecaused y corrosion. ronze
weights nanimal ormwerecom-
monduringhe New Kingdom.
hey
weremainly sed o weighgold hat
served s
payment nd ribute rwas
usedbyjewelersr other
raftsmenn
theirwork.
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 8/61
1,,¢s,'7
o',
i- e t,vt tt
.'w'' t
J ;
S s
* -; 1
4- +t ) S
v
:
o:
ts;y:
|ol;
>
:*l
>
w:W
s ¢ r s
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 9/61
S
Antelope
Head
Dynasty
7, 525-404
B.C.
Graywacke,
nlaid
Egyptian
labaster
ndagate
yes;h. 3/2 in.
(9 cm).
Purchase,
ogers nd
Fletcher
Funds
and
JosephPulitzer
equest,992
(I992. 55)
The
sculptor
as
shapedhis
headof
an
antelope o
skillfullyhata
distinct
impressionf its
delicate,
hin
bone
structures
conveyed. he
skin s
stretched
ver
ense inews
nd
ean
flesh.The
soft,
sensitive
muzzleeems
well
adapted
o
sample esert
erbs
andgrass.
he
eyes,almond
haped
with
uminous
labaster
nlays or
the
eyeballs,
reespecially
triking.
The
remaininggate
nlayof
the right
pupil bluishpurplewithagray
outer
ircle
lendsa
hypnotic
uality
to the
antelope'saze.
Originally
horns f
ivory r
gilded
woodwere
attachedothe
headby
tenons.
Only
recentlyave
gazelles,
nte-
lope,and
bexbecome
carce
o the
polnt
or
extlnctlonn
egypt.even
at
thetime
hishead
was
made,how-
ever, t
wasprobably
areor
heordi-
nary
nonhunting
gyptian f
the
alluvialand o encounterneof these
elegant
reatures.
he
sculptor er-
tainly
eflectednhis
workan
expres-
sionof
aweatthe
quasi-miraculous
appearancefthe
animal.
The
head a
masterpiece
fLate
Period
nimal
culpture-was
most
likelynot
partof
an entire
igure ut
rather
rowned
heprow
of a
ceremo-
nialboat
dedicatedo thegod
Sokar,
whowas
ncharge
f the
desert nd
thepyramidemeteriesearEgypt's
capital,
Memphis.
ibex
requentlyerved
sthe
hiero-
glyphicmblem
orthe
word
"year."
These wo
representationsf
re-
cumbent
bexare
markedly
ifferent
from
achother
nposture
ndex-
pression. he
faience
nimal n its
little
basemight
be
crouching
ehind
a
bush
during hunt.
Eyeswide
open
andhead
onlyslightly
aised
rom he
forelegs,
he
animal eemso
belis-
teningand
sniffingor he
dreaded
hunter nd
his dogs.
n
contrast,he
quartzbex
ifts tS
head
proudly n
an
upright
eck. n a
posture
ecallin
the
bronze
azelle
no.4),
both
forelegsre
bent
backward
nd he
body
rests
racefully
n the
eft
haunch.
Despite
he small
izeof
thefigure,heartist asconveyedhe
unevenweight
distributionith
remarkable
ccuracy.he
animal's
ody
iscurved,
nd he
efthind eg
hasdis-
appeared
nder
he
haunch. hispose
was
used or he
arge am
culptures
thatKing
AmenhotepII
dedicatedo
thegod
Amun-Re t his
temple f
Soleb,
Upper
Nubia.The
strongn-
fluence
uch arge
culptures
xerted
on
the minor
rts s
reflectedn
the
small igures f this bexand he
bronze
azelle.
The
twoibex
figures
erved s
adornment. he
faience ne s
pierced
horizontallyo
fit into a
ring.
The
quartz
bexmay
have
decoratedn
elaborate
erfumeessel,
nwhich
case
twould
have
beenattached
y
pegsortubes
protrudingrom
he un-
derside
ndby
pieces fwire
ecuring
it front
andback.
6.
Ibex
Dynasty
8, ca.
55O-I300
B.C. Faience
(figuresf
a
crocodilenda
fish
ngraved
on
underside);
. 2 in.
I.2 cm).
Purchase,
Edward.
Harkness
ift,
926
(26.7.So)
7. Ibex
Late
Dynasty
8, probablyeign f
AmenhotepII,
ca.
390-I353
B.C. Mottled
semitranslucent
ryptocrystallineuartz
closelyesemblingasperhorn amaged;
twoholes
rilled n
underside,
neeach,
front
ndback);
. in.
2.5 cm).
Purchase,
Vaughn
oundationift,
980
(I980.2)
The
ancient
Egyptians
onsidered
he
ibex o bea
good-luck
harm
nd
symbol
frenewal.
bex igures
ften
decorated
ew
Year'sifts,
and n
"Happy ew
Year"
nscriptionsn
13
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 10/61
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 11/61
8. Statuette f the God
Anubis s
Embalmer
Ptolemaic
eriod,04-30
.C.
Woodwith
gesso
ndpaint; . 6/2 in. (42
cm).Giftof
Mrs.
Myron .Taylor,938 38.5)
This
wooden igure epresents
he
godAnubiswith
a canidheadon a
humanbody,wearinghe
feather
costume
f Egyptianeities.
n this
pose hands aised, alms
down-
ward the god
performedurifi-
cationand ransfiguration
itesover
a mummy.During
he actualmum-
* , .
* o
mltlcatlon rocess,
prlestwearlng
canidmaskplayed
he roleof Anubis.
era.The specieswasrare
venduring
pharaonicimes
and ivednot in
the
steppe
roper ut n thebrush
t the
border
f theagriculturalands.
t is
likely hat ew
Egyptiansctually
aw
thisshyanimal,
lthoughrom he
Old
throughheNew
Kingdomep-
resentations
f the magnificent
tags
appearn images
f thehunt n
the
desert.
The artist
whohammeredhis
cen-
terprotome
rom heetgold or
he
crown f a
Hyksosadyof highrank
created
ucha detailed
mage hathe
musteither
ave een he actual
rea-
tureor based
isworkuponanother
artist's
loseobservation.
he head
shows
llthe essential
haracteristics
of thespecies:he majesticimen-
sions, riangular
urrowedrow, uffy
cheeks, ectangular
ose,and arge
funnel-shaped
ars.Evenminordetails
arewellrepresented,
rom he knobby
cirdes roundhebase
f theantlers
indicatedy twisted
oldwireand
repeatedround
heears to the
pores
inthe flesh
of the nose.Thesenatural-
istic
eatures,swellas
the echniquef
manufacturing
hree-dimensional
b-
jectsby oining wohammeredalves,
is
so essentiallygyptianhat he
piece
mustundoubtedly
e attributed
. * k
to an qgyptlan
rtlst.
The diadems alsoadorned
ith
heads f gazelles
nd otusblossoms.
Beginning
n the OldKingdom,
headbands
ithpapyrusnd otus
ornaments
ere requently
orn
by
Egyptian omen.The combina-
tionof marsh
lowersndhorned
desert-animal
eadshasa foreign
character,
owever,hat
maybestbe
attributedo
the taste f a Hyksos
client
with trongies
o theCanaanite
MiddleBronze geculture.
to. Head
of a Canid,Possibly
Jackal
LatePeriod,
64-332B.C. Gypsum
laster;
1.2M2n.
(6.4 cm). RogersFund,
974
(I974264)
The classification
f wildcanids
for nstance
heEgyptianackal,
vnis
lupaster, and he
wilddog livingat
the margins
f theEgyptian
esert
causes
roblemsven orzoologists.
t
is not surprising,
herefore,hat he
ancientEgyptiansid not
distinguish
particular
anid peciesn their
epre
sentationsf gods,
uchasthe necrop
olisgodAnubis see
no. 8);Duamute
oneof the four onsof Horus; r
Wepwawet,
he godof Asyut,
town
in Middle
Egypt.Thissensitively
modeled laster
eadcouldhave
servedodepict
anyof thesedeities.
The use
of plasternd he
rough,un-
modeled rea round
heears ndicat
that heheadwas
cast n a mold.
Recent esearch
asshown hat
Egyptian
rtists seda variety
f finely
graded
lastermaterialsor
trial
piecesand inished
works f art.This
smallhead s in a
classwithOldKing
dom"reserve"eads nd he
famous
New Kingdom laster
ortraitsrom
an artist's
tudioatAmarna.
n the
latterworkshop,
moldcastingwas
alsopracticed.
9. Stag
Protomeroma
Diadem
Hyksos eriod, ynasty
5-I6,
ca.
640-
IS5O B.C.
Gold; . of protome7/6
in.
(8.8 cm).
Purchase,ilaAcheson
Wallace
Gift,
968
(68.I36.I)
ThePersianallow
deer,Damv
mesopotamica,ame o Egypt
byway
of the Suez sthmus
n the Pleistocene
15
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 12/61
power.A lioness
eity, orexample,
wasaddressed
n a MiddleKingdom
textas "theGreat,
whose yesare
keenandwhose laws re
harp, he
lioness
who seesandcatches
y
night."
hehunting f lionswas
a
royal rerogative,
sshownn this
masterlynddetailed ketch y an
Egyptianraftsman, ho
added
praise
o pharaohn flowery
cript n
the
backof thepiece.Flakes
f the
dense
Thebanimestone ere he
tra-
ditional
notepaper"f
scribes nd
artists
n theNew Kingdom. he
hands reoften
hoseof master
draftsmensee
alsonos.3Sand63).
Scholarsave tressedhat
his ion
doesnot stand
on the same evelas
pharaohndhiswell-trainedog.As
the ionembodieshe forces
f chaos,
itbelongs o
a worldbeyondhe
orderedealm
f the Egyptian ing.
Lionswere
partof theEgyptian
faunauntilabout
wo centuriesgo,
and
n thepharaoniceriods
hey
must
havebeen airly ommon.
They
were
ertainly ellknown
o herds-
menandhunters
sthemostdanger-
ous
animal f the steppe.
Recentlyhe
II.
AnubisRecumbent
Saqqara,
ynasty6-27,664-404B.C.
Limestone,riginally
ainted lack neck,
nose, eftear, ight
eg,andpart f base
restored);
.25X4n. (64cm).Adelaide ilton
de Groot und,n
memoryf thede Groot
andHawleyamilies,
969 6g.Io5)
Egyptian
rtistsftendepicted
nubis
entirely
n animalormand
n a pose
indicating atchfuluardianship.o
thisday,n cemeteries
n theEgyptian
desert,wilddogsguarding
heir erri-
tories
tretch ut n thesame lert ose
as thispowerfill
imestoneculpture.
The near-lifesize
igurewas
excavated
by British
rchaeologist alter
B.
Emeryn a temple
deposit t Saqqara,
thevastnecropolis
ear ncient gypt's
capital,Memphis.
emple bjectswere
gatheredndhiddenduringhevari-
ousforeign aids
n Memphis.t is not
knownromwhich emple
heAnubis
statue ame.A
LatePeriodanctuary
of Anubis, alled
heAnubieion,
wassurrounded
y one of the numer-
ous cemeteriest
Saqqarahatwere
specificallyedicated
o theburial f
sacred nimals.
t2. Pharaoh pears
Lion
Thebes,
alleyf theKings,ate
Dynasty
0-
Third ntermediate
eriod,a.
I00-
700 B.C.
Painted
imestone;. (ofstone)
5/2 in. I4
cm).Purchase,dward
.
Harkness
ift,
926 (26.7.I453)
The ancientEgyptians
ived n awe
of
thegreat elines, nd ions
especially
were
egardeds the embodiment
f
.-:
. . . , , ;
. i
16
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 13/61
skeletalemainsf adult swellas
youngionswere iscoveredear he
tomb f theFirstDynastyingHor
Aha ca.
960-2926 B.C.)
atAbydos,
Middle gypt clear videncehat
from hebeginninggyptiansept
captiveions t heroyalourt. he e-
mains f a NewKingdomoowere
found n theDeltapalace f King
RamessesI (ca.
279-I2I3 B.C.)
at
Qantir. ions, lephants,ndhorned
desert easts adbeenkept n this
menagerie.
Theartist'sketch f a royalion
huntwas eportedlyound earhe
entranceo the omb f Tutankh-
amun,wheret wasdiscardedyan
artist, robablyorkingn oneof the
lateNewKingdomombs earby.
I3. Recumbent ion
Said
O
be fromGebelein, arly ynastic,
ca. 000-2700 B.C. Quartz;.43/4 in.
(I2
cm).Purchase,letcherund ndGuide
Foundationnc.Gift,966 (66.99.2)
mouth,andgeneralurrinessf ears,
paws, ndbody.These eatures, e-
cidedly hoseof a young ion,mustbe
read s ntentionallyeproducedhar-
acteristicsf theanimal epresented
It is diSlcult o explainhemeanin
of a lion-cub culpturen the context
of Egyptianeligion ndart,espe-
cially n thisearly eriod. n ancient
Egyptionsusually epresentedhe
king.Therewasa famous emple f
the goddessHathor t Gebelein,
where he quartzionwasreportedly
found.Beginningn early imes,
Hathorwasnot only hegoddess f
lovebutalsoa celestialmother eity
whoappearedsa cowsucklinghe
kingandasa wild ioness. sthequart
lion her on,the king?
The abstractorm, ackof a base, nd
theway he tailcurlsup acrosshe
backof thisglowing igure f a lion
dates t to EarlyDynasticimes. t is a
somewhatnigmaticmasterpiece,nd
scholars aveproposedariousnter-
pretations.he animal asbeen den-
tifiedasa manelessmale ion,a
lioness, nda cub.This ast s most
likely.Noneof thehardstoneculp-
tures f powerful dult ions hatwere
madearoundhesamedatematches
the shorthead,over-largeose, oft
17
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 14/61
I4. Amulet n the Form f a Seated
Goddesswith LionHead
Third ntermediateeriod,a.
070-
7I2 B.C.
Faience;.
2/2
in. (6.scm).Purchase,
Edward. Harkness ift,926 (26.7.868)
In Egyptianeligionion godswere
lessprominenthan ionessdeities.
The females mbodiedhe essence
of supernaturalower ndweremuch
revered. owever,t was he general
concept f the ionessdeity hatwas
important,ot themanynames nder
which heappeared. hisoftenmakes
it difflculto distinguishconographic-
allybetween hevariousioness eities
* Tn -
n egyptlan rt.
The enthronedoddess f this
intricate mulet losely esembles
18
New Kingdom tatues f Sakhmet,
goddess f warandpestilence. n the
beautiful,
lender odyof a woman
sits he
menacing eadof a lioness n-
circled y themane f themale,which
hadbecome
symbol f powerused
regardlessf
gender. n herrighthand
the goddess
oldsa sistrum, musical
instrumentikea rattle.The sistrum
wasused n
performanceshatwere
believedo
transformhe dangerous
SakhmetntoBastet, he catgoddess,
herbenign
ounterpart.
If Egyptiansn the New Kingdom
wouldcall his
goddess akhmet,
those iving ntheThird ntermediate
andLate
Periods ftenunderstood
seated iguresf the ioness eity o be
Wadjet,he
goddess f LowerEgypt,
who alsoappearedn the shape f a
cobra seenos.48 and49). Believed
to be endowedwithmagicpowers,
thisWadjetn heramuletic ole s
supported y a demonnamed
Nehebkaw. e appearsn the attice-
workon thesideof thegoddess's
throne sa serpent ithhuman rms
and egs.Before imanotherioness
deity s seen, hisonestanding.
Sinceall ioness eitieswere losel
relatedo thesungod, Re,thisamu-
let'sheadwasoncecrowned y a sun
disk,possibly f gildedbronze r gold
It wasattached y means f a peg
insertedntoa holedrilled etween
the animal'sars.
