Through the Eras

Visual ArtsRELIEFS OF OFFICIALS. Old Kingdom artists carvedreliefs of officials on their tombs’ walls. These representationswere also conventionalized, using standard posesfor standing and seated officials. Reliefs could be eitherraised or sunk, depending on placement in the tomb. Inraised reliefs, the artist cuts away the background, leavingbehind an image raised above the surface of the stone.Sunk reliefs cut the image below the surface of the stone.Raised relief in Egypt was most effective in dark interiorspaces where it caught the diffused light. Sunk relief wasmore visible in bright, outdoor spaces where the intenselight of the Egyptian sun was brightest. All relief waspainted.Offering scene of Setjau. BROOKLYN MUSEUM OF ART, 37.34E,CHARLES EDWIN WILBOUR FUND. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION.STANDING POSE IN RELIEFS. A relief of the officialAkhety-hotep is a conventional standing figure of anofficial. Akhety-hotep stands with a staff in his left handand a scepter in his right hand. The staff is a simple, tallwalking stick which only men of authority carried. Thescepter is also a hieroglyph for the word “power.” Thefact that Akhety-hotep holds this scepter conveys thebasic message that he is a high official. The pose portraysAkhety-hotep’s face in profile with a frontal viewRelief of men presenting oxen. BROOKLYN MUSEUM OF ART, 49.62, CHARLES EDWIN WILBOUR FUND. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION.288 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)