Through the Eras

Visual ArtsLarge knife. BROOKLYN MUSEUM OF ART, 09.889.119, CHARLES EDWIN WILBOUR FUND. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION.in relief show that this gesture should be read as the kingreaching for offerings with his left hand. The Egyptiansculptor did not leave negative space between the armand the lap for fear of creating a weak point in the sculpture.In general, Egyptian sculptors in stone preferred topreserve the shape of the stone block overall and not tofree the limbs from the block. Djoser’s throne closelyresembles the low-backed chair that Khasekhemwy occupiesin his sculpture. The inscription on the base givesDjoser’s throne name, Netjery-khet. The carving is orientedtoward the viewer. Though Djoser’s statue sharescharacteristics with Khasekhemwy’s statue, the positionof the hands and the inscription’s orientation point towardthe commonly observed conventions of subsequentEgyptian history.DEITY. A Third-dynasty (2675–2625 B.C.E.) statue ofa deity is among the earliest preserved freestanding statuesof a god from ancient Egypt. The god wears a rounded,short wig. The facial characteristics found here resembleother Third-dynasty figures. The artist paid little attentionto the eyes, but carved a prominent nose and full lips withrounded corners. The god wears a long divine beard. Theshoulders are broad and the artist has modeled the chestand arms to suggest musculature. In his right hand, thegod holds a broad, flat knife that associates him withthe god Onuris. This god also can be associated with thepenis sheath that he wears here. This statue thus is anotherearly example of the way that artists could communicatethe identity of a figure through attributes, a systemthat Egyptologists call iconography. Onuris stands withthis left leg forward, a pose meant to suggest walkingforward. Egyptian standing male figures conventionallydepict the left leg forward. In spite of the facial featureswhich connect this statue to the earlier periods, the pose,torso, and use of attributes such as the knife look forwardto the broader conventions of Egyptian art.ANKHWA. The seated statue of the Ankhwa representsa shipwright whose name Egyptologists formerlyread as “Bedjmes.” Bedjmes, a reading of the word forshipwright, was formerly thought to be his name. Thisstatue represents a standard Egyptian type, the seatedofficial. But it also exhibits features related both to thesubsequent standardization of the type and other featureswhich do not become part of the standard. Ankhwa sitson a stool without a back. On the sides of the statue,the sculptor carved in relief the curved braces that heldthe stool together. This feature of Ankhwa’s statue willdisappear in subsequent periods and thus is indicative ofthe Third-dynasty date. The other feature of Ankhwa’sstatue that is typical of earlier statues is the positioningof the hands. Ankhwa reaches for offerings with his righthand while his left hand holds the adze, a symbol of hisprofession. Later such statues of officials will depict theleft hand reaching and the right hand holding an attributethat refers to the subject’s profession. These distinctions,though very small, are important for deducing the dateof statues in Egypt. The style of the statue places it firmlyin the Third Dynasty. The face displays eyes with onlythe upper lid carved. In contrast the mouth is portrayedin more detail with broad lips with rounded corners. Thehead is large and attached almost directly to the torsowith short neck. The artist here was avoiding a possible278 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)