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 15/61
IS. LargeFeline sHandle f a
Cosmetic poon
Malqata,Dynasty8, reignof Amenhotep
III, ca.
390-I3S3 B.C.
Egyptian labaster;
1.sAsn. (I3 cm).Rogers und,9II (II.2IS.7IS)
The ancientEgyptians
nderstoodhe
leopard, antheraardus,nd he
cheetah, cinonyxjubatus,
espectively,
as the Upper ndLowerEgyptianer-
sionsof thesameanimal.t is there-
foreunderstandablehatnot all
representationsistinguished
learly
betweenhe two arge
elines. n this
handle f a cosmetic
poon he ong
neckof the animal robably
ndicates
that he cheetahiseap s being ele-
brated. he spoon, learly luxury
item,wasfound n the
palace f
KingAmenhotepII,
oneof thegreat
hunters mongEgypt's
haraohs.
Both eopardsndcheetahs
ere
common n Egypt, s theywere
n the
restof Africa uring ncient
imes.
Todayheyare argelyxtinctn Egypt,
the
ast eopardsaving een eenat
the
beginningf the wentiethentury,
whereasare heetahsre till iving
near
heLibyan order.
I6. DoubleLeopard-Head
mulet
froma Girdle
Lahun, yramidf SenwosretI,Dyn-
asty
2,
ca.
900-I840 B.C.
Gold
nd
amethyst;
.
X4
in.
4 S
cm).Purchase,ogers
Fund ndHenryWalters ift,
9I6
(I6.I.6)
Leopardeads ndskins and, ess
often,
hoseof cheetahs served s
priestly armentsndwerebelieved
o
guaranteeejuvenationnd
ertility.
In theMiddle
Kingdomhisbelief ed
to the custom
f includingmages f
leopard eads
n girdleswornby
women.The arge eads f thispiece
weremaden two halves ammered
from heetgoldand olderedogether
The nteriorpaceswere illedwith
pebbles o thata rhythmicoundwas
created hen
he owner a princess
namedSithathoryunetwalked r
danced. he
girdlewas oundwith he
rest f theprincess'sich ewelryn an
undisturbed
icheof herplundered
tombat Lahun.
he threadhatheld
theelements
ogether addisinte-
grated, uteachpiecewaspainstakin
ly recoveredrom hesediment y one
of the expedition's
rchaeologists,uy
Brunton. fter heMuseum cquired
mostof thejewelryn
I9I6,
thegirdle
wasrestrungromBrunton'sketches
19
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 16/61
@' ::
* l w -s -
- -Ft2- -
'
i*^f :*k- ;SX ' 4
|g < - ,, sX r
_#e
a-Mw#-
-R
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 17/61
I7. Wildcat
EarlyDynasty
2,
ca.
990-I900 B.C.
Egyptian labaster;.
S /2 n. (I4 cm).
Purchase,
ilaAchesonWallaceGift,
990
(I990. S9 . I)
Domesticated
atsdidnot appear
n
Egyptian
rtbefore he Middle
King-
dom,and henonly n rare nstances,
buttheAfricanwildcat,
elis ilvestris
libyca,wasalready
epresentedy
artists uring he
Old Kingdom,r
at least romabout
250 B.C.
onward.
The habitat
f thissolitary redator
withyellowurand
stripedmarkings
was he steppe nd
brush t themar-
ginsof the desert,
romwhich t may
havemade oraysnto
thewetlands
in search
f prey, uchasmice,
birds,
and ish.
n themarshesived
nother
wildcat pecies,he
swamp at,
E
chaus,whichhada
heavier ody,olid-
coloredur,anda short ail.
TheEgyptians eregreatlym-
pressedy thewildcat's
rowess,spe-
cially ts
ferocityn fighting oisonous
snakes. hisspecial
alentmadet an
appropriateelper
f thesungod,Re,
in his struggle
gainstheApophis
snake, he embodiment
f allevil.
Sometimeshesun
godhimselfould
evenappear
n theshape f the
"great
tomcat."
he cat's oleas helper
f
the deceased
s expressedn a papyrus
of theThird ntermediateeriod
(ca. 070-7I2
B.C.):
"Oh
catof lapis
lazuli, reat f forms
. . mistressf
the embalmingouse,
rant he beau-
teousWest Land f the
Dead]: n
peace abenediction]."
Thisexquisite
labasterildcat
vividly aptureshe fierce
ndagile
nature f analertpredator.
heartist
hascombinedhebroadmusculature
andshort ail
of the swamp atwith
the stripedurof
E
silvestris.
Thecat
sits ightly
n its haunches,orelegs
r . .
ln a torwarc
osltlon, eacWyo sprlng.
There s nothing
omesticn the
small
headwith
tserect ars,wide-open
eyes,andwell-defined
uzzle. his s
a dangerous
east,wellable o assist
thesungod
againstheevilApophis.
To serve s a container
orcosmeticr
medicinalintment,he
alabaster
formwas
hollowed utuntil, n places,
it becameggshellhin.A stone top-
per now
missing) riginallyit into
the opening
etweenhe cat's ars.
A
containerf suchexquisite
erocity
would urely ave ent
potency o its
contents,
perfumedil.
I8.
Jerboas
MiddleKingdom,ateDynasty
2
or
Dynasty3) ca. 8SO-I6sO
B.C. Faience;
h. I%6
in. (3.I cm); /6 in. (4.2
cm).
Purchase, dward . Harkness
Gift, 926
(26.7.900, .90I)
The Egyptian
erboa from heArabic
yarbu
meaning flesh f lions"),
acu-
lusaculus,s wellequipped
or ump-
ing and,given
ts small ize,can eap
. . . r -
a surprlslng
Wlstancer
1X
or seven
feet.Faienceerboasuchasthesehave
been ound n
a number f Middle
Kingdom
ombs.A group
f three, f
which
woaredepicted ere,
was
allegedlyound
at Heliopolis,n the
southeastern
elta, ogether
itha
faience igure
f a wildcat nd he
magic od no.
38). f this s correct,
thetombowner
hadespeciallytrong
beliefs
n thepotency f
animals.
Thejerboas usually epresented
sittinguprightn its hind egs, ts
paws
aisedoitsmuzzle,
hich s how
many odents
it wheneating. t is
alsopossiblehat
heancientEgyptian
interpretedhe
gesture spraying
to
thesolardeity.Usedas
funeraryo-
tives,
hejerboasmayhave
ervedo
strengthen
hedeceased'sope hathe
orshewould
each newday n com-
panionship
ith he sun
god.
21
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 18/61
the llustration,nd
Hemiechinus
auritus,whichhad arger
ars nd s
shown
n thecenter. he first
of these
speciess nearly
xtinctn Egypt
oday
butmusthavebeen ommonn phara
onic
imes.During
he OldKingdom
short-eared
arvechinusedgehogs
livedon the
steppe ndat the desert
edge n burrowsrom
which hey
emerged
tdawnor
dusk o search
formeals
f insects, mallmice,
and
carrion.
ven oday
he arge-eared
Hemiechinus
wells
n the alluvial
land
of the Nile Delta.
In Egyptianrtdesert edgehogs
arepartofrepresentationsf the hunt
in
the desert. hey
aredepictedither
in
cagebasketsmong he booty
or in
the steppe
nvironmentn front
of
theentrances
o theirdens.The latter
could
be areference
o the hedge-
hogs'
habitof sleeping
nderground
I9. Genet
Dynasty
6-29, 664-380B.C.
Faience;
1.Ysn. (2.2cm).Theodore
M. Davis
Collection,
Bequest f TheodoreM.
Davis,
I9IS (30-8-8S9)
The genet,Genetta
enetta,s a
small
carnivoreelated
o thecivet,Viverra
civetta,
utwith esswell-developed
scentglands.
Egyptianssedartistic
license o show
he small potted
genet, ike he
wildcat nd chneu-
mon(ormongoose),talking
irds
andotherprey
n papyrushickets.
The genet's roper
abitat, owever,
was hetallgrass ndshrubs f the
steppe ndat the desert
margins,
which t would
eave ohunt n the
marshes,s did
thewildcat nd
he
ichneumon. he genet
wassometimes
tamed ndkeptas a mouser.
oday
genets
reextinct n Egypt,
butthey
were requentlyepictedn
the Old
andearlyMiddle
Kingdoms. his
tiny igure ttests
o theirpresence
n
the firstmillennium
.C.
20.
Seal
Amulets n the
Shape f
Hedgehogs
Left
O
right: ew
Kingdom,a.ISS°-
I070 B.C.
Glazedteatite
scroll esign n
base); . /6
in.
I.8
cm).Dynasty6,
664-S2S B.C.
Faience
animal ith ong egs
[gazelle?]n base);
.
%16
n.
I.4
cm).Late
Period, robably
ynasty6, 664-S2s B.C.
Egyptianlue inscribed
n base the
beloved
f Bastet i-mer-diw");. 3%6n.
(2.I cm).
Gifts f HelenMiller
Gould,
9I0
(I0. I30. 87I,
. 884, . 882)
Twokindsof hedgehogs
ereknown
to the ancientEgyptians:
he desert
hedgehog, araechinus
ethiopicus,
representedn the eftand
right n
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 19/61
when
ood s scarce.
heir eappear-
anceafter
ongabsencesmay
be the
basis
orthe Egyptians'
elief
hat
hedgehogs
eraldedherenewal
f life,
anexplanationor heiruse n amulets.
Hedgehog
mulets
werealso
hought
toprotect gainst
oisonous
nakebites.
Amuletshowing
he ong-eared
em-
iechinusre ess requent
han hose
n
theshape
f thedesert
edgehog.
2I. HareAmulet
Ptolemaic
eriod,
04-30
B.C. Faience;
1. I%8n. (3.5
m).Rogers
und, 944(44.4.z5)
Amonghesmall nimalsf the
Egyptian
esert
s thedesert are,
Lepus apensis.
n ancientimes
twas
not considered
orthy
rey or
princely
unters,
nd n representa-
tions t
appearsnly
occasionally
among
he spoils
of thehunt.
In
manyhunting
cenes,
owever,t
can
befound n the
background
s part
of the andscape.
he
tombrelief
f
Ra-m-kajseeno.
2),
forexample,
includes
desert are
n much he
sameposition
sthe onethat
orms
this
amulet.t crouches
ow to the
ground,
ars lattened,
ntenton
elud-
ingthehunter's
otice.
Thedesert
hare'sand-colored
ur(here
rans-
formed o
an amuletic
lue) ervest
well
as camouflage.
fdetected,
ow-
ever, he
hareuses ts
great peed
o
help
t toescape.
The hare'smuleticole s not
known or
certain. ncient
Greek
nd
Roman
uthors elieved
hathares
could leep
with heir yes
openand
reproduce
ithout opulation.
f
these
werealso
Egyptianeliefs,
he
hare
mighthave epresented
xtreme
vigilance
r the
primevaleity's
elf-
creating
ower.
22.
Hareas aHieroglyph
Deir l-Bahri,
emple f
MentuhotepI,
DynastyI,
latereign f
MentuhotepI,
ca. 040-tOIO
B.C.
Paintedimestone;
.of
hieroglyph
1X6n.(5cm).
Giftof Egypt
Explorationund,907
(07.230.z)
Thisdetail
f arelief
romKingMen-
tuhotep
I'smortuary
emple
tDeir
el-Bahri
s a good
example
f thecare
with
whichEgyptian
rtists
endered
hieroglyphicigns nmonumentaln-
scriptions.
n the
pictographic
riting
system f ancient
Egypt, he
hare ep-
resents
hecombination
f consonant
wn and
was husused
n the mportan
word
meaning
tobe."
23
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 20/61
At thebeginningf phara-
onichistory
onsiderable
portionsf theNile
Delta,modern gypt's
mostdensely opulated
rea, on-
sisted f
swampsndmarshes.ther
wetlandsccurred
soccasionalock-
ets artherouth long
heNileand n
thegeologicalormation
nown s
theFayumepression.
nancientimes
the ake tFayumrainednto
he
Nileandmust ave een onsiderably
largerndess alty
han t is today.
Typical arshegetation
rewnthese
waterlogged
reas.he amous gyptian
papyrusrew igher
han man'sead,
providing
n deal nvironmentora
multitude
f birdsbothndigenous
andmigratory)
nd quatic ammals.
Therewasalso nabundance
f fish
andother quaticife
n theNile t-
selfand
n the rrigationanals,
swell
as n the altwatersf both he
Mediterraneannd
heRedSea.
An
OldKingdomomb nscription
describeshehuntn themarsh
s
a "delightf theheart."
addlingn
light eed oatshrough
hepapyrus
thickets,
ishing nd owling, as
or
theEgyptiansmost
desirableay o
experience
herichnessndbeauty
f
divine
reation. eremen ould
rove
24
their trengthn encounters ithdan-
gerous nimalsuchas crocodiles
r
hippos; heycould pear ishor catch
ducks ndgeeseby deftly
urlingheir
throw ticks.
Women ouldgather
flowers
ndpapyrusor
adornmentr
helphandlehe captured irds.
In religion,
rt,and iterature,he
marshlands,
venmore han hedesert
andsteppe,
ame o beendowedwith
the
characterf a paradise.
overs
likenedheir morous ursuitso those
of bird atchers
n papyrushickets,
theme xpressedn a New
Kingdom
love
song:
Thewild
goose oars nd woops,
It alights n
thenet;
Manybirdswarm bout,
I havework o do.
I amheld
astby my ove,
Alone,my
heartmeets ourheart,
From ourbeauty 'llnotpart
In temple ituals ods
and heking
were een nthe roleof marshland
hunters efeating
he forces f evil
embodiednthe hippo,
as expressed
in
linesof ritualextsuch
as these
concerninghe god Horus:
A happy ay
have astmyharpoon
lustily
A happy ayMyhands ave hemas-
tery f his
thehippo's]ead
I have
ast t hecows f the
hippopotami
nwaterf eight
cubits . .
I have
urled ithmyright
and,
I swung ithmy
eft,
Asa bold en-man
oes.
Asa child,Horus, he sky
god of
kingship,
asbelievedo have
been
raisedn the marshes, herehis
mother,sis,hid
himagainsthe evil
Seth,
whohadkilledHorus's
ather,
Osiris.
uch ituals ndmyths xplain
why mages f the
hunt n themarshe
were avoritehemes
of tombreliefs
andpaintings
hroughoutharaonic
history.n essence
uch cenes erved
as symbols
orthepower f nature
o
renewtself onstantly,
cycle n
whicheachEgyptian
ishedo par-
ticipate. resent-dayiewers f marsh
scenesn ancient
Egyptian rt hould
realizehat hey
do not seenaturalis-
tic landscape
epictionsut dealized
images.However,
hroughheirkeen
sense
orrealisticetail,Egyptian
artistsmanaged
O capturemuchof
the country'seautifullora
nd aun
in themythicalandscapes.
etlands
n d
aterways
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 21/61
:
*
'
;
.
*
s
i e
\' 1
?
'
r
., .s
+
.
v
.
' .
.
* ,
tk
t
.o.
*
',,fi,
9-
..
.
. .
L.&''
='^'l*s
23.
Otter
Ptolemaic
eriod,
04-30
B.C.
Bronze;
h.
I73/8
in.
(44cm).
Gift
of
LilyS.
Place,
I9
23(236.2)
Old
Kingdom
rtists
epicted
he
otter
atching
ish n
the
papyrus
thicket.
During
he
Late
Period
nd
Ptolemaic
imes
otters
n
bronze
tat-
uettes
uch
as
this
one
were
epre-
sented
tanding,
orepaws
aised,
top
small
bronze
oxes.
As
in the
case
of
baboons,
he
raised
aws
of
the
otter
isa
pose
of
adoration
efore
he
sun
godwhenherisesnthemorning.
