Through the Eras

Visual ArtsHead and torso of a noblewoman. BROOKLYN MUSEUM OF ART,59.1, CHARLES EDWIN WILBOUR FUND. REPRODUCED BY PERMISSION.Statue of Queen Hatshepsut holding vases of “Nou” offering.GIRAUDON/ART RESOURCE NY.depended on models that they found around Thebes, thetraditional home of the new royal family that had reunitedEgypt and driven out the Hyksos. A head of King Ahmosein a private collection shows the first king of theEighteenth Dynasty in a white crown with the Uraeussnake.This head is so similar to Eleventh-dynasty royalsculpture that only the inscription which identifies theking as Ahmose makes it absolutely clear that it wascarved in the Eighteenth Dynasty. The carving of the eyedepicts it as wide open but slanting toward the middleof the face. This same slant can be found in statues ofMentuhotep II and Senwosret I. Ahmose’s eye also bulgesnaturalistically. It looks three-dimensional because of thegrooves around the eyeball that separate them from thelids. The iris and pupil were represented by concentriccircles, a technique that began in the Eleventh Dynasty.The cosmetic line is horizontal and long, extending fromthe corner of the eye to the ear tabs of the crown. Theface is broad with full, high, rounded cheeks. The sickleshapedmouth might be an individual characteristic thattruly represented Ahmose’s mouth. It is not a featurefound in Middle Kingdom sculpture. In sum, this sculptureof Ahmose closely resembles statues of MentuhotepII, nearly five hundred years older. Clearly, artists wereturning to traditions that for them were already ancientto reestablish an artistic style for the Egyptian state nownewly liberated from foreign domination.HATSHEPSUT. Hatshepsut came to the throne ofEgypt in 1478 B.C.E. Officially, she ruled jointly withThutmose III who had ascended to the throne as a childone year earlier. Hatshepsut was the chief wife of ThutmoseII, Thutmose III’s father. But Thutmose III was nother son. Thutmose III’s mother was Isis, a secondary queenof Thutmose II. Though the details of Hatshepsut’s riseto power remain unclear, she certainly presented herselfas the ruler until her death in 1458 B.C.E. Only then didThutmose III assume independent rule of the country.Statues of Hatshepsut in the guise of the ruling king createda challenge for Egyptian sculptors. The traditionalimage of the king was an athletic male figure that protectedEgypt from its enemies. Artists had to develop294 Arts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.)