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The block statue is a type of memorial statue that first emerged in the Middle Kingdom of Egypt. [1] The block statue grew in popularity in the New Kingdom and the Third Intermediate Period, and by the Late Period, this type of statue was the most common. These statues were used in temples typically as funerary monuments of non-royal yet important individuals. [2] According to primary sources from the New Kingdom, the posture of the statue was possibly intended to resemble a guardian seated in the gateway of a temple. [3] In addition, their simple shape provided ample flat surfaces for inscriptions of offerings and invocations.
Block statues consist of a man squatting with his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms folded on top his knees. Often, these men are wearing a "wide cloak" that reduces the body of the figure to a simple block-like shape. [4] Most of the detail is reserved for the head of the individual being depicted. In some instances the modeling of the limbs has been retained by the sculptor. [5] There are two basic types of block statues: ones with the feet completely covered by the cloak and ones with the feet uncovered. [6]
In 1903, more than 350 block statues were discovered by the French archaeologist Georges Legrain as part of the "Karnak cachette". [7]
In Egypt, statues of the seated scribe appear as long ago as the 1st Dynasty. Seated scribe statues evolved over time and some also came to incorporate, Thoth, or the baboon (as the scribal god), into the statue presentation. So, also the complexities of the block statue developed, and evolved. Combinational themes became common, and likewise abbreviated, (simpler, and less costly, – detailed), also developed.
Examples of the statue for Senemut, of Queen Hatshepsut's reign, have extensive stories in hieroglyphs. They also have the added head of the child Neferure upon the top surface. They are finely executed, in a medium or high finish. As an example of the Block statue, Senemut's is one of the typical types:
Since the Egyptian belief system contained concepts framed in a world of magic and a formal framework of art expression, the block statue had a magical purpose. Obviously ideas evolved, but eventually the idea came for the statue that it was always – seated in place, and at a moments notice, the individual could stand erect and "go out into the day." This concept is quite similar to the Book of the Dead, where the individual is:
The deceased individual Egyptian person returns each day, to perform their usual daily life duties. It is also equivalent to the earlier concept of the false door, where the ba-soul returned each day, to find the food offering.
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God's Priest[top/1st] for Amun — BakenKhonsu | ||||||||||||
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Egyptian hieroglyphs |
The following examples are found in the Ref. Section that follows:
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Common – shaped shrine-(frontal) --- or Naos-(side) | |||||||
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Egyptian hieroglyphs |
Hatshepsut was the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmosis II and the fifth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, ruling from c. 1478 or 1479 BC until her death in 1458 BC. She was the second female Pharaoh after Sobekneferu Nefrusobek.
Nekhbet is an early predynastic local goddess in Egyptian mythology, who was the patron of the city of Nekheb. Ultimately, she became the patron of Upper Egypt and one of the two patron deities for all of Ancient Egypt when it was unified.
Meretseger was a Theban cobra-goddess in ancient Egyptian religion, in charge with guarding and protecting the vast Theban Necropolis — on the west bank of the Nile, in front of Thebes — and especially the heavily guarded Valley of the Kings. Her cult was typical of the New Kingdom of Egypt.
Seshat was the ancient Egyptian goddess of writing, wisdom, and knowledge. She was seen as a scribe and record keeper; her name means "female scribe". She is credited with inventing writing. She also became identified as the goddess of sciences, accounting, architecture, astronomy, astrology, building, mathematics, and surveying.
Senenmut was an 18th Dynasty ancient Egyptian architect and government official. His name translates literally as "mother's brother."
Deir el-Bahari or Dayr al-Bahri is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt. This is a part of the Theban Necropolis.
The Uraeus, or Ouraeus, (plural: Uraei) is the stylized, upright form of an Egyptian cobra, used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity and divine authority in ancient Egypt.
God's Wife of Amun was the highest-ranking priestess of the Amun cult, an important religious institution in ancient Egypt. The cult was centered in Thebes in Upper Egypt during the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth dynasties. The office had political importance as well as religious, since the two were closely related in ancient Egypt.
Deshret was the Red Crown of Lower Egypt. When combined with the Hedjet of Upper Egypt, it forms the Pschent, in ancient Egyptian called the sekhemti.
The Red Chapel of Hatshepsut or the Chapelle rouge was a religious shrine in Ancient Egypt.
Great Royal Wife, or alternatively, Chief King's Wife, is the title that was used to refer to the principal wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, who served many official functions.
Neferure or Neferura was an Egyptian princess of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the daughter of two pharaohs, Hatshepsut and Thutmose II. She served in high offices in the government and the religious administration of Ancient Egypt.
Satiah was an ancient Egyptian queen, the first Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose III.
Iset was a queen of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, and she was named after goddess Isis. She was a secondary wife or concubine of Thutmose II.
Amenemhat was a prince of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. He was the son of Pharaoh Thutmose III.
The mortuary temple of Hatshepsut is a mortuary temple built during the reign of Pharaoh Hatshepsut of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. Located opposite the city of Luxor, it is considered to be a masterpiece of ancient architecture. Its three massive terraces rise above the desert floor and into the cliffs of Deir el-Bahari. Her tomb, KV20, lies inside the same massif capped by El Qurn, a pyramid for her mortuary complex. At the edge of the desert, 1 km (0.62 mi) east, connected to the complex by a causeway lies the accompanying valley temple. Across the river Nile, the whole structure points towards the monumental Eighth Pylon, Hatshepsut's most recognizable addition to the Temple of Karnak and the site from which the procession of the Beautiful Festival of the Valley departed. The temple's twin functions are identified by its axes: its main east-west axis served to receive the barque of Amun-Re at the climax of the festival, while its north-south axis represented the life cycle of the pharaoh from coronation to rebirth.
Bakenkhonsu was a High Priest of Amun in ancient Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II. Information about his life was found on the back of his block statue. The information on the statue provides details about the education of young Egyptian noblemen at that time and the career of priests.
The Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt is classified as the first dynasty of the New Kingdom of Egypt, the era in which ancient Egypt achieved the peak of its power. The Eighteenth Dynasty spanned the period from 1550/1549 to 1292 BC. This dynasty is also known as the Thutmosid Dynasty for the four pharaohs named Thutmose.
This page list topics related to ancient Egypt.