The
great
ymn
o
Aten
beautifully
expresses
his
daily
occasion
or
prayer
* *
anc
reJolclng:
Earth
rightens
hen
you
dawnn
light and
When
you
shineas
Aten
of
daytime;
As
you
dispel
he
dark,
As
you
cast
your
ays,
The
Two
Lands
re
n
festivity.
Awakehey tand ntheir eet,
You
have
oused
hem;
Bodies
leansed,
lothed,
Their
arms
dore
our
appearance.
In
myth
otters
were
attached
o
the
goddess f
Lower
Egypt,
Wadjet,
whose
ult
was
centered
n
Buto,
n
the
northern
elta.
The
animal
may
have
been
common
n
the
shores
f
nearby
ake
Burullus.
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 22/61
marshlandcenes,
ichwith
plantand
bird ife.Our ragment
aspartof
thisborder
romroom
E. Themarsh-
landhunter
wasomitted n this
paint-
ing; twasenough
hat he king
himselfwasable
o stride crosshe
pavement
smaster f the marshland
paradise.
In this ragment
f the Malqata
floorpainting, duck s seenamong
the branches
f an unidentified
arsh
plant
beside rchingtems
ofpapyrus.
Many ypesof
waterfowl reed
n
Europe, sia,
andnorthern frica
nd
winter
n Egypt.This
one ssketched
in profile,
tshead,body,
and egs
outlined n black
ndred.Black
ines
of varying
hicknesses
efine he
featheringn
its neckand lanks;
he
curving
inesgive
he birda fullness
that s further nhanced
y the
pecu-
liarpatchy
istributionf blue
and
ocher
paint.Throughhis
combina-
tionof draftsmanship
nd
painting,
theartist
ascapturedhe essence
f
the
duck:ts head
pulled racefully
back
rom he fullcrop,
ts heavy
body s caught
nmotion,
walking n
widely pacedegswiththe ducEs
typically
wkwardait.
On closer
tudyt becomes ppar-
ent
that heheavy
bird ouldnever
reston the flimsy
eaves ndbranche
of
the marsh lant
hat urrounds
t.
Both he shrub nd
neighboring
papyrus,
reated ntirely
ithbold
strokes
f the paintbrush,
eem
o
serve nly
as background
orthebird
24.
StuccoPavement
ragment
Malqata,
ynasty
8,
reign f Amenhotep
III,
ca.
390-I353
B.C.
Stucco ithblue,
green, ellow,
ndbrown igments
upper-
most
dge, ncludingopof ducEs
ead,
restored);0/2
X I6X4 in.
(S2 42.scm).
Rogers
und,920 (20.2.2)
On
thewestbank
of theNile oppo-
siteThebes
Luxor),King
Amenhotep
III
andQueenTiye
residedn a vast
palace
n thedesert,
ear hepresent-
dayvillage
alledMalqata.
he floor
of alarge audience
all"n thispalace
was
covered ithstucco,
ndon it
Egyptian rtists
ainted
large ool
withfish,plants,
ndswimming
birds.At the
bordersurrounding
he
poolwere
painted rightly olored
26
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 23/61
2s.
Fragment
roma
TempleRelief
Deir
el-Bahri,
DynastyI, late
reignof
Mentuhotep I,
ca.
2040-20I0 B.C.
Painted
limestone;
S X I3 in.
(38 X 33 cm).
Giftof
Egypt
Exploration
und, 906
(06.I23I.I)
The
birds nthis
ragment
re
caught
in a
clapnet
et bythe
fowlers f
King
Mentuhotep
I.The
meshof the
net
appears
n
yellow-whiteaint
against
the
birds' odies.
Someof
theen-
trapped
aterfowlit
quietly, erhaps
not yet
realizingheir
plight,
while
others lyup,
attemptingo
escape.
The
eft
uppermost
ird ouldbe a
European
oot.The
otherbirds
ould
be
curlews
ndgulls
orshovelers.
Many uch
waterfowl
re
common
winter uests
n
Egypt,
lthough
theybreed n
Europe,
sia,and
other
parts fnorthern
frica.
nnature
shovelers
ave
greenish ecks
ndare
otherwise
hite,black,
nd
blue-gray.
Coots
areblack,
nd
curlews remost-
ly
brownish.
ulls an
be anumber
of
colors,
romwhite
o browno
gray,
depending
n the
species. he
brown
and
yellowpaint
n the
Mentuhotep
reliefwas
most
probablydded
during
restorationf the
temple n
Dynasty9.
The
original aintmay
well
havebeencloser
othe
birds'eal
colors.The
backgroundas
originall
bluewater.
The
fragment
ame
romone of
the
many eliefs
hatonce
decorated
the
columned
orticoes
ndhallsof
MentuhotepI's
mortuaryemple.
Thisking
reunited
gypt fter
he
period
fdisunity
alledhe
First
Intermediate
eriod.His
temple's
innovative
errace
rchitecture
nflu-
enced
Egyptian
rchitecture
orcen-
turies
o come,
while hevast
wall
reliefs
eflected
he
n-depthtudies
of
OldKingdom
eliefs
madeby
the
king's
rtists.
27
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 24/61
26. CosmeticContainersn the
Shape f Mallards
Dynasty
8,
ca.
400-I300 B .C.
Tinted
ivory; .
3%6
in.
9
cm);
X4
in.
9-5
cm).
Rogers und,940 (40.2.2, .3)
Thesedelicatevoryboxesare n the
shape f mallards, nas latryrhynchos,
thathavebeenprepareds offerings,
with he feathers luckedrom heir
wingsandbodies.Only he birds' le-
gantheads ndgracefullyurving
necks etain he black eatheringnd
whiteneckring ypical f thisspecies.
The artisthascarefullyarvedwebbed
feeton the undersidef eachcon-
tainer. omeof thewaterfowlaught
in netswerekept n enclosuresnd
fattened, lthough o duck pecies
was otally omesticatedn ancient
Egypt.
28
27. Perfume essel n the Shape f
TwoTrussedDucks
MiddleKingdom,robablyateDynasty
2-
I3, ca. 800-I65O B.C. Anhydrite;. 6X4 in.
(I7 cm).Giftof Edward. Harkness,927
(27.9 .I)
Skilled raftsmen,robably orking
somewheren MiddleEgypt,used
anhydriteo sculpt essels orcos-
metic ngredients. f those hat ur-
vive, he Museum'srussed-duck
vessel s undoubtedlyhe mostbeau-
tiful.The two ducks reprepared
o
be offeredo a deity n a waysimilar
to
the vorymallardsno.26),buthere
the artist asused he two bodies
most ngeniouslyo forma single
lenticularlask, ranslatinghe oints f
the bird'segs nto four ittleknuckles
forthevessel o standon. The necks
of the birds, ooslendero support
theirheavyheads, rearched ver o
formhandles.
Witha rare ouchof
sentiment,heartist asmade he
birds' ecks eem o giveway o the
neckof thevessel
betweenhem n
whatcanonlybe called gesture f
*o * 1 1 * >
sacrltlclal suDmlsslon.
Anhydritesa rare, emitransluce
stone, ightmauve
r faintly lue,and
is characterizedy theway t takes
highpolish. nthe earlyMiddleKing
domEgyptianuarrymeniscovered
source f anhydrite
n the mountains
of theeastern gyptian esert,which
wasprobablyhesource or he stone
usedhere.
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 25/61
3
1
'1.
l
:S
JFe
SF:;S.
r
'4?
:iF
, tF
sn t
' *S
: d
'
EN
ir.
wB: t
g i:e
- Ni
.;. ,fe 7 i
^ - * t ' ' ,5
8 J
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 26/61
29.
Hieroglyphic Sign
Showing
an
Ibis
El-Ashmunein
Hermopolis
Magna),
Ptolemaic
eriod, 04-30
B.C. Polychrome
faience;
. 6X8n.
(IS*Sm). Purchase,
Edward
. Harkness
Gift,I926
(26.7.992)
This
exquisite
relief inlay
shows a
sacred
ibis, Threskiornis
aethiopica,
walking
atop the
crossbar
of a standard
that identifies it as a deity. Its beak
is
supported
by a feather,
signifying
supreme
order
(maat). The ibis
was
associated
with Thoth,
the god
of wis-
dom, whose
primary
sanctuary
was
located
in Hermopolis
Magna,
Middle
Egypt,
where the inlay
was found.
It
was one
of several that belonged
to
elaborate
wooden shrines
erected
to
house tatues f deities.Thisexample
was
partof a
large nscription.
t rep-
resents
hieroglyphic
ign hat
could
beused
at theend
of thewordhb
(Egyptian
or
"ibis")r to
write he
name
Djehuty"Thoth").
The
sacredbis,
whichhasnot
been een
nEgypt
inceabout
876,
was argerhanrelated
pecies
ow
living n
central nd
southern
frica.
Huge locks ncecame oEgypt rom
Ethiopiao breed
n the
wetlands
during
he annualNile flood.
The
sacredbis
hasa whitebody
anda
black ead
andneck.
Theinlay
uses
green o
representhe
whiteareas
because
reens the
colorof vegeta-
tionand
ertility.
28. Statuette
f Thoth
Ptolemaic
eriod, 04-30
B.C. Faience;
h.
SS2n. (I4 cm).
Purchase, dward
.
Harkness
Gift, I926(26.7.860)
This urquoise-coloredaiencetatuette
is a beautiful
xample
f theskill
with
which
Egyptian
rtistsombined
ni-
malheads nd
humanbodies
ocreate
totally
onvincing
reatures,n this
case
the bis-headed
od,
Thoth.
30
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 27/61
bly
he titular
ingofUpper
Egypt,
Painedjem
,who, as
highpriest
f
Amun,
hadbeen
responsibleor he
reburialf
severaloyal
mummies.
On
Nany's
apyrus, hich
was ound
rolledup
at theside
of hermummy,
theheron
ppears
lanked yher
name
and
witha
group f solardeities.
3I.
Butterflies
Lisht,
northernemetery,
ynasty
2-I3,
ca.
970-I640 B.C.
Faience.Left:1.Y6n.
(I-S
m).Rogers
Fundand
Edward .
HarknessGift,
922 (zZ.I.I394). Upper
right: .1M6
n. (I.8 cm).
RogersFund, 9Is
(IS.3.sI3). ottom:
.I)l6n. (2.4
cm). Rogers
Fund, 9IS IS3
SI2)
Butterfliesre
amonghe
most
charming
f thesmall
winged rea-
tures
depicted
n Egyptian
marsh
scenes.Theseamulets
ypify he
Egyptian
rtists'
pproachobutterfly
representations.he
artists
lmost
invariablyhose
o show hem
rom
above, he
colorful ings
pread pen.
Butterflies
ere requently
sed o
decorateewelry
nancient
Egypt.
Among
hemost
beautifill
xamples
are hedetailednlaysn theCairo
Museumn the
armletsf
Queen
Hetepheres,otherf
KingKhufu
(ca.
55I-2528 B.C.). The
amuletic
meaningf
thesensects
s not
known.
30.
Heron
Western hebes, omb6s (burial f Nany),
DynastyI, reignof
Psusennes,
I040-
992 B.C.
Drawing npapyrus; .
of papyrus
(overall)4%8
in. (37 cm).
RogersFund,
930
(30.3.32)
InEgypt
herons re
year-roundesi-
dents
n the Nile
Deltaandalong
he
Red
Seacoastand
annual
winter
guests n the
wholecountry.
he
birds
migraterom
Europe, sia,and
otherparts fAfrica.udging ythe
frequency
ithwhich
hese
magnifi-
centbirds,
withtheir
ornamental
crests,
re
depicted, gyptians
ust
have oved
hem. t isnot
surprising,
therefore,o find
one amonghe
crea-
tures
depicted n afunerary
apyrus
suchasthis,
oundby
the
Museum's
excavatorsn
Thebes n the
spring f
I929. Theancient
Egyptians
elieved
that heir
kingascended
o heaven
in theformof thecrested ird,and
artists lso
often
depictedhe eg-
endary
hoenix sa
heron. n
every-
day ife these
avian xpertsn
fishing
wereusedby
fowlers s
decoys o
lure
other
birds ntothenets.
The
papyrus
elongedo the
king's
daughterany, he
chantress
fAmun,
at her
deathanelderly
woman f
con-
siderable
irth.Her
atherwasproba-
32.
Dragonfliesnd
Damselflies
Lisht,northern
emetery,
ynasty2-I3,
ca.
970-I640 B.C.
Faience.Upper
eft
(piercedransverselynderwings): . in.
(I.9 cm). Rogers
FundandEdward
.
HarknessGift,
922 (22.I.285).
Right
(pierced
ransverselynder
wings):
. 4 in.
(I.9 cm).
RogersFund, 9IS
(Is.3.sI9).Bottom
pierced
ertically):
1.
1M6n. (I.8 cm).
RogersFund, 9IS
(IS-3 * SI4)
Although
epresentationsffour-
winged
nsectsnmarsh
cenes nd
amulets ave
been
dentified s
bothdragonfliesndgrasshoppersn
flight, he
firstnterpretations
more
convincing. ragonflies
nddam-
selflies
eedon the
much-dreaded
mosquito nd
ts larvae,
servicehe
ancient
Egyptians ust
have
appreci
ated.
Thismay
accountn part
or hei
appeal samulets.
hefinest
amulets
clearly efinehe
nsect'sour
wings,
as
dotwo of
these.
31
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 28/61
33. Crocodile
Late Stcentury .c.-early
IStcentury .D.
Granitetailmissing); .
2/2
in.
(I08
cm).
Purchase,
he Bernard ndAudrey
Aronson
Charitable rust
Gift, n memory f her
belovedhusband,Bernard ronson,
992
(I992.I3)
Thisgraniterocodile,rocodylus
niloticus,
culpted
n a relativelyate
period f Egyptianrt, s
a fineblend
of naturalismnd
xpressivetyliza-
tion.Crocodiles
nce wam nd ed
in theriver ndbaskedn tsbanksn
great
numbers,uttoday,
ike he
hippo, hey
havedisappearedrom
Egyptnorthof Aswan,while n the
newLakeNasser
hey eem o be
thriving
gain.Although
he ancient
Egyptians
omewhat
himsically
called
he crocodile wrinkleace,"
withoutdoubt
hese eptileswere
he
mostdangerous
reaturesf their
country
nda constant
hreat o the
people
and heir ivestock.
raveling
by
boat,crossinghe
waterways
with
herds, r bathingn the river
ut
the ivesofmen,women,andanimals
at risk.Being
ucha strong dversary
the crocodile
ot surprisinglylayed
a promlnento e ln egyptlanmaglc.
An earlyMiddleKingdom
tory ells
of a magician ho formed
small
crocodile
f waxand hrew t
into the
water. he
wax igurewas ransform
into a lifesize eptile,whichdevoured
the over
of the magician'sdulterou
wife.The deityrelated
o the croco-
dilewas hegod Sobek,
whowasven-
erated rimarily
n the Fayum
egion
32
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 29/61
34 Hippo
Middle
Kingdom,
a.
900-I650
B.C.
Aragonite;
.of base,
3X6in. (8
cm).
RogersFund,
920
(20.2.25)
3S
Hippo
Deir
el-Bahri,
rea
f causeways,
yn-
asty 8,
ca. 473-I425
B.C. Painting
n
limestone;
tone
41M6
4 in. (I2
X
I0.5
cm).
Rogers
Fund, 923
(23.3.6)
Thehippopotamus,ippopotamus
amphibius,
usthave
been
very
com-
mon
n Egypt
during
he
earlier
eri-
ods,
butman's
unting
ursuits
nd
ever-increasingncroachmentnthe
hippo's
etland
nvironment
radu-
ally
reduced
he
number
f these
magnificent
easts.
he ast
wild
hip-
pos
were een
n Egypt
n
thefirst
half
of thenineteenth
entury.
Theancient
Egyptians
ere
well
aware
f the
phenomenal
trength
f
thehippopotamus,
hich
artists
ap-
tured
by
emphasizing
hehuge
unseg-
mented ody, s n this igurerom
the
Middle
Kingdom.
old
trokes
f
thickly
pplied
rown
ndblack
aint
and
adangerous
ed
on the
belly
and
eyeachieve similarffect nthe
artist's
ketchrom
Dynasty
8. The
awe nspired
y
ananimal
hat
could
devastate
farmer's
ields
vernight
was
empered
y theEgyptians'
elief
inthe
animal's
evitalizing
ower.
As
a
creature
rom
he
fertile
mud, he
hippo
embodied
ivine
powers
uar-
anteeing
ebirth.
Onemight
ecogniz
this
benevolent
spect
f the
beast
inthefriendlyaces fmanyhippo
figures.
' *v.S '
.
. i.
. . , o
. , ,
t-., \
sW''.
s.w
33
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 30/61
36.
Turtle
Dynasty2, ca. 99I-I783
B.C. Rockcrystal
inlaidwith amethyst,
urquoise,ed asper,
and apis
azuli; .IlA6n. (4.7 cm). Purchase,
Edward
. HarknessGift, 926
(26 7tI359)
To heancient gyptians,
heAfrican
waterurtle,
rionyxriunguis,ike
manyther nimals, ay ave eemed
to possess dual
haracter.eing
n
animalf the
hadowyeep, he
urtle
embodiedosmic
angernd hus
was itually
nnihilated,
ut tspower
could
lsobemadeo
work o thead-
vantagef people
ywardingff
evil.
Thispowermade
urtles otent mu-
lets, hree fwhich re
hown ereat
right ndopposite).
he arge,
ide-
eyed labaster
urtleopposite)erved
asa coverora cosmeticish,protect-
*
* * *
2
lng zecontentsn a slml
aramu tlc
function.
37.
Frogs and
Toads
Back
ow rom eft O right:
Frogon a lotus
pad:Dynasty8,
ca.
55O-I300
B.C. Bronze
(possibly weight);h. I3M6n.
(2 cm). Rogers
Fund,
970 (I970.I97). Toad(?):
ynasty6-
29, 664-380 B.C.
Lapis lazuli horizontal
us-
pensionubeandvertical ierce rombelow,
to accommodate
eg[?])i . I in. (2.s cm).
Gift of DariusOgden
Mills, 904 (o4.2.378).
M.
Davis, 9IS (30.8.86I).
Frog:New
Kingdom,
a. SSO-IO79/69 B.C.
Faience
(pierced);
.
16
in. (I.I cm). Gift of
Helen
MillerGould, 9I0 (IO.I30.I9I8)
Inthe marshes,
swellas n the allu-
vial andwhen he annual
lood
waters
adreceded,
housandsf
frogs ppeared,heirdeep-throated
chorus
illing he nightair,as
they
continueo
do today n the banks f
theNile.The
ancientEgyptians
sso-
ciated
hesemusical mphibians
f
the fertile
mudwithcreation,
irth,
andregeneration.
muletsn the
image
f frogs nd oads,
uchas
these,
werepopular.
Iamtheresur-
rection"an
be foundwritten
n the
underside
f such rog
iguresven
fromearlyChristianimes.
In the small
amuleticigures
t
isnot always
asy odistinguish
between he
Egyptianrog,Rana
mascareniensis,
nd he
toad,Bufo
regularis
rB. viridis,
hichhasa
shorter
aceandknobby
kinon its
back.
The tree rog,
Hyla avignyi,
possiblyepresented
n one of the
amuletsn
the front ow, s rare
n
Egypt.
Frog:Dynasty6-29,
664-380 B.C. Chlorite
(pierced orizontally);
. I3M6n. (2 cm).
Gift
of HelenMillerGould,
9I0 (IO.I30.I928).
Toad(?): ynasty 6-29,
664-380 B.C.
Faience pierced
orizontally);
. IM6n.
(I.8
cm).Gift of HelenMillerGould,
9I0
(IO.I30.I92I)
Front ow, eft O right:
Frog:Dynasty9,
ca. 295-II86
B.C. Redporphyry
pierced
horizontally);.IS6
n. (2 cm). Purchase,
Edward
. HarknessGift, 926
(26.7.II43).
Tree rog(?):
ew Kingdom, a. ISS°-
I079/69
B.C. Faience small oop
in front);
1.Y6 n. (IS cm). Purchase,
dward .
Harkness
Gift,
926
(26.7.I028). Frog:
Dynasty9-20, ca. 295-I079/69
B.C.
Serpentinitepierced orizontally;otusand
birdon base);
.Y6 n. (I S cm).
Theodore
M. DavisCollection,
Bequest f Theodore
34
W:
pF
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 31/61
38. Toads,Frogs, ndother
Animals
on a MagicRod
Late
)ynasty I2-I3,
ca.
850-I650 B.C.
Glazedteatite;. I in. 28 cm).Purchase,
Edward. Harkness ift,
926
(26.7.I27S)
Thiscomplex bject onsists
f a
tripartitetafflike aseand
seven ndi-
vidual igures f animals. he seg-
ments f thebase rehollow; riginally
theywereprobablyoined
bypegs.
The beautifullyraftedittle
animals
areattached y means fpins hat
fit holeson the undersidesf the
animals nd n thebase.
Previous
publicationsave hown his
rod, he
best-preservedxample f its kind,
with he animalsacingowardhe
center.A recent xamination,ow-
ever, evealedhat he outlines f each
animal, learly reservednthe base,
faceoutward.
Thisremarkableieceepitomizes
Egyptian eliefs bout he
universe
and he symbolic oleof certain
ni-
mals.Outward-facingions ymbolize
the two mounds f the Egyptian
horizon etweenwhich hesunrises
in its daily enewed ctof creation.
Accordingo Egyptian eliefs he
sunhasenemies ndhelpersnthe
struggle gainsthenightly haos.
The turtle ftenappearss an
enemy
butheremayrepresenthere-creative
powers f thedeep,while elines,
roc-
odiles, nd rogor toaddeities re
knownhelpers f thesun.Baboons
tendingamps ndbeneficialye
em-
blems wedjat)rotecthecorners
f
theworld.The faceof a leopard
not
visible ere) s carved t eachendof
the rod.
The rectangularase akes he
formof a reedmatwithcrossbind-
ings.Suchmatswere ommonly sed
in ancientEgypt s blankets n which
offerings erepresentedr as rugson
whichkingsknelt n prayer. he mat
heredefines consecratedone n
which he cosmic ventof thesolar
triumph ver vil s beingmagically
enacted. he object ormed artof a
burial sa guaranteef rebirth.t
mayhavebeen oundat Heliopolis,
the center f Egypt'solarworship.
39. Turtles
From eft to right:New Kingdom,
ca. 55O-I300 B.C. Carnelian;.Ysn.
(2.2 cm). Gift of HelenMillerGould, 9I0
(IO.I30.2397). Second ntermediateeriod,
ca. 65O-I55O B.C. Quartz ndhematite;
1.1M6n. (2 cm). Gift of HelenMiller
Gould,
9I0 (IO.I30.2398).
Dynasty ,
ca.
3I00-2900 B.C.
Alabaster;.2lS6 n.
(6.8 cm). Purchase, ina Walker
Wainwrightnd Beatrice ppelGifts,
980
(I980. 3I0)
35
, .k- . r 4$ {ar9,
5
t
.
we
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 32/61
40.
Fish n a Canal
El-Qantir,ynasty9,
reign f RamessesI,
ca. 279-I2I3 B.C.
Detail f
polychrome
faienceile;h.
7X8
in.
20
cm).Purchase,
Rogersund,Edward
. Harknessift,
andby
exchange,922, I929, I93S (35.I.IO4)
While
he Egyptiansaused
hepop-
ulations
f somewater reatureso
diminish yhunting
ndencroaching
on their
nvironments,
ther pecies
flourished
nman-made
anals nd
irrigationitches.
n the scenede-
pictedon this
ile,whatcouldbe
an
elephant-snout
ish (Mormyridveam-
ily)swims
betweenhe otuses
na
canal
borderedy otherwaterplants.
Fishof this amilyivenearhebottom
of muddy, low-moving
aterways
andwouldhave
beenrightat home n
an ancient
anal. n typical
Egyptian
manner,he representation
ombines
a plan
of the canalbetween
tstwo
banks
ndprofile iews
of the plants
and ish.
Thistile s one of
a group f deco-
rative rchitectural
lementshought
to haveadorned
RamessesI's
private
apartments
n his easternDelta
residence,
iramesse.
4I.
Mollusk hells
Left:Cowrie.Lisht,northern
emetery,
near ombendosure758,
Dynasty2-I3,
ca. 990-I65O
B.C. Gold;1.%8 in. (I-S
m).
RogersFund, 909 (O9.I80.I200).
Right:
Bivalve hell.LishtNorth,
omb
54,
late
Dynasty2, ca. 85O-I800
B.C. Gold;1. in.
(2vS m). Rogers
Fund, 907 (07.227.I8)
_r
_w
Sinceprehistoric
imes,actualmol-
lusk hellswere
usedbyEgyptians
s
objects f adornment
ndwere ash-
ioned ntocosmetic ontainers
nd
painters'
alettes. hell orms
were
alsoreproduced
n goldandsilver.
Thistype
of jewelrywas
especially
prevalenturing
he MiddleKing-
dom,
when hetwo shells hown
here
weremade.The
smallerne s a cow-
rieshell,
while he arger
s an uniden
tified
bivalve.Cowries re
houghto
have
been ertilityymbols ndwere
oftenpartof women's
irdles but
ee
no. 6, where eopard
eads reused
instead f cowries),
hereas ivalves
werewornby
bothsexes, ither s
a
singlependant n a chainor thread r
strungwithother
hells o forma
necklace.
36
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 33/61
-
,
hofER
42.
Dish
n
the
Shape
f
a
Bolti
(Fish)
Dynasty
8,
reign
of
Tuthmosis
II,
ca.
I479-I425
B.C.
Glazed
teatite;
.
S8
in.
(I8.I
m).
ift
of
James
Douglas,
890
(90.6.24)
Fish
f
he
genus
Tilapiv
bolti
n
Egypt
oday)
s
the
most
common
ishof gypt,asily
ecognized
y
its
long
dorsal
in.
ts
manner
f
reproduction,
hatching
ts
eggs
n
its
mouth,
was
interpreted
y
the
ancient
Egyptians
as
a
ind
f
spontaneous
generation.
In
gyptian
rt,
he
Tibpiv
thus
ym-
bolized
he
renewal
f
life.
The
fish
was
lso
hought
o
be
a
companion
of
he
un
god.
This
fish-shaped
ish
has
he
kind
ofhallowepressionnits
reverse
(below)
hat
was
generally
sed
or
he
pharaoh.
preparation
nd
presentation
f
cos-
metic
substances.
he
piece
s
too
large,
owever,
o
have
been
used
as
an
rdinary
osmetic
alette
nd
was
probably
ade
or
emple
se
for
ex-
ample,
o
anoint
cult
statue
or
for
a
oyal
urial.
he
cartouche
f
Tuth-
mosis
II
below
he
ateral
in
suggests
thatheishwasagift oorfrom his
37
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 34/61
In the
agricultural
ociety f phara-
onicEgypt low flood
meant amine,
and oomuchwater roughthedan-
gerof overflooding,
ith he fields
too wet
to workduring
heplanting
season.
A "perfect"lood
wasgreeted
withgreat
oy."Themeadows
are]
laughingwhen
he river anks
re
flooded,"ays
a text n one
of theOld
Kingdom
yramidhambers,
nd
a
popular
ymn o the
Nilegod (Hapy)
praises im as
the one
Who floods
he fields hatRehas
made
To nourish
llwhothirst
. .
Lawful,imely,
e comes orth
FillingEgypt,South
andNorth,
As one
drinks, lleyes
areon him,
Who
makes is bounty
verflow.
In pharaonic
imes,
however,gri-
cultural
ctivities ere onsiderably
lessextensive
han heyare oday.
Largeracts
f the alluvial
andwere
left unplowed, sedonly orseasonal
grazing.n the
southernegion
f
MiddleEgypt
duringheearlyMiddle
Kingdom,
herewas
sufficient ood-
land oprovideimber
orshipbuild-
ing.Thehighground
t the desert
In
ancientimes,
snow,
he
Egyptians
eliedn the
Nile or
most f life's ecessities.he
river rovided
continuousup-
plyofwatern a
land f little
ain. t
alsodepositedutrient-rich
edi-
ments
longts
ength ach ear
or
thousands
f years.
twashere,
n
the
alluvialand,
hat heEgyptians
plantedrops;
aisedivestock;
nd
built heir ouses,
illages,nd
ities.
Until heerection
f theAswan
dams,
ulminating
ith he amous
HighDambuilt n the
960S,
the
naturefthealluvial
andscape
as
primarily
etermined
y he
annual
inundation.
he loods riginated
in theEthiopian
ighlandsnd
outh-
ernSudan
ith he ummer
on-
soons;
nJulyhe
rivern Egypt
tarted
to risequickly,
nd he lood
waters
covered
ost f thealluvial
and rom
mid-August
o late
September.
y
October
ndNovember,
henhe
waters ad eceded,ropsould e
sown or
harvestingrom anuary
o
April.
asinrrigation,
system
f
canals nd
dams nclosingields,
increased
heavailabilitynd
produc-
. . r
r r
r
tlvlty r
wateror armlng.
marginsnd
here nd here
n the
Delta
upportedvergreen
nddecid
uousrees nd hrubshatwere
watered
poradically
yrains nd
he
river.
hese islands"
f high round
were
deal orhuman
ettlements.
Because
f the
amountf human
activity,uch
f theanimal
ifeonthe
alluvial
andwasdomesticated,
ut
wild
reatures,specially
mall
mam-
mals, mphibians,
irds,
nd nsects,
found oomo coexist
appily
ith
humans
nd heir omesticated
ni-
mals. hewildanimalsf thealluvia
landmadeheir ests
nddens
n the
areas bovehehigh-water
ine
and
foragedor
ood n the loodplain,
marshes,nd
occasionally
hedesert.
Becausef
thesemovements,he
en-
vironments
f some
nimalsescrib
here
sbelongingo the
alluvialand
overlapped
ith hose f
themarshr
steppe-desert.his
s especially
rue
forbirds
nd nsects. he
Egyptian
themselves,hetherendingheir
herds
rworking
heir ields,ollowe
therise
nd allof
theriver,moving
their nimals
o highareasuring
he
flood
nd preading
utover he
ow
ground uring
herest ftheyear.
38
h e
lluvial
a n d
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 35/61
of shrew,
rociduraflavescensdeltae
andC.
nana, ut
t isdiffilculto deter-
mine
whichsrepresentedn this mall
bronzeigure.
44. Ichneumon
Ptolemaic
eriod, 04-30 B.C. Bronze
(inscribedn base:"Wadjet
iving ife to
Pedineith, on of
Isemkhebi");. 1/6 in.
(I2 cm).
Gift of DariusOgdenMills, 904
(o4O2-6S4)
Like he
African ildcatnd he
genet,heEgyptian ongoose,
ewpes-
tes
chneumon,
lso alled
haraohXsat,
43. Shrew
Ptolemaic eriod, 04-30
B.C.
Bronze;
1.3S8n. (8 cm). Gift of
DariusOgden
Mills, 904 (o4.2.465)
"The oracious"as
heancient
Egyptians'ameor he hrew,n
epithethat ptly escribeshe eed-
ing
habits f this inyanimal.n
ancient gyptian
opular ythology
the hrew as
losely ssociatedith
the
chneumon.he hrewepre-
sentedheblind spect f a solar eity
whose omplement,ndowed ith
keen
yesight, asunderstoodo be
the
chneumon.gypt as wo
pecies
isoften epictedn the
papyrushicke
pursuingirds. heanimal'srue abi
tats, owever,re hrubby
errain,
rocky ills,
nd heopen reas tthe
edges fEgypt'sultivatedand.
Ichneumon
ill nakesndmice nd
are
ometimesamed ndkept or
thispurpose.
hisbronzechneumo
strides etween
WO
small
eatedats,
. . .
.
suggestlngrellglous
onnectlon
to deities
esidingn the"cat ity,"
Bubastis.
hegoddessfBubastis,
Bastet, as ometimesdentifiedith
Wadjet,oddessf Lower gypt,o
whom he
nscriptionn thebase f
the chneumonigures
addressed.
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 36/61
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 37/61
4Se Cat
Saqqara,tolemaic eriod, 04-30
B.C.
Bronze
hollow, ast n two parts); . II in.
(28cm).HarrisBrisbane
ick Fund, 956
(56.I6.I)
The
earliest gyptianatswerewild
predatorshatroamedhesteppes nd
marshesno. 7). In the
refined rban
culture f the New
Kingdom atsbe-
came
ncreasinglyttachedo humans,
whoprobablyirst
appreciatedheir
mouse-huntingkills utsooncame o
enjoy
hese reaturesspleasantom-
panions
roundhehouse.Egyptian
house
atswere onsiderablyarger
thanmodern
omesticatedats,which
zoologists elieve riginatedn the
ancientNearEast.
Ofthese hree at
figures,he two
from
he LatePeriodonvey he cat's
companionable,ttractiveersonality.
The arge ignified
tolemaicigure-
amasterpiecef bronzeasting- once
served s
a containerora catmummy.
Burialsf mummified
atswerepart
of rituals erformedn
honorof the
goddessBastet.All three
nimals re
characterizedssacred y
thejewelry
incised r carved round
heirnecks.
Thelargebronze atand
he small
faience
newear laborateollars ith
pendantsn theshape f
a beneficial
eyeemblem,wedjat,
hile hesmall
bronzeat's
wedjat
endant angs
fromasimple hain.The
arge at's
right ar s piercedoholda gold
ring,
now ost.
46. Cat
LatePeriod,
Dynasty 6-29, 664-380B.C.
Bronze solidcast); .Il3M6n. (4.7 cm).
Gift
of J. Lionberger avis, 966 (66.I23.2)
47 Cat
LatePeriod,Dynasty
6-29, 664-380 B.C.
Faience; . IM6n. (2.3 cm). Bequest f
Mary
AnnaPalmerDraper,9IS (I5.43.26)
41
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 38/61
48. CobraHeads
Left:LateDynasty
8,
ca.
400-I300 B.C.
Faience;.
g4
in.
I0.8
cm).Giftof Helen
MillerGould,
9I0
(IO.I30.2S84).
Right:
Thebes, alley f theKings,
omb f
AmenhotepII,Dynasty
8,
ca.I3S3
.C.
Faience;. S6 in.
S 3
cm).
Purchase,
Edward.
Harkness ift,
926 (26.7.II22)
In the tomb
of Tutankhamun
gilded
wooden hrine hielded
he canopic
chest
ontainingheking's rgans.
he
shrine
toodunder protective
an-
opy,
alsoof gildedwood,
guarded y
four igures fgoddesses. othcanopy
andshrinewere
urmountedy cav-
ettocornices
ecorated ithcontinu-
ous friezes f cobra
igures. hecobras
were f
gildedwood nlaidwith
richly
colored
lass nd aience. oliddark
blue
nake eadswere astenedo
the
tongue-shapedpper ndsof the
cobra
bodies seedrawing
elow).The
monumenttruck
HowardCarter,
excavatorf
Tutankhamun'somb,as
"so
ovely hat t madeonegaspwith
wonder ndadmiration."
These wocobra eads f
shinyblue
faiencewere
originally artof similar
tomb urniture.
hesmaller f thetwo
headswas ound n the
tombof Tut-
ankhamun'sncestor
menhotepII.
It
indicateshat
Amenhotep'surial
onceboasted nequally
tunning
monument.
Detail roma
cobra rieze rowninghe
canopic hrine f King
Tutankhamun
(ca.
327 B.C.). Drawing y Barry
Girsh
42
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 39/61
49.
Cobra n
PharaohXsorehead
Deir
l-Bahri,
emple f
MentuhotepI,
Dynasty
I, late eign
f
MentuhotepI,
ca.
040-20I0
B.C. Painted
imestone;
stone .
9%2in.
24 cm).
GiftofEgypt
Explorationund,
906
(06.I23I.37)
Cobras,
hebest
known
fEgypt's
many nakes, realsoamonghemost
impressive.heir
aised
hreat
osture
and he
way
someof the
species
pit
venom
are
horoughly
ntimidating.
The
ancient
Egyptians
ere o
fasci-
nated
by
thesebehaviors
hat
hey
adopted
he
cobra sa
mythical
nake.
The
uraeus, s
t
was
called
n
Greek,
saton
the
foreheads
f
pharaohsnd
guardedhe
roofsof
holy
shrineswith
.
. .
.
awe-lnsplrlng
aggresslveness.
This
fragment
rom
he
mortuary
temple f
King
MentuhotepI
shows
the
uraeus bovehe
pharaoWs
ore-
head
wistingts
body
aroundhe
diadem
s f it
were
iving.
Although
only
one
Egyptian
obra
pecies,Naja
nigricollis,ather
han
hemore
om-
mon
N. haje,
ctuallypits,
both his
behaviornd
he
threat
osture
were
ascribed
o the
mythical
raeus.
AMiddleKingdomaleconveys
the
terror
gyptians
elt
whencon-
fronted
y
dangerous
nakes.
Accord-
ing to
the
story,
sailorwas
stranded
ona
deserted
sland.
After
ating is
fill of
fishand
vegetables,hich
were
plentiful
here, e
made n
offeringf
thanks o
the
gods orhis
survival.
Just hen,
ashe
narrates,
e
heard
"thundering
oise
and
hought,It s
the
sea.'Trees
plintered,
he
ground
trembled. ncovering yface, found
it
wasa
snake
hatwas
coming.He
wasof
thirty
ubits
about °feet];
his
beard
wasover
wo
cubits 3M2
eet]
long.His
body
was
overlaid
ith
gold;his
eyebrows ere
of realapis
lazuli.He
was
bentup in
front....
I
wason
my belly
before
im."The
story
nds
happily,
owever,
ith he
snake
elping he
sailorO get
home.
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 40/61
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 41/61
50. Falcon
ProbablyromHeliopolis, ynasty
0,
reign f
NectaneboI,
60-343 B.C.
Graywackeinscribedn the
basewith he
king'sames);.
28%8
in.
72
cm).Rogers
Fund,
934 (34-2-I)
The
ancientEgyptianselievedheir
kingwas
an incarnationf thesky
god,Horus,whoappearedsa falcon.
Oneof the mostpotentmages
expressinghisbelief s
this alcon
statue f KingNectanebo
I, with ts
intense
acial xpressionndvicious
claws. n
their epresentationsf
HorusEgyptianrtists
epicted gen-
eralizedalcon, ather
hananyone
particularpecies, ven houghEgypt
is home o several. he
Lanneralcon,
Falco
iarmicus,nd heperegrine,
E
peregrinus,orexample,tillnest
andbreed n the
imestone liffsat the
desertmargin nd n the
ruins nd
pyramids. he birds anbe seenris-
ing onupdraftsf hot
desert ir
andperformingmazing
erobatics.
The
sculptureollowshe Late
Period
radition fanimalmagesn
hardstoneseeno. 5)with
remarkably
naturalisticetailsnheadand eet,
while hebody
andwings re impli-
fiedrenderings
f the bird's atural
features. heimage f a birdand
royal igure
ogether anbe read s a
rebus or
Nakhthorheb,heEgyptian
form f oneof
theking's ames:NakAt
from hescimitarhekingholds;
hor,
thebird; ndheb the east), he
sign
in theking's
ighthand.
SI. Swallow
Ptolemaic eriod, 04-30 B.C.
Limestone;
h. 3 /G in. (9.4 cm).RogersFund, 907
(07.228.g)
The inear asisalong heNile
that s
Egypthasalways
ada richvariety f
smallbirds,
ncludingwallows.Mi-
gratorywallows
romnorthernlimes
pass hrough gyptduring hespring
and all,whereas
ther pecies re
year-roundesidents. he
swallow's
migratoryabits
were arefully
observed y theancientEgyptians
and nterpretedsa signof
regenera-
tion.In an
ancientovepoem he
swallow, hoheraldshe
morning,s
encounteredy
a youngwoman e-
turning roma trystwithher
over:
Thevoiceof theswallows speaking.
It says:
Daybreaks, hat s your
path?
[Thegirlanswers:] on't, ittlebird
Areyouscoldingme?
I
foundmy over n hisbed,
And
myheartwas weet o excess.
In Egyptian rt he
ndividual
members f theswallowamilywere
not
differentiated.his imestone
relief resents truly
ovablemage f
thebird, tanding n
well-articulate
legswithan expression
hat s both
comical nddignified.
he piecebe-
longs o
a group freliefs ndsculp-
tures
hathaveoftenbeen dentified
as
sculptors' odelsbecausemany
of them nclude rid inesandother
traces f theartist's
echnique. he
raised ngleplate n theuppereft
corner,
orexample,mightbe an item
of thiskind.
Inrecent imes,
however,most
scholars refero
interpretheseob-
jectsas
ex-votos, rvotive bjects, nd
in this
case, he mage f theswallow
mighthavebeendedicatedo thesun
godor
the goddess sis.The bird s
closely onnected ith
bothdeities.
45
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 42/61
52. Vulture ndCobra
Ptolemaic
eriod, 04-30 B.C. Lime-
stonerelief; . 6Ysn. (I7vS
m). Gift of
J. PierpontMorgan,9II (II.Ii5.I2)
Like hefalcon, hevulture,
Egypt's
largest ird, iveshigh
n the ime-
stonecliffsandsoars
ver he desert
andalluvialand n search
f food.
Ancient
rtists epicted oth he grif-
finvulture,
Gypsfillaus,nd, essoften,
the lapp t- aced ulture
Aegypiusrv-
cheliotus,s ncarnationsf Mut,god-
dessandconsort f Amun,and
Nekhbet,
oddess f the royal rown
of UpperEgypt.Thevulture'sead
andwings
erved s nspirationor he
headdressf Egyptian
ueens, nd
images f
the majestic irdadorned
the ceilings
f temples ndpalaces.
In this
reliefNekhbet s a griff^ln
vultures
the heraldicigure f Upper
Egypt, eadinghe cobra,
whichrep-
resents ower
Egypt.Thevulture
nd
theserpent othappear
o standon
46
wicker
askets, utthisshould
not be
takeniterally. he baskets re
hiero-
glyphic igns or
"lord"r "lady,"nd
thewholeconfiguration
dentifieshe
twocreaturess
neby,
he"twoadies."
The
ladies n question re he
titular
goddesses f Upper
ndLowerEgypt,
whose
names repartof every ha-
raolfs
name.This s another xample
of Ptolemaic
elief laqueshat
erved
either ssculptors'
odels r asvotives
(see
no.SI). Thisplaques also
carved
on the reverse, here he mage f a
falcon ppears.
53 Hoopoe
Dynasty
9,
ca.
295-II86 B.C.
Drawingn
papyrus;. ofpapyrus4S8 in. 36
cm).Gift
of Edward. Harkness,93s35.9.I9)
The Egyptian
oopoe,Upupv epops,
with ts colorfuleathering
ndbeau-
tifulheadcrest,s stillcommon n
Egypt. n the
Old Kingdom oopoes
were aught o
be pets orchildren.n
the papyrus rawinghe bird
itsatop
a stylized apyrus(?)lantand s iden-
tified n the accompanying
extas "he
whosemagics hidden."
his s an
aptdescription
f Nineteenth ynasty
Egypt ollowedhepractice
eported
frommuch ater
imes,whenparts f
the bird's ody theheart,
head,and
blood played
role nmagicprac-
tices third oeighth entury.D.).
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 43/61
54. Bee
Lisht
South,pyramidempleof
Senwosret,
Dynasty2, reign
of Senwosret, ca.
97I-
I926 B.C. Detail
roma paintedimestone
relief; . of bee6S4
in. (I6 cm).
Rogers
Fund, 909
(09.I80.64)
This
beautifularved
mage f a bee
functioned sa
hieroglyphicdeogram
for"thekingof
LowerEgypt."Origi-
nally, t
waspartof a
monumentaln-
scription
dorninghepyramid
emple
of King
Senwosret.
The Egyptian
honeybee,Apismellifica
asciatv,was
domesticatedn
EarlyDynasticimes,
if
not before.
Beeswereusually ept
in
terracotta
ipes hat erved s
bee-
hives,
whichwere
tackedn rowsone
above heother.Afterdriving ut the
beeswith
smoke,much
as beekeepers
do today, he
farmersemovedhe
honeycombsnd
extractedhe
honey,
which,
alongwithdate
mash,was he
.
. .
.
maln
weetenern
anclentlmes.
Beeswax asalso
an important
ub-
in thisrelief
laque,s aresident f
Egypt.
tnests n
trees,buildings,
nd
ruins
ndhuntsby
night.The bird's
. * * r
most
cnaracterlstlceature,
tS mpres
sive
acial isk, nvariably
rompted
Egyptian rtistsochoose
frontal
view
when
representingt. Therelief
belongs o thesame
group f objects
as the
swallow elief nd he
vulture
andcobra
iece nos.Stand 2).
As is
thecase or
therestof thegroup, ts
interpretations still
under
iscussio
Is t a
votiveobject r
a sculptor's
model? s an
ex-voto, he mage f
an
owlmight
appropriatelyavebeen
dedicatedo asolar
eity.Owls,
called
"keen-sightedunters," ere
also
believedo bebirds
fmourning
nd
death.As amodel, hisrelief emon-
strateshe
most ntricate art
of the
letter
m (acomplete
wl),and n
fact
owls
arerarely
epictedn Egyptian
art
except s this
hieroglyphicign.
stance,
idely sedn adhesives,
metal
asting,ndother
rocesses.
55.BarnOwl
Ptolemaic eriod, 04-30
B.C. Limestone
relief; . 4/6
in. (I0.4 cm).
RogersFund,
I907
(07.228tII)
Thebarn
wl,Tyto Iba,
whose ead
is depicted
ithunforgettable
larity
47
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 44/61
56.
Fly
Dynasty6-29, 664-380
B.C.
Faience(?);
. 7/6 in. I.2
cm).
Bequest
f MaryAnna
Palmer
raper,9I5 (I5.43.47)
s7
Flies
Left:
Dynasty
3-I7,
ca.
783-I550
B.C.
Ivory;. 7/6
in. 6.3
cm).Purchase,
dward
S. Harknessift,
926
(26.7.I285).
Right:
Early ynasty8,
ca. 550-I525
B.C.
Glazed
steatite
inscribed
n underside
orQueen
Ahhotep);
.
2
in.
I.3
cm).
Giftof
Helen
MillerGould,9I0
(IO.I30.I68)
58. Mosquito
Deity
Dynasty6-29,
664-380
B.C.
Green-and-
whitebanded
asper;
.
%6
in. 3 cm).
Gift
of Cyril
Aldred,9 5 5 (55.I72)
TheflywhiskshatEgyptianrtists
depicted
n the
hands
f pharaohs
nd
nobles
repotent
eminders
f how
irksome
hehosts
of flies
weren an-
.
.
.
clent
Egypt.
Theanclent
Egyptlans,
however,eemed
o have
held
lies n
highesteem,
resumably
ecause f
this
nsect'sowers
f fast
reaction
and
ndomitable,
nsistent
resence.
Beginning
n
Dynasty8
(ca.550-
I295 B.C.),
fly pendants,
ften
made
of
gold,weregivenby the kingasmili-
taryawards
orvalor,
nd
heamulets
shown
maywell
be reminders
f the
official
old
"medals."he
glazed
steatite
ly s
inscribed
nthe under-
sidewith
hename f
Queen
Ahhotep,
mother
f kingsKamose
nd
Ahmose,
who
finally
efeatedhe
Hyksos.
Earlier
lyamulets
mayalsohave
erved
toward ff
theseannoying
nsects.
The
actuallies
represented
n these
amulets re
difficult,
fnot impos-
sible, o
identify
yspecies.
Among
the nsects
hownhere,
hesteatite
and aience
ieces
reunmistakably
flies,and
hesomewhat
arger
vory
piece eems
o be a
stylizedly,
proba-
blya replica
f thegolden
ward
pieces.
The green-and-white
asper
insectooks
more
ikea mosquito
thana
fly.Whatever
ts identity,
his
jasper
mulet as
afalcon
headand
wears he
double
rown
fUpper
and
LowerEgypt.
n this
guise he
n-
sect
hasbecome
deity
with
royal
attributes.
Evidencef
mosquito
etsbeing
used
tronglyuggests
hat
mosquitoe
were
smuch
anuisance
n the
ancien
world s they
canbe
today.
heGreek
writer
Herodotus,
ho traveled
n
Egypt
n about
45-440
B.C., reporte
that
people
used ishing
netsagainst
mosquitoes,
hile
n Upper
Egypt
they lept
on high
owers
perhaps
meaning
heroofs
of multistory
houses).Anactualrame osupport
fine inen
netting
vera
bed,made
longbefore
he
timeof
Herodotus,
was
oundwith
he burial
quipment
of
Queen
Hetepheres,
other f
Khufu
ca.
55I-2528
B.C.).
48
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 45/61
59. Scarabs
Left:
LateDynasty2-early
Dynasty3,
ca.
800-I750
B.C.
Glazedteatitescroll
motif n underside);
.Y8n. 2.2 cm).
Purchase,
dward. Harkness
ift,
926
(26.7.7I3).
Right:
Dynasty
9,
ca.
295-
II86
B.C. Glazed
teatiteenigmaticnscrip-
tionon underside);
.
3/l6in. (I.7
cm).
Purchase,dward. Harkness ift,
926
(26.7.352)
The
importancef the
scarab,cara-
Z *
* TN *
.
baeussacer, n
anclent egyptlan
re 1-
gionwasbased
n carefulbservation
and nterpretation
f itsbehavior. he
scarab
eetle ollsanimal
ung o
formballs hat
areoftenmany imes
its size.The scarab
oth eeds rom
theseballsand
ayseggs n them.
For
theEgyptianshe mage f thedung
ballmovedby
thescarab'strong
ind
legs
became metaphor
or herising
sun,
and hebeetlewasadopted
s
oneof the most
potent ymbols f
resurrectlon.
Starting
nthe early
MiddleKing-
domandcontinuing
hroughout
he
restof pharaonic
istory,mages
were
engravednto
the undersidesf
scarab
amulets,
hich ould hus
be usedas
seals.
To be readily nd
quite iterally
at hand,
carabsuchas
thesewereper-
foratedorizontallynd
itted sbezels
into rings f gold
or otherprecious
metals.
60. Beetle
Ptolemaic
eriod, 04-30
B.C. Bronze;
h. 23/8n.
(6 cm).Purchase,
dward .
HarknessGift, I926 (26.7.855)
Thisratherinister
orned reature
seems o
representhe rhinoceros
beetle,
Orystesascicarnis,
hich s
native o the Mediterranean
egion.
The smallbronze
arcophagushat
it guardsncehelda beetle
mummy,
thoughnot necessarily
f the same
species.n embalmingeetles, s
in all animal
mummification,
he
Egyptiansf the
LatePeriod nd
Ptolemaic nd
Roman imesgave
tangible
orm otheirbelief
hatall
animals,arge nd
small,were ncar-
nations f the divine.
Religiousexts
fromEgypt ndparallels
romother
African
ultures,moreover,ndicate
that nsects
ouldbe understood
s n-
corporating
n"external
oul,"mean-
ing those nner orces fhumans nd
deitieshatarecapable f
leavinghe
body. n
an OldKingdomext, or
example,hekingwassaid
o ascend
to heaven
n theformof a grasshopp
49
v r: u
. . , . # ^ .
;
a i 5
r * . 0 ;<;:
i
k
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 46/6150
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 47/61
6I. Stablewith
Fattened onghorns
Westernhebes,
omb f Meketra,
arly
Dynasty
2, ca.
990-I980 B.C. Gessoednd
painted
ood; .
852
in.
(72.s m).Rogers
Fund
ndEdward. Harkness ift,
920
(20.3.9)
*
.
The anclentEgyptlans
erevery uc-
cessful
attlebreeders.n
their ociety
andeconomy attleplayed nimpor-
tantrole,and
numerousarieties
ere
raised.
omewere ong
horned nd
long
egged;heygrazed
n the open
countryn
herds omprising
any
hundredsfanimals
nd,underhe
careof
attentive
erdsmen, ere
movedrom
place o place
ccording
to aseasonal
chedule.Others
ad
longhorns nd
short egs;often
cas-
trated,hey
were aised nd
attened
instables.Therewerealsovarieties
with
shorthorns,nohorns, r
artifi-
ciallydeformed
orns, swellas
zebu,
anAsiatic x
importedrom he
Levant
during
Dynasty8 (ca.
55O-I295 B.C.).
Inthis
miniature
epresentationf
astable, wo
compartmentsre
con-
nectedby a
door. n the back oom,
which n real ife
probably adaroof,
three attleand
a calf orhornless
cow)are eeding
romalong
rough,
while n
the other
ompartment,
most
ikely nopen
courtyard,wo
cattle
re edfroma heap
offodder.A
guard, rmed
witha spear,itsbythe
entranceo the
courtyard.he
black,
brown, nd
spotted attle revery
sturdily
uiltandclearly
attened.
The
stablewasoneof
twenty-two
miniaturesoundwithtwo argetat-
uesof
women na small
hamberut
intothe rock n
the tombof thechan-
cellorMeketrat
Thebes Luxor).
Theyhadbeen
untouchedince he
dayof
theirburial. Thebeam f
light
shot ntoa little
worldoffour
hou-
sand ears go,"
wroteMuseumurator
Herbert
.Winlock,who
discovered
this
cache n oneofarchaeology's
ost
memorable
oments.
62.
Farmer lowing
Early
ynasty2, ca.
990-I900 B.C.
Painted
ood; .
952
in.
49-S
cm).Gift
of
Valdemarammer
r., nmemoryf
his
father,
936 (36.S)
which s
pulledby two
very riendly
looking xen.
The farmer'seethave
sunk ntothe
muddy arth,which s
probablytill
waterloggedrom
he
annual
nundation, utthe
animals
seem o be on
dryer round. o
own
cattlewasa sign
of highstandingora
peasantn
ancientEgypt; low
oxen
usually
ad o be rented
roma large
stateortemplenstitution. ven f the
oxenwerenotactually
wnedbythe
plowman,
owever,n
exceptionally
strong ond
couldexistbetween
man
andanimals.
taleof theNew
King-
dom
ellsof ayoungman
whoworked
on his
olderbrother'sarm nd
ived
socloselywith
hecattle hathe
could
understandheir
anguage.When
the older
brotheret out
to killthe
younger, ecause
he elder's ife-
as thewifeofPotiphar hadaccused
the
younger rotherftryingo
seduce
her, hecattle
warned im n time
or
himtoescape.
Thepeasant
rudges ehind he
tradi-
tional
hook-shapedlowof
Egypt,
51
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 48/61
63. FightingBulls
Dynasty
9-20,
ca.
295-I070 B.C.
Painting
on imestone;toneg4 X 49%6in. I8.5 X
II.5
cm).Rogers und,
924 (24.2.27)
By allowing ulls o fight,Egyptian
herdsmenoulddetermine hichwas
the stronger ndconsequently ore
suitableorbreeding. ulls ighting,
therefore, asa frequent ccurrence
among he herds.ForEgyptian rtists
the fightswere nterestingubjects.n
thistrial ketch, he draftsmanap-
tured moment f highdrama.One
of the powerful easts as hrown he
otheronto ts front egs o attackts
abdomenwithpointedhorns.Both
bulls rehighly gitated;heir ails re
tenselyurved,hey redefecating,
and hevisible yeof theattacking
bull s turned pward.
Wildbulls till oamedhemargins
of theDelta n theNewKingdom,
andKingRamessesII ca.I84-
II53 B.C.)
felled ome normousndi-
vidualsn a reed hicket,ccordingo
a depictionnthepylon f hismortu-
ary emple tMedinet abu, hebes.
64.
Resting attle
Dynasty
6-29, 664-380 B.C.
Gold;
1. (each)2 in. (I.25 cm).TheodoreM. Davis
Collection,Bequest f TheodoreM. Davis,
I9I5 (30.8.405, .406)
These mall hort-hornedovines
seem o be resting, hewingheir ud.
Thehollow igures eremadebyham
mering heets f gold o form he ani-
mals'bodies, dding hehorns nd
feet,and using hewholeontosmall
ovalbaseswithnotched dges.As
two of seven elestial owswho pro-
vidednourishmentor hedeceasedn
the beyond, he ittleanimalsmay
havebeenpartof a richperson'suria
equipment,dorning pieceof jewelr
or an elaborateessel.
52
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 49/61
66.
Apis Bllll
Dynasty6-29,
664-380 B.C.
Ivory
base
modern); . 2X6 in.
(6.I
cm). Gift of
J.
PierpontMorgan,9I7 (I7.I90.62)
One of
themost mportantnimal
deities
f ancientEgyptwas he
sacred pisbull,
whoseworships
attestedromDynasty
.
Near he
Ptah
emple t Memphis, gypt's ld
capital, living epresentative
f the
Apisbullwas
tabled.He wasparade
r
. .
..
out attestlve
ccaslonso partlclpate
in
ceremoniesf fertility nd
regener
ation.
The bull hatplayed his
m-
portant
olewas electedor
displayin
colorpatterns,uch
as a white riangl
on theforeheadnd
blackpatches
resembling inged
birds n the body.
In the vory igure
hewhite riangles
indicated y a
sunken rea n the
head,while
engravingsf avulture
with
wings pread nda wingedcara
flank n
elaboratelanket n the
back
When
Apisbullsdied, heywere
embalmedndburiedwithall
honors
Beginning ith he
reign f King
AmenhotepII n
Dynasty8, the
placeofApisburials
asa hugeand
growing ndergroundystem f
chambersalled he
Serapeumn the
Memphite ecropolis,aqqara.
he
mothers f Apisbullshad heir
own
cultandburial
lace.
65. Bllll's Leg
Abydos,
Dynasty-2, ca.2960-2649
B.C.
Ivory; . 6/2 in. (I6.S
m);RogersFund,
I906 (06.II62.I)
In EarlyDynastic
gypt owbedsand
stools,
ikeother urnituref
high
quality,ncluded
voryparts uchas
bulls'egs.Usingananimal'segfor
the eg
of a pieceof furniture
adreli-
. . * n *
*
glOUSlgnltlcance
elatlngo thegreat
strengthnd
generativeower f the
animal. he bullwas
alsoasymbol
for he
Egyptian ing,especiallyn
the Early
Dynastic eriod, nd
royal
furniture aywellhavebeen he
first
to be fittedout with
such egs.
Inmaking etsof
legs,Egyptian
artists lways
istinguishedindand
forelegs, ftenalso he rightand
eft,
and
positionedhemon the
pieceof
furniture
ccordingly.s seenhere,
the egshad enons
n top that it
into he
horizontalrame f the
bedor
stool.Leatherhongswere
hreaded
through
hetwoholesbelow he
tenon
to secure
he egto the frame.Allfur-
niture egs nbull's-leghape
ermi-
nated n beaded
ylindershatkept
thetender ooves ffthe dirty loor.
This
eR ront egfroma bed
or
stool s theworkof amaster
oiner
whowasalsoan
accomplishedculp-
tor.Theanimal's
usculaturend
skinare
delicately ifferentiatedrom
thesmooth
hoof,and hetautveins
are xpressivenough oevoke hrough
thisbodypart he mage
f theentire
strong, ighlyensed nimal. he eg
maywellhave
beenpartof a king's
bedor chair ecauset was
oundat
Abydosn one
of the tombsof the
firstkingsofEgypt.
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 50/61
67. Donkey
Deirel-Bahri, rea f causeways, ynasty8,
ca. 473-I425 B.C.
Drawing n limestone;
drawingX6 X 2%8
in. (6.3 X 6.7 cm). Rogers
Fund, 923 (23.3.8)
Sinceat least he
fourthmillennium
B.C.,
ever-patientonkeys ave ar-
riedheavy oadsandhelped armers
by treading
eeds nto the ground nd
threshing rain.The artistwho cre-
ated hissmall
haractertudyovera
proportional
ridon a limestone hip
hascapturedhe expressionf a typi-
callyobstinate onkey. round he
donkey'seck sa red triped and.An
animalwith
black tripedur(a cator
leopard?) as
drawn elow hedon-
key's ead o the right,butthemain
portion f thiscreatures nowbroken
oS. It appears
hat he sketch omes
froma largermage llustratingfable
involving n ass
anda feline.Onesuch
story rom hesecond entury.D. tells
of a lionwhowants o findout the
nature f man.Amongotheranimals,
the ionencounters horse nddon-
key hatare
etheredo a chariot. he
lionasks,"Whodidthis o you?" hey
answer, Ourord,man,hasdone
it.... There s nothingmore unning
54
thanman."
Wilddonkeyswere till
living n the
Egyptian esert uring
thefirstpart
of thenineteenthentury.
68. Headof
a Camel
Thebes,LowerAsasif emetery rea,
Ptolemaic
eriod, 04-30 B.C. or later.
Terracotta ith
whiteslip;h. IlS6 n. (Scm).
RogersFund,
932 32.3.343)
The ancientEgyptians newabout
the existence f the dromedaryor
one-humped)amel,Camelusrome-
darius, t
least inceEarlyDynastic
* 9 , .
. * 9
tlmes. n
varlous gyptlan ltesrare
instancesf camelboneshavebeen
recorded,lthoughomearedoubtfu
as to dateand dentification,nd
there re
a fewfigurines nd igure
vessels f camels reservedrom
pharaonicimes.Byand arge, ow-
ever, hecamel emainedn oddity n
Egyptianyes. t wasonlywith he
invasion f theAssyrianrmy n the
seventh
entury
.C.
thatpeople n the
Nilevalleymetthe camel sa domes-
ticated
east f burden.t tookanothe
fourcenturieso introducehedomes
ticatedamel o Egypt,where t was
destinedo become ne of the coun-
try'smost
amiliarights.Onlyrecentl
have
automobilesnd armmachines
begun osupersedehe animal.
This
small erracottaead s un-
pretentiousutskillfullymodeled. t
is the iving mage f a camel,head
helddisdainfullypright,hepro-
truding yesgazing nto the fardis-
tance,while he softmuzzle eemsO
be caught
n a chewingmotion. t
mightbe
a portrait f one of the
camels f
today,whichcanbe seen
lifting heirheads ver armhouse
wallsnear
he exact potwhere his
little erracottaiecewas oundby
the Museum'sxcavatorsn I9IS-I6.
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 51/61
horse ormed he op of a comb, ts
teethnowmostlymissing. hishorse
is somewhat ervouslyeeding roma
trough. n the drawing, fewmas-
terlybrush inescapture n elegant,
well-groomedorsewearing bridle,
rubbingts eftforeleg layfully ith
its gracefulmuzzle. he motif s
known roma lateDynasty
8
relief
fromAmarna.t is possiblehat his
sketch s a copyof a New Kingdom
representationhat nterestedhispar-
ticular rtist t a timewhenmany
Old andNew Kingdom orks f art
were opied orreuse n Dynasty 6
tombs.
The argervoryhorse,whichonce
adorned whiphandle,s shown n
what cholarsall heflying allop. ts
shiny oat s beautifullyendered ith
a lightbrown int; he mane, ail,
muzzle, nd ower egs,aswellasa
stripe n the back, re n darkbrown.
The efteye
till
retainsts glassy
inlay,whichbeautifullyapturests
shining agerness.heanimal'sead
pressesgainstts curved eck,a pose
oftenused n depictions f horsesn
the mid-Eighteenthynasty.
69. Horse
Dynasty9, possibly eignof
RamessesI,
ca. 279-I2I3 B.C. Ivory;w. I%8in. (3-5 cm).
Purchase, dward . HarknessGift,
926
(26.7.I290)
70. Horse
Thebes, ombof Nespekashuty,ynasty6,
664-6I0 B.C. Drawing n limestone;
rawing
4 X 3 in. (I0.2 X 7.6 cm). RogersFund, 923
(23.3.33)
7I. Horse
Thebes,Dynasty8, ca. 400 B.C.
Tinted
ivory, lass(?)nlay n left eye;1.SYgn.
(IScm). Purchase, dward .
Harkness
Gift, 926 (26-7-I293)
Thehorse s a relativeatecomer
o the
Egyptianmenagerie.heearliestkele-
tonfound n theNile valleymaydate
to theseventeenthentury.C. In
ancientiteraturendrelief rt,horses
firstappearedn connection
ith he
expulsion f theAsiatic ulers,
he
Hyksos,whichoccurredromhe ate
Seventeentho theearlyEighteenth
Dynasty ca.
SSo B.C.).
After
he de-
featof the Hyksos he horse-drawn
chariot ecame hepredominant
fightingmachine f Egypt's ilitary,
theofficial onveyancef her
kings,
andan efflcient ehicle orhunting.
Horsebackiding, owever,emained
a rarity ntilPtolemaicimes.
These hree epresentationsapture
thetraits he ancientEgyptians ost
valuedn a horse: peed, legance,
andgoodmanners. hesmall vory
55
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 52/61
This
magnificent
am,
with tsbril-
liantblue-and-green
laze,was
made
late
n thehistory
fEgyptian
rt. t is
said
o havebeen ound
n the
capi-
tal of
theFayum
asis,Crocodilopol
(Medinet
l-Fayum),
ogether
with
twobeautiful
aience
masksn Roman
style.All three bjects eremostprob
ably
otiveso
a sanctuary.
Theram
anbe identified
s
Ovis
platyura
egyptiaca,ased
nthe for-
ward-bending
orns
nd hick
leece.
Thespecies
was irst
ntroducednto
Egypt romwestern
sia
around
000
B.C. Duringhe
OldKingdom
nd
earlier,
nother
heep pecies,
O.
Iongipesalaeoaegyptiaca,
as
ivingn
theNile
valley. his
species
ad ong,
horizontallypiralingorns see ig.
)
and
ent ts powerful
hape o
a num-
ber
of Egyptian
ods, he
creatorod,
Khnum, eing
perhaps
he most m-
portant
f them.
Probably
ecause .
platyuraad onger
leece, t
quickly
superseded
.
Iongipesfterhe
begin
ningof the
MiddleKingdom.
The
platyuraambecame
ne
of
the
mostsacred
nimals
n Egypt
through
ts association
ith he
god
Amun,who,asAmun-Re, as he
country's
upreme
eity
duringhe
New
Kingdomnd
afterward.
his
faience am
sbending
tS headover
what
at firstglance
eems
obe a
manger,
uton
closernspection
s
actually
lotusblossom.
Vessels
n
flower orm
were requently
sed o
present fferings
o gods.
Amun
receiving
n offiering
sthus
he true
subject f this aiencemasterpiece.
skygoddess
Nut was
describeds
a
sow
whose hildren
ere
hestars.
he
fact
hat ows
areknown o
eattheir
piglets
wasunderstood
s aparallel
to the rise
anddisappearance
fstars.
Amulets
ike he
one llustrated
ere
were
epresentations
f the
great
mother oddess ndguaranteed
fertility.
The ittle
wooden igure
f a young
pig
s simplybut
carefully
ade. ts
round
head,
nubnose,and
he black
stripes
long ts back
are he
unmis-
takable
haracteristics
f the suckling
pig,object
f the
herdsman's
are.
The figure
was ound
at the
mouthof
the plundered
omb
shaft
of Yuy,
great
manandvizier,
who ived
at the
endoftheMiddleKingdom.tis
diffilcult
o explain
he
pig's resence
among
burial
quipmentt
a time
whenwooden
models
f peasants,
stables,
ranaries,nd
he ikewere
no
longer
n fashion.
Yuy's
ombwassit-
uated
where
QueenHatshepsut
ater
erected
he causeway
o her
emple f
Deir
el-Bahri.
t ispossible,
herefore,
that
he ittle
pigfigure id
not belong
to
Yuyat all but
wasa poor
man's ift
to Hathor
fDeir
el-Bahri,
hose
shrine
esideHatshepsut's
emplewas
much
visited
hroughouthe
New
Kingdom.
74.
Ram
Medinet
l-Fayum,
Roman mperial
eriod,
probably
ndcentury
.D. Faience;
.41M6n.
(I2
cm).Purchase,
dward . Harkness
Gift,
I9 26 (26
.7.
OI9)
72. Sow
Amulet
Dynasty6-29,
664-380
B.C.
Faience;
h. %6
in.
3
cm).GiftofJ. Pierpont
Morgan,9I7 (I7-I94-2243)
73. Young
Pig
Westernhebes,ound earhe omb f
the
vizierYuy,
ateDynasty3(?),
a. 700-
I650 B.C.
or
ater.Wood
withreddishrown
andblack
aint left
egmissing);.%6
in.
(4
cm).Rogers
und,926 (26.3.352)
Pigswere
domesticated
nEgypt
rom
a wildspecies,
us scrofa,
before
he
fifth
millennium
.C. During
phara-
onictimes,pork
wasone
of thestaple
foods,and
pigswere
kept n herds
n
every
argearm, ften
grazing
n the
open
steppe.Pigs
werenot
highly e-
garded, owever,
nd hose
who
tended hem
were eviled
s dirty,
l-
though
n Old
Kingdom
ombrelief
shows herdsman
ovingly
eeding
a small
pigfrom
hisownmouth.
The
taboo
npigmeat
volved
lowly,nd
associations
ith he
evilSeth
not-
withstanding,
igsalsohad
a favorable
role o play n
Egyptian
myths.The
56
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 53/61
andwatchdogs,tatus
ymbols, nd
companions.bout
eventy ogname
areknown
rom exts nd
nscription
Theybear trikingesemblanceothe
names
ivenmodern ets from
Ebony,Blacky, nd
Trusty
O
Son-of-
the-Moon,
orth-wind,
ood-for-
Nothing, nd,more
imply, he Fifth
orThe Sixth.The
earliest reed see
no.
2)
haduprightars nda
curled
tail.A later reed ad
op ears nda
straightail.There
wereotherkinds,
including
typeofdachshund.
Thissmall,
rouching og s a fine
example f theEgyptian rtist's
bility
tO
convey nanimal
hrough few ea-
tures. tsheavy ead
rests ightly n
paws olded ver ach
other:hepic-
tureof a
faithful ogawaitingts
mas-
ter.Many
dogburialsavebeen
ound
in Egypt,
omewithstelebearinghe
animal's
ameorwitha
sarcophagus
andat leastone
Eighteenth ynasty
leather
ogcollar assurvived.
7S
Pharaohis untingDog
LateDynasty
8, I400-I350 B.C. Ivory,
tinted
ed nsidemouth nd
black round
eyes nd nundersidesf pawstailmissing);
. 73/8 in.
I8.6
cm).
Rogers und,
940
(40.2.I)
This
eaping og s a
masterpiecef
Egyptian nimal
culpture.t is
shownn a sort
of
grandete',
ts full
body
weight hrown
orward,very
muscle training. ecause
he ower
jaw
canbeopened nd
closedby
means
f the everunder he
belly,
thepiecehasbeencalled mechanical
toy.
There re,however,
erious eli-
gious
mplicationso the mage f a
leaping og.Theartist's
ketch no. 2),
forexample,hows dog n
an almost
identical ose
beside hepharaoh s
he
fights lion,which, n
thiscontext,
embodies vil
orces.Associationsf a
leaping ogwith
hepharaoWsythi-
calroleas the foe
of chaos ndevil
suggesthat he vorypiecewaspart f
royal urial
quipmentnd unctioned
as amagical
bject. f this sthe case,
judging rom ts strikingly
aturalistic
style, t most
ikelybelongedo the
burial
f AmenhotepII.
Theexceptionaliece
howsun-
mistakableignsof analterationhat
took
place nantiquity,
robably
shortly
fter heworkwas inished.
Based
n thenonalignmentf
the
linesof
the dog's ncised ollar,
n ad-
ditional rillhole
underhe hroat, nd
thepresencef twosetsofcavitiesn-
side he
upper aw o
accommodate
theprotruding
ower ront eeth, t ap-
pearshat he aw
everwasoriginally
fixedowerdown
on the chest.The
artist r
hisclientdidnot ike heorig-
inal hape f the
mouthandreposi-
tioned t,after
whichhe had o drilla
new
hole n theneckanda
newcavity
in theupperaw.
Thedrillholesprob-
ably erved s
channelsorastring hat
controlledheangle
f themoveable
* * * *
* .
aww
nen t was n ltSopenposltlon.
76.
Crouching og
Dynasty
8, ca. 550-I295 B.C.
Ivory;
. 3 1%6in.
(9.7
cm).
Gift of HelenMiller
Gould, 9I0
(IO.I30.2520)
Egyptians ere losely
ttachedo
their
dogs,which erved s
hunting
57
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 54/61
77. Mouse
Dynasty8,
ca. 550-I295 B.C. Ivory;
. 2%6 in. (6.5cm). Rogers
Fund, 9
(44M4M55)
78. Rat
or SpinyMouse
Western hebes,
Dynasty8, ca. 473-
I458 B.C.
Drawing n limestone; tone6X4
31%6
in.
(I7
X IO
cm).AnonymousGift,
93I
(3I *4 2)
It is not clearwhichmouse
or rat
species heartists ad n mindwhen
theycreated
hese svorepresenta-
tions.The
ratof pharaonicgyptwas
the grass
at,Arvicanthisiloticus ilo-
ticus.Thehouseratarrived
romAsia
after he
pharaoniceriod.Two
species f micedating opharaonic
timeshavebeen dentified
romani-
malbones:he Egyptian
pinymouse,
Acomysahirinus,nd he
house
mouse,Mus
musculus.he spiny
mouse sa scrubby-looking
reature
known ohave ivedon
the rocky
island fElephantinen greatnum-
bers,while hehousemouse,
which
hasa smooth oat,preferred
he Delta
margins. he small xquisite
vory
piece,which s hollowed n one side
to serve s
a cosmetic ish,mayrepre-
79. (Opposite
op)Vesseln the
Shape f a Monkey
Dynasty
8,
ca. 550-I295 B.C. Faience;
h.
2 7/6
in. (6.5cm). RogersFund, 974
(I974-97)
At leastone species f
monkey,Cer-
copithecusethiops,urvivedn the
wild n ancientEgypt ntil heMiddle
Kingdom,
utmonkeys avealso
always een
mportedromEthiopia
andSomalia
ndkeptas entertainin
companions,specially
y the adies
of thehouse. n wallpaintings nd
elsewhere
onkeys redepictedn the
lady's oudoir, laying
s sheput
on hermakeup. hey
arealso hown
busily"helping"
o harvest atesand
figs.Thenaughtymonkey eenhere
maywellhave tolen he
fruithe is
eatingduringucha harvest.
Not surprisingly,any
osmetic
vesselswere
adorned ithmonkey
figures.
Not onlydid theseamusing
creatures
avort round he dress-
ing room,buttheyalso
came rom he
same xotic ountrieso the south
thatproduced
many osmeticngredi
ents.Interestingly,
onkeys erealso
employedspolice"dogs"n ancient
Egypt.Old Kingdom eliefs
how
vivid cenes f thieves
eingcaught
by the clever nimals.
senta housemouse,whereas
he
masterly
rawing n limestone ould
be a spinymouseor a grass at.The
drawing
s on the reversef a sketch
showing
woprofiles fSenenmut,
therenownedteward
f Queen
Hatshepsut, aking his
an early
examplef the artof political
caricature.
58
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 55/61
8I. Vessel n the Shape f a Mother
Monkeywith HerYoung
Dynasty , reign f Pepi , ca.2289-2255 B.C.
Egyptian labasterinscribed Ny-Khaswt-
Meryre female]enant andholder"of the
pyramid ndowment f Pepi ] and "first
occurrencefthe jubilee");. 5X8 in. I3.7 cm).
Purchase,osephPulitzer equest,Fletcher
Fund,andLilaAchesonWallace,Russell
andJudyCarson,WilliamKellySimpson,
andVaughnFoundationGifts, n honorof
HenryGeorgeFischer,992 (I992.338)
The two monkey asesbeloware n-
spired y keenobservationf animal
behavior,n thiscase heclose elation-
shipbetweenmothers nd heir oung
amongprimates. othvesselswere
madeduring he SixthDynasty,most
likely sgifts
ordignitariesnd oreig
rulerstthe
king'shirty-yearestiva
(Heb ed).Themonkeysre dentifie
aspetsby heir raceletsndarmlets
The
vesselsre lmostdenticaln
subjectnd ompositionutremark
ably ifferenttherwise.hepiece
beloweft shighlytylized,
tS
overal
shapescylindrical,ndalldetailsre
reducedo nearlylat elie£ heother
piece no. I) iS more rganicallyon-
ceived,gg
hapedverall, ith he
details
culptedn theround.t cap-
tures n
almost umanntimacyn
thepose f themotherndbaby.n
ancient gyptianrt, t is rareo be
able o
distinguishndividualrtists'
hands sclearlys n thesewoobject
79
80
80. Vessel n the Shape f a Mother
Monkeywith HerYoung
Dynasty , reignof Merenre, a.2255-
2246 B.C. Egyptian labasterinscribed ith
the nameMerenre); . 7S4 n. (I8.5 cm).
TheodoreM. OavisCollection,Bequest f
TheodoreM. Oavis,
9I5 (30.8.I34)
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 56/61
82.
Baboon-Shaped
ame
Pieces
Ptolemaic
eriod,
04-30 B.C.
Ivory.
Left:
h. I%8in. (3-S
cm). Ludlow
Bull
Fund,
968
(68.3).
Right:h. I%6
in. (3.3 cm).
Purchase,
Fletcher
undand
The
GuideFoundation
Inc.
Gift, 966 (66
99X7S)
These
wo ittlebaboons
epresent
n
imported
pecies,
Papionubis,
hat
lackshe
magnificent
ane
f 1?
hamv-
dryas.he
figures
remasterful
nimal
. .
depictions,
omblning
recise
na-
tomical
endering
ith
expressive,
almost
atirical
haracterization.
ince
theback
of the
figure n
the right
is shaped
ike
a knuckle
one,
hetra-
ditional
orm
of dice
n theancient
world,
t is
likely
hatboth
animals
werepiecesroma game.Stylistically
they
are o close
o one
another
hat
they
mustbelong
o the
same et,
al-
though
hey
came
o the
Museum
at
different
imes.
By
the Ptolemaic
ra,many
Egyptians
ere
iving
n cities, ome
of which
were
quite arge
ndcosmo-
politan,
s
wasAlexandria,
hat
ancient
equivalent
f New
York.
heminor
artsof the
timeoften
reflect
n
urban
lifestylendasomewhatentimental
and
condescending
ttitude
oward
nature.
he two
baboons,
ear
arica-
tures
f two ittle
beggars,
regood
examples
f this
outlook.
The artist
whosculpted
he
figures
ada
dis-
cerning
ye
hat
wassurelynfluenced
bythe
Hellenistic
radition,
hich
s
reflected
n the
ntricate
ostures
f
the thin
animal
odies.
83. Baboon
Memphis(?),
ynasty
6, 664-S2S
B.C.
Faience;
.
3X6n. (8.8cm).
Purchase,
Edward .
Harkness
Gift, I926
(26.7.874)
Egypt's
esident
pecies
f baboon,
Papio
amadryas,
anished
rom
he
wildduring
he
Middle
Kingdom,
about he same ime hat hemonkey
alsodisappeared.
hereafter
aboons
continued
o
be imported
rom
he
south.
They
were
onsistently
epicted
as
essplayful
nd
more erious
han
thewhimsical
monkey.
s far
backas
Early
Dynastic
imes
he ancient
Egyptians
enerated
he
baboon sthe
"great
hite
one,"which
has
been
called
royal
ncestor
nimal.
Based
onobservationsf theactual ehavio
of
baboons,he
Egyptians
elieved
that hese
primates
orshipedhe
sun
godat
sunrisewith
upraised
rms
r
hands
ntheir
knees,
postureshat
have
beenexplained
y
primatologis
asthe
animal'seed
o
warmts
body
in
themorning.
hehands-on-knee
posture
ound
ts most
mpressive
artistic
ealization
n large
aboon
sculptures
reated
uring
hereign
f
AmenhotepII(ca.
390-I353 B.C.).
The
baboon's
ntelligence
nd
enigmatic
aze
inked
t to
Thoth,
thegod
ofwisdom,
esponsible
or
measuring,
riting,
nd
generally
ll
things
ntellectual.
his
faience
tat-
uette
s arepresentation
f the
deity.
Many rtists
tudied
ndrevived
lder
artistic
raditions
uring
Dynasty
6.
Itis entirely
ossible,
herefore,
hat
the
Arnenhotep
IIbaboon
culpture
were he ultimateource fthis
small
but
mpressively
tatuesque
masterpiece.
60
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 57/61
Late
Predynastic eriod,
ca.
3200-2960 B.C.
Dynasties and2,
ca.
2960-2649 B.C.
Dynasty3,
ca.
2649-2575B.C.
-
_
Theart
ofEgyptiannimal
epresentation
_-
latePredynastic
eriodnd
hefirst wo
_
x
dynasties,nimalepresentationsere
_ widely
sed o express
heoretical
oncepts
_
suchaskingship r the
powers f
theuni-
verse.At this
ime, he
Egyptiansormu-
_
lated
heirhieroglyphiccript,
goodpart
ofwhich
scomposed f
animalmages.
Animals
were endered ore
bstractlyhan
heywould
be ater nd
can
usually e
identified y
genusbutnot by
species.Many
mportant
images f deities
n animal
hapes egan o receive
efinitive
orm,
process ompleted
y Dynasty
.The
conographyf types hus
created
would
ontinueo be used n
much ater
periods.
Nos.
I, I3,
39
Nos. 49, 50, 52,
54
Dynasty ,
ca.
2575-2465.C.
Dynasties
and6,
ca.
2465-2I50
.C.
Thesecond
hase fanimal
epresentation
began n
Dynasty and
reached n unsur-
passed eak n
Dynasty .Egyptian
rtists
revealedheir
utstandingbilities
o
observe ature
losely nd
depict tpre-
cisely.
oday's
oologistsan dentify
almostvery pecies f
fish, owl,or
horned teppe
nimal een n
paintings
andreliefsrom
heperiod.
he ncentive
for
his
naturalismame rom
hebelief
that
hesungod,
assupreme
reator,ared orevery
iving hing,
ach
in its
particularorm nd
ize. n art,
hesolar reed
oundts
most
potent xpression
n theFifthDynasty
untemples
tAbusir,ust
outh
ofpresent-day
airo.Preserved
nly n
fragments,eliefs
rom hese
temples
evealedn minute
etail he iving
worldunder
hesolar
deity'sutelage.
ach nimal
was hown n activities
ppropriate
o the
three
easons fthe
Egyptianear.The
nfluence f these
un-temple
reliefss apparent
n allanimal
epresentationsf
the Old
Kingdom
and n
many aterworks f art.
No. 2
61
A
Brief
History f
Anilnal
Representationn
Egyptian rt
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 58/61
Firstntermediate
Period,
a.
I40-
2040
B.C.
MiddleKingdom,
ca.
040-I640
B.C., to
early
ew
Kingdom,
ca.
SSO-I400
B.C.
_
_ =
_
importance
f Memphis
modern
Mit
_
Rahina,
outh f Cairo)
nd ts
royal es-
_
idence ave
way otheprovlnces,
nd
a
markedlyessimistic
hilosophy
evel-
_i
representation,
hich oincides
ith
the
MiddleKingdom
ndearly
New
Kingdom,
rovincialism
nspired
nascent
olkart,and he
prevailing
pessimism
ave ise
o a multitude
f magical
racticesor
whichmany
new
ypesof
objectswere
reated.
Often olkartand
conography
ith
magical
ignificance
ingled
n MiddleKingdom
nimal
igures, hile
high-quality
uxury rticles
ublimated
hese
haracteristicsnto
fine
works f art.
Royal emple
nd omb
reliefs, owever,
ere argely
influenced
y Old
Kingdom
rototypes.s the
thirdphase
apped
ver
into
heearly art
f theNew
Kingdom,
many harming
nimalmages,
often
more ntimate nd
eleganthan
hoseof
theMiddleKingdom,
were reated.
Nos.
6I, 62, 73
Nos.38, 39, 4I, 59
No. 34
Nos. 6, I7,
27
Nos.
25, 49
Nos.3, 9, 20,
35, 37, 39,
42, 57, 7I,
76, 77, 78,
79
Amenhotep
II,
ca. 390-I353
B.C.
Akhenaten,
ca. 353-I336
B.C.
_
A revivalf
solarworship
shered
n
_ the
fourth hase
f theartof
animal
representation.
he
new ntensity
n
theworship
f the
sungodstarted
ur-
ing thereign
f Amenhotep
IIand
reached
peak
whilehis
son
Akhenaten
asking.
Artisticallyhis
phase ndudes
many
parallelso
theaccomplishments
f Old Kingdom
rtists.
natomicaletails,
doselyobserved
ndprecisely
endered,
ereagain
rimaryoncerns.
Therewasrenewednterestn the concept f time,expressedotonly
in representations
f seasonalife
but n the
artists' ttempts
o cap-
ture
a passingmoment
yshowing
he
effects f gentle
windsblowing
overplants
r by
freezingnimals
n motion.
Stylisticendencies
uch
as
these ent
hemselves
ostreadily
o painting,
ndeven
beforehe hird
phase adended,
here
were xamples
f thiskind.
Many ine
drawings
made n the
earlyEighteenth
ynasty
nticipatehe
achievements
f
artists uringAkhenaten's
eign.
Smallculptures
n
the round
wereanotherpecialty
f the
ate hird
and ourth
hases,
choing n urban,
uxury-oriented
ifestyle
hat
re-
sulted n a
more entimental
elationship
etween
umans nd
animals.
Many
f thesmall-scale
nimaligures
ere
nfluenced
y arge ard-
stoneanimal
culpturesreated
orroyal
monuments
uchas
themor-
tuary
emple fAmenhotep
IIat
Thebes r,
n Nubia,
hetemple t
Soleb.Literary
orks,
uchasa text
on a large carab
escribing
oyal
hunting
eatsor the
famous
ymns o the
godAten,underlined
he
m-
portance
f animals
n thestatedeology
f the
time.The
mmense
unt-
ing
bootygenerated
ythefamed
ourt
huntsof the
New Kingdom,
incidentally,
ayhave
givenartists
he chance
o study nimal
odies
directly.
Nos.
4, 6,
IS,
24,
26, 48
75
No. 7s
No.
24
Nos. 35,
67, 78
Nos. 3, 4,
75
62
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 59/61
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 60/61
In-depth
tudies n the
ubjectf animals
n
Ancient
gypt annot
eundertakenithout
consulting
hearchive
yLudwig eimer-
largely
npublished
nowhousedn the
German rchaeological
nstitute,
airo. he
numerousrticles
yKeimerre
istedn
Joachim oessneck,
ie Tierweltesalten
AgyptenMunich,
988), pp. I9I-92.
Anderson,
ohn.
oology f Egypt.Vol.,
Reptilia
andBatrachia.ondon,
898; repr.
965.
Anderson,ohn,
ndWilliam .
deWinton.
Zoology fEgypt:Mammalia. ondon,
902.
Andrews,arol.
muletsfAncient
gypt. exas,
I994-
Assmann,an.
Agyptische
ymnen ndGebete.
DieBibliothek
erAltenWelt.
Zurichnd
Munich,
975.
Beaux, athalie.
e Cabinet u
curiosite'se
Thoutmosis
II:Plantes t animaus
u 'CJardin
botanique"de
arnak.Orientaliaovaniensia
Analecta
6. Leuven,elgium,
990.
Boessneck,oachim.
ie TierweltesAlten
Agypten ntersuchtnhand ulturgeschicht-
licher nd
zoologisheruellen.Munich,
988.
Brewer,
ouglas.,and
ReneF.Friedman.
ish
andFishingn Ancient
gypt.Cairo,989.
Fairman,.
W.TheTriumphant
orus:
n
AncientEgyptian
acred rama.Berkeley
nd
LosAngeles,
974.
Faulkner,
aymond.
TheAncient
Egyptian
Cog7in exts.vols.
Warminster,ngland,
I977-
. TheAncient
gyptianyramid exts.
Oxford,969.
Gamer-Wallert,ngrid.
ische nd
Fischkultem
altenAgypten. ol.
I.
Agyptologische
Abhandlungen.d.WolEgang
elck nd
Eberhardtto.Wiesbaden,
970.
Hery,
ranc,ois-Xavier,ndThierry
nel.
Animaux
u Nil Animaux
e Dieu.
L'Univers
e 'Egypteharaonique.ix-en-
Provence,
993.
Hornung,
rik, ndElisabeth
taehelin.
Tiere."
InSkarabden
ndandere iegelamulette
us
Basler ammlungen:
gyptischeenkmdler
n
derSchweiz. ol., pp. I06-63. Mainz,
976.
Houlihan,
atrick.
TheBirds fEgypt.
Warminster,ngland,
986.
zu
HulshoK,era on
Droste.
erIgel m alten
Agypten.Hildesheimergyptologische
Beitrage
I.
Hildesheim,
980.
Janssen,osalind,nd
ack anssen.
gyptian
Householdnimals. hire gyptology.
Aylesbury,ngland,
989.
Lexikon erAgyptologie.
vols.Wiesbaden,
Germany,975-92.
Lichtheim,Miriam.Ancient
gyptian iterature:
A
Book f Readings.
vols. Berkeley, os
Angeles, nd
London,973-80.
Malek, aromir. heCat n Ancient gypt.
London,993.
Meinertzhagen,
ichard.
NicollsBirds fEgypt.
vols.
London,930.
Page ,
"Beetlesn all kindsof wood":
fter an
Assmann,
Agyptischeymnen
ndGebete,
p.
203.
Page , "'This
s the tasteof death"':
ichtheim,
Literature,
ol.
,
TheOldandMiddle
Kingdoms,
. 224.
Page
I, "Ahunterpursues
t with his hounds":
I
ichtheim,Literature,ol. 2,
notedabove,
p. I87.
Page
6, "who eesand
catches y night":
Raymond
O. Faulkner, heAncient
gyptian
CofinTexts,
ol.2, Spells3Sy-787)
- 05,
spell 70.
Page I, "granthe beauteous
West:n peace":
Jaromir
Malek,The
Cat n Ancient gypt,
p. 86, fig.53;
translation yJames
Allen.
Page 4, "From
ourbeauty 'll not
part ":
Lichtheim,
iterature,ol. 2,
notedabove,
p. I90.
Page 4, "As
bold fen-man oes":
H. W.
Fairman,
heTriumphantorus,
. 82, verse
8I-83
and 0-92.
Page
5, "Their rms dore
ourappearance":
Lichtheim,
iterature,ol.2,
notedabove,
P- 97-
Page 8, "when
he riverbanks re
looded":
Faulkner,
heAncient
gyptian yramid
ext
p. 235, utterance
8I; translation
yJames
Allen.
Page 8, "Who
makeshisbounty
overflow":
Lichtheim,
iterature,
ol. , notedabove,
pp. 205 and
07.
Page 3,
"Iwason my bellybefore
him":
Lichtheim,
iterature,ol. ,
notedabove,
p.
2I2.
Page
5, "Andmy heart
wassweet o excess":
Translation
y James
Allen romPapyrus
Harris 00.
PageSI,"little
worldof four housand
ears go"
HerbertE.
Winlock,Modelsf DailyLife
n
Ancient
gypt, . 3.
Page
SI,"so hathe could
escape": ichtheim,
Literature,
ol.
2,
notedabove,pp.204-6.
Page
4, "Theres nothing
morecunning
han
man":GuntherRoeder,Alt2gyptische
Erzahlungen
ndMarchen, . 308.
Page
8, Ratorspinymouse:
The animal
n the
reverse f the
Senenmut straconacc.
no.
3I.4.2)
hasbeen dentified
yJacques .
Janssen s
a fox ("On he Scentof a Fox"in
Discussions
n Egyptology6 [I990],
pp.
43-SI),
butthe ong
anddensewhiskers,
elongated
muzzle, nd
hin tailarenot
those
of a fox. Dale
J. Osborndentifies
he anima
as a rodent,quitepossibly
spinymouse
(Warminster,
ngland,orthcoming).
Phillips,
DorothyW.,Ancient gyptian
nimals:
A Picture
ook.NewYork TheMetropolitan
Museum f Art), 942.
Roeder,
Gunther.Altagyptische
rzahlungen
nd
M2rchen.ena,Germany,927.
Rommelaere,
atherine. esChevaux
u nouvel
empire gyptien: rigines,
aces, arnache-
ment.Conaissancee l'Egypte
ncienne
Etude .
Brussels,99I.
Schoske, ylvia,
nd DietrichWildung.
Gottund
Gotterm
altenAgypten.Mainz,992.
Winlock,
HerbertE.
Models f DailyLife n
Ancient gypt
rom heTombfMeket-Re
t
Thebes. ublications
f TheMetropolitan
Museum
f ArtEgyptian xpedition.
ol. 8.
Cambridge,Mass.,955.
Notes:
Page , "no cene n the
tombcontained
ny
such igure":
erbertE. Winlock,
"The
Egyptian
xpedition,922-I923," The
Bulletin fTheMetropolitan
useum
fArt 8
(oldseries,December923),
part , p. 2I.
Page
, "indicated ith
a fewswift trokes
f
black":Winlock,"The
Egyptian xpedition,"
notedabove,p. 34.
Page , "Beetlewho raised
imself":Miriam
Lichtheim,
ncient gyptian iterature,
ol. 2,
TheNewKingdom,
. 87.
64
Selected
General
ibliography
8/10/2019 Desert Art
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/desert-art 61/61
-
I
i
fW
-bt
